Diagnosing an ADHD Child
March 9, 2008
The process of diagnosing ADHD in children, has been the centre of controversy for many years. The ONLY way to achieve a comprehensive diagnosis of ADHD and its subsequent groups is to consult a Medical Specialist familiar with the condition.
No amount of blood tests, xrays or brain scans can diagnose this disorder. The diagnosis relies purely on observable behavioral assessment.
ADHD is not a straightforward condition, it has many different aspects of behavorial traits and no two children will present with the same set of symptoms.
Aspects of ADHD behavorial symptoms have no set rules, so a child with ADHD does not fit into a neat box. The difficulty ADHD presents for the Healthcare team and parents trying to manage a condition that is as varied as the colours of the rainbow is like trying to climb an icy slope.
You get so far then slip back to where you started, it really is trial and error, what works well for one child whether it be a medication type or a teaching strategy may not be successful for any other child diagnosed with ADHD.
The ADHD Diagnostic Criteria set out the DSM-IV
The Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) is considered an authority on mental disorders and is widely used as a reference in diagnosing ADHD.
The DSM-IV identifies criteria for diagnosing ADHD as a condition, distinguishing three main features of the condition which are:
- Hyperactivity
- Inattentiveness
- Impulsivity
And within these three features is a set of determined behavourial traits which a child could or could not display in relation to those three main features. The DSM-IV also concludes that ADHD is not only ONE disorder but contains THREE subtypes of:
- Combined Type
- Inattentive Type
- Hyperactive Type
With ADHD Combined type being the most commonly diagnosed of the subtypes
Important facts stated in the criteria are:
- The symptoms/behaviours MUST be present in the child BEFORE the age of seven.
- The symptoms/behaviours MUST be inappropriate for the child’s age and cause clinically significant impairment in social and academic functioning.
The Diagnostic Process
When a child is suspected to have ADHD an information trail in set in motion, parents, teachers, counselors and school administrators must all complete questionnairs.
The questionnaires are made up of a check list of items that rate behavior at home and school, the person must give a score for each item ranging from 0 (never) to 3 (very often) in categories like: daydreams, pouts and sulks and feels everything must be just so.
In the DMV-IV there are no spicific guidelines of what constitutes a 3 or 2 in these questions is left up to the discretion of the person doing the rating, leaving the system open to individual interpretation and personal subjectiveness.
Here in lies the controversy, the difference in one persons personal judgement verses anothers. Showing ADHD is just as difficult to diagnose as it is to treat.
Posted in ADHD
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