Our daughter is in 3rd grade and is 8 years old. She is struggling this year in her classwork and her teacher told us she might have ADD and she displays some of the behaviours her son that is diagnosed with ADD has. She has anxiety and sees a therapist once a week. Would it be her peditirician that will need to diagnose her or do we need to take her to a different specialist?
ADD Diagnose : Our daughter is in 3rd... - CHADD's ADHD Pare...
ADD Diagnose
You will need to take her to a Neuropsychological Center to be evaluated. Here pediatrician may be able to refer you to one...you can call them directly too. Just be sure and ask if they take your healthcare, some don't and some do. Be sure and check for their reputation online to depending on who you select as I've heard some are more organized compared to others. You should be scheduled for a pre-intake meeting, they will gather up information then will schedule the session which normally takes about 3 or 4 hours. They will provide you with a diagnoses report and then you give that to the school to facilitate accommodations for your daughter. It's nice that her teacher shared this with you...because most teachers will not provide that sort of opinion.
Talk to the pediatrician. Many are comfortable checking for ADHD and know when they need to refer to a specialist.
If you live in the US, ask the school to perform an assessment. School professionals do not officially diagnose but an assessment will determine if she has ADHD. The assessment will be used to determine if she needs a 504 Plan or an IEP.