When to Consider Getting Evaluated for ADHD, and How?
Author: Erika Kawamura, Psy.D
If you are reading this article, you have probably been wondering whether or not you have ADHD for various reasons. Perhaps you or your loved one is having difficulty focusing or starting and staying on tasks to the point where it is affecting work, academic performance, or even relationships. Perhaps you are feeling you can relate to a lot of the struggles that you have been reading about ADHD, or your child or friend was recently diagnosed and you see a lot of yourself in them. Or, you might simply be curious for the sake of being curious.
An important question to ask yourself (and be honest!) is: What do you ultimately want to get out of the potential diagnosis, and how could a potential diagnosis impact you?
Common responses might be:
- “Something has to change, I’m so tired and frustrated with myself, I can’t keep….(e.g. scrambling at the last minute, can’t get anything done because I can’t focus on anything and keep getting distracted and then forget what I was just doing).”
- “I’m scared my work (or schoolwork) is going to be affected if I keep missing deadlines or making careless mistakes, so I need to learn how not to do that.”
- “I feel like I’m not working to my full potential. I feel my lifelong struggles hold me back, and I have to work so much harder than my peers.”
- “I’m concerned about my child not doing well in school, and the teacher suggested getting an evaluation.”
If your primary goal is to better understand whether your various struggles are due to ADHD, learn strategies to manage them, & alleviate the impacts that it has on your emotional health, stress level, & other areas of your life (e.g. work, school, relationships, financial), it may be helpful to start your journey with a psychologist or therapist who has expertise in treating ADHD. Your therapist may often start by examining your history of symptoms, struggles, & impacts throughout your life, as well as having you take a few self-report screening questionnaires.
If your primary goal is to find a medication that could alleviate your symptoms and struggles that you suspect could be due to ADHD, most psychiatrists and primary care physicians require a written documentation, in addition to doing their own evaluations. While some may accept a therapist’s diagnosis of ADHD for a client, others may require a comprehensive psychological or neuropsychological evaluation from a psychologist. These evaluations typically entail several hours, spanning over a few visits, where the psychologist will administer various assessment measures to evaluate a person’s executive functioning, cognitive and emotional functioning, and other areas or skills that the psychologist deems relevant. A neuropsychological evaluation focuses more in-depth on the brain function & cognitive processes, whereas a psychological evaluation focuses on the emotional and behavioral aspects.
If your primary goal is to seek academic accommodations for your child or college-aged child, or to seek work accommodations for yourself, then you would need to seek a comprehensive evaluation from a psychologist (described above). For school accommodations, it may be more appropriate to consider a psychoeducational evaluation. This not only assesses your child’s cognitive, emotional, & executive functioning, but also general IQ, socio-emotional functioning, academic skills, academic achievement, and academic potential; in doing so, it can help identify learning-related strengths and weaknesses, guide educational interventions, and rule-out other factors such as learning disabilities.
The ADHD Center of Excellence at Equilibria Psychological Services and Consultation has therapists who have expertise in helping clients develop strategies to manage their ADHD symptoms and struggles. Psychological and psychoeducational evaluations are also offered at Equilibria.
Equilibria is a group of licensed mental health professionals in Pennsylvania and New Jersey with multiple specialties to serve all aspects of our diverse community’s mental, emotional, and behavioral needs. We provide in person and telehealth services to individuals of all ages, families, and those in relationships. Click here to schedule an appointment today.
