Adult ADHD Diagnosis
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is neurobiological condition affecting about 3% to 7 % of population. In some cases it may be because of hereditary that runs in family more than others. It is a lifespan condition that affects adolescents, adults and children. ADHD do not see the age, culture and gender. It happens to both male and female and people from any background.
Person may experience some symptoms and sings that may be result of ADHD. The person may experience symptoms such as,
- Difficulty in completing tasks in time
- Regular habit of losing things
- Excessive distractibility and poor attention.
- Hyperactivity and physical restlessness
- Experience difficulty in starting the tasks.
- Poor in skills like organization, planning and time management.
- Forgetfulness
- Extreme and constant procrastination
- Too much impulsivity
While, it not means that every person with ADHD will experience these symptoms at the same level of harshness. There may be severe symptoms in some people, while other may have mild. Because of the condition there may be various problems in jobs, school, and careers and at home also.
How it can be diagnosed?
Exact diagnosis is the first step to prevent and manage the condition of ADHD. ADHD can not diagnosed by using any type of single medical, genetic and physical test. ADHD can be diagnosed in different ways in children and in adults.
A) Diagnosis of ADHD in children:
If the parents suspect that their child may have ADD or ADHD, first they have to visit doctor for diagnostic assessment. At present, doctors do not use any imaging or laboratory test to diagnose that the child has ADD/ADHD. They go through the behavioral symptoms to diagnose the disease.
The assessment of the disease is done on the basis of
- Medical and family history
- With the help of standardizing screening tools
- Through neurological and physical exam
- Observation of child
- Managing interviews with child, parents, and child's teacher.
- Using various psychological tests to measure the IQ of child
B) Diagnosis of ADHD in adults:
It is fact that, most of people come to know that they have ADHD, when they become adult. They know about the disease that they have after getting knowledge and education about the condition. Some people may experience the symptoms that help them to visit with a mental health professional for preventing the disease. There may be other conditions such as depression and anxiety along with ADHD that the patient need to see the psychiatrist of psychologist to identify and treat the disease.
The specialist goes through the questions given below to detect the condition:
- The symptoms currently you are going through or been bothering you.
- They may ask you about the problems of the symptoms that you are going through
- They may provide you some physical tests to rule out of there are any other physical causes
- Direct tests of ADD and ADHD
There are some tips that may help people if they need evaluation for adult ADD/ADHD
- Problems doing the work
- Problems with carriers and jobs
- Problems with finishing targets, tasks and get upset on little things
- Problems with daily tasks
- Inability to meet goals and responsibilities that may lead into stress and worry
- Strong feeling of guilt, frustration and blame
It is true that diagnosis is done with the help of factors such as symptoms of hyperactivity, inattention or impulsivity. Except these, the experts go through the;
- The severity of the symptoms
- Duration of the symptoms
- The period when the symptoms started
- When and where the symptoms appeared first
