Question about diagnosis

[llehtine]

I am wondering how most of you received an official ADHD diagnosis?

[katcald]

I knew from the time he was 3 but that is too young to diagnose.. Finally did a full psych/ed evaluation when he was 7 and it gave us the diagnosis. (Doctor said she could tell as soon as she met him and tests confirmed.)

[reg2018]

Three of my four boys are adopted and because of the nature of the adoption, a couple of my boys were already seeing a therapist. The therapist recognized ADHD symptoms in one of my boys and referred him for testing. One of my other sons was still too young to be diagnosed, but I suspected he also had ADHD. Once he was old enough we had him tested as well and he was diagnosed with ADHD.

For my oldest son, who is biological, it was a teacher at school that brought up concerns about irregular performance and innattention. She suggested that we get him tested for ADHD. I was reluctant to do so because I really didn't want to discover that I had three out of four of my kids with ADHD. But denying the situation wasn't going to help him any, so I got him tested and he was also diagnosed with ADHD inattentive type.

[Jandmel]

For my son, it was a lengthy process. His teacher and school social worker both assessed him as well as his pediatrician who ultimately determined that he had ADHD. We did decide to medicate and he went from having very bad test scores, hand writing and behavior issues to acing all tests, completing homework and was a complete 180 in focus and behavior.

[ZosMom]

I took my concerns to the pediatrician - she had us (and teachers) complete the Vanderbilt scale and then she analyzed the results. She diagnosed my son with adhd but also referred us to a therapist who confirmed the diagnosis.

[anirush]

We too started with pediatrician and forms filled out by the teachers. Also saw remarkable results with needs.

[Pennywink]

My son always seemed to be a unique guy, but no diagnosis that I had read about seemed to fit the bill. His last year of preschool, his teacher mentioned issues with impulsivity which she felt were more than normal for the age. So we did the Vanderbilt assessment. No diagnosis then, but it did lead me to research ADHD - and everything clicked.

This January (one year later), his Kindergarten teacher mentioned seeing a lot of off task behavior, more than she felt was typical. After another round of Vanderbilt, my son was diagnosed ADHD Inattentive. Personally, I think he's Combined and just internalizes the hyperactivity (at least at school.) His brain is hyperactive!

We currently aren't medicating, though I'm not opposed to it. Right now his symptoms are fairly mild and not worth the side effects, but I won't hesitate to change if/when that is no longer the case. Also, my husband is taking a bit longer to come around, so he needs some time to get use to this as well.

[Celzing]

I made a appointment with my sons pediatrician re my suspicion, I picked up the paper work BEFORE the appointment and had his teach er fill her part , I filled out mine ,then after the dx I requested a 504 plan. My son is 6, in kindergarten and no prescription meds.

[mplaz]

My daughter’s teacher recommended she get tested at age 6, although previous teachers had noticed behaviors and also brought them to our attention as well—but she was too young to test. So at 6 we got her a full psych evaluation, where she was diagnosed with ADHD inattentive. We then got a second opinion from another psych who diagnosed her with ADHD combined type and was able to test for gifted. So she is twice exceptional. She’s in first grade and so far not medicated but we go to therapy every week. Her therapist is also in touch with her teacher and we try different ways to support her consistently at home and at school.