What is ADHD Testing
ADHD Testing is not designed around a single test to diagnose ADHD. Instead, doctors and clinicians rely on several things, including:
- Interviews with the parents, relatives, teachers, or other adults
- Personally watching the child or adult
- Questionnaires or rating scales that measure symptoms of ADHD
- Psychological tests
The doctor needs to see how much a person’s symptoms are affecting their daily moods, behavior, productivity, and lifestyle habits. And they need to rule out other conditions.
With children, the doctor will talk with the parents about ADHD symptoms they have seen. The doctor will want to know what age the behaviors began and where and when the child shows symptoms. The doctor may ask for a behavior report from the child’s teacher, report cards, and samples of schoolwork.
With adults, the doctor may want to talk with a spouse or other family members. They’ll want to find out if the patient had symptoms in childhood. Knowing if an adult had ADHD behavior as a child is important for making a diagnosis.
What Doctors Look For?
To diagnose ADHD, doctors most often use guidelines established by the American Psychiatric Association. The group has identified 3 types of the disorder:
- Inattentive Type
- Hyperactive-Impulsive Type
- Combined Typ