Psychological, behavioral, and educational assessments

Part of the process of diagnosing ADHD, which might be conducted by a pediatrician or a mental health professional, involves gathering detailed impressions of the child's behavior from parents, teachers, and sometimes other caregivers who have spent a great deal of time with the child. Each is asked to rate the child on standardized forms on a whole series of behaviors--such as the frequency of daydreaming, attentive listening, finishing tasks on time, and acting without thinking. Results on these behavior-rating scales are examined to see how they compare with the patterns of normal children of the same age. Sometimes they point to a different problem, such as anxiety or depression.

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Your doctor may suggest psychological and psycho-educational tests to measure IQ and social and emotional adjustment, for instance, or to indicate the presence of specific learning disabilities. In addition to standard IQ tests, the battery might include assessments of executive functioning (the ability to plan and organize); of facility with reading, language, and math; and of the child's ability to pay attention and stay on task. It's important to note that one of the difficulties in diagnosing ADHD is that it is often accompanied by other problems, such as a learning disability like dyslexia or difficulty mastering a certain academic skill. ADHD is not in itself a learning disability but can make it more difficult for the child with a learning disability to do well in school.

Once all of the medical, behavioral, and psychological test results have been digested, it may be readily apparent that the child's attention problems and hyperactivity are severe and consistent enough, longstanding enough, and have a sufficiently harmful impact on his or her life to be classified as ADHD.