Is there a medical test for physical proof of A.D.D. versus emotional need type of acting-out A.D.D.?
Karen, Queen of Squishies _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ music is all around us, all you have to do is listen
Unfortunately not. The "tests" are by observations made by family, school, daycare, etc.
Lenore
It's my understanding that only a medical doctor can make such a diagnosis. At least that's what I've been told by the East coast and Midwest public school systems that I've taught in.
There's no blood test or the like.
What you *can* do is check whether the ADD is still there when the person is doing something they really want to do. If they don't have enough attention for schoolwork but *do* have enough attention to watch a whole sitcom episode or play World of Warcraft for four hours straight, they don't have a biochemical problem.
============== j-c ====== @ ====== purr . demon . co . uk ============== Jack Campin: 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland | tel 0131 660 4760 for CD-ROMs and free | fax 0870 0554 975 stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, & Mac logic fonts | mob 07800 739 557
rofl. i'm not so sure i'd agree with that. have you seen the eyeballs after 4 hours of WOW or any online/video game. that has to do 'something' to the chemicals in your body. snorfle, j.
"Jack Campin - bogus address" wrote... .... but *do* have enough attention to watch a whole sitcom episode or play World of
Not really. Professional diagnosis of ADD or ADHD would involve information provided by parent, teacher, etc. There should be forms documenting frequency and types of behavior that would warrant medication.
If a child genuinely has a chemical issue, medication (proper kind and dose) is normally immediately effective and you can watch it "wear off" at the end of the day.
The diagnosis should be made by a team of people in the child's life and closely monitored.
Sorry to go on and on, but I have frequently seen children whose behaviors could be handled with proper techniques, routines and a bit of understanding being taken in for medication when it was very unnecessary.
Paulette in WV
Differences in brain activity can be seen in PET scans, but these are not given to children because of the risks involved.
The two types of ADD are with hyperactivity and without hyperactivity. Emotion disturbance is not part of the ADHD profile although there may be emotional or social needs due to ADD. The trend with school-age children in recent years has been to classify emotionally disturbed or autistic children as ADHD because it carries less stigma.
Linda PATCHogue, NY
A lot of reliable information can be found on these websites:
Linda PATCHogue, NY
Karen, Queen of Squishies wrote:
OK.....if you think there is an issue with ADHD or ADD (there is ADD Inattentive, ADD hyperactive, and ADD combined) you need to speak to the primary physician. If it is a child, they will normally be referred to either a developmental pediatrician or a child psychiatrist/psychologist. You will have a rather large stack of paperwork to complete, and it includes family history and other relevant informaiton. There will also be forms that both the parents and teachers fill out - the "always, sometimes, never" or, whatever you want to call them forms. Basically, you have a list of behaviors and you just have to mark how often the behavior happens - teacher will do the same thing. All that information is given to the special provider (not the pediatrician) and then you will have an initial visit, lasting about an hour, maybe more. During that time, if you have a good provider, he/she will talk with you while observing the child, then will interact directly with the child making notes the entire time. Based on that observation and interaction, the doc will form an educated (?) diagnosis. If it is ADHD (or any of the other ADD types) medication will usually be suggested, but you can try just going wihtout medication but adding behavioral counseling (supposed to help the person learn or relearn to to act in various situations). In my personal experience, medication AND counseling seem to work the best.
JMHO, Larisa
P.S. Karen, if you can cath me through messenger, we can get into this even more deeply...recent developments with DS
More recent regulations allow pyschologists to also make diagnoses, although they cannot prescribe meds. Most school districts will still require a medical diagnosis - and they should. There are too many other things that can mimic symptoms.
L>It's my understanding that only a medical doctor can make such a diagnosis.
Linda PATCHogue, NY
That's not really true, because a big piece of the disorder is attending in the presence of distractors. For some, also, it is not that they can't pay attention to one thing - it's that they pay attention to everything. They can't filter information. The disorder is really a lot more complex than just being able to pay attention.
Any>What you *can* do is check whether the ADD is still there when
Linda PATCHogue, NY
PBS is doing a Frontline on The Medicated Child. Tonight? Tomorrow night?
Cindy
Although I don't know about this show, other shows of this type have been more sensationalist than informational. Parents who make the decision to medicate a child don't do so easily and don't need to be made to feel guilty about it.
L>PBS is doing a Frontline on The Medicated Child. Tonight? Tomorrow night? >
Linda PATCHogue, NY
Nope.
One pediatrician we took DD1 too when she was little was pretty sure she was ADD/hyper. To be certain he prescribed dextroamphetamine for her, and told me if she started bouncing off the walls to discontinue it because that would mean she wasn't hyperactive.
By that reckoning she wasn't. So far as I can tell that is as close to hard science as it gets in diagnosing ADD.
NightMist
Frontline usually does a good job on stuff.
Cindy
Cindy-
In my house Frontline does a good job on fleas and ticks! LOL
Leslie, Missy & The Furbabies in MO.- there ain't no fleas on us!
Thank goodness you said that Leslie. I was THINKING that's what that was, but was so unsure.........
If there was a test for everything then you'd be right, but we're in a time where so many things do have specific tests that we've grown to expect them, yet there are an awful lot of conditions out there without specifc yes/no tests, when that's the case, you're in the territory of "diagnostic criteria" and over time studying the people that fit certain diagnostic against those who don't, the researchers are finding out information that might one day lead to a specific test, the same studies hopefully help treatment too, if you find a certain condition is a result of a lack of something you're a lot closer to treating it than when you only have a list of characteristic symptoms. Chhers Anne
Karen: Mayo Clinic has a good report about ADHD, etc. For some reason I cannot copy the link. Go to Mayoclinic.com and enter ADHD into the search bar. HTH.
Sooner or later, I hope to tweak this new system we have to make it more user friendly. (More Pat friendly!)
Pat in Virginia
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