Does your child have a short attention span, difficulty sitting still, and often get into trouble for “blurting out?” Is he impulsive, engaging in dangerous behavior, and always on the go? Does she lose things she needs for school and daydream a lot? Is he capable of playing his favorite video game for hours, but can’t seem to pay attention to a reading assignment for even a few minutes? These are characteristics consistent with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.
Adults can suffer from Attention Deficits, too. Many people can outgrow the hyperactivity portion of ADHD, but attention problems, distractibility, and poor organization follow them into college and the workplace.
If you are concerned that you or your child has ADHD, Dr. Conditt will also assess for anxiety, sensory processing differences/challenges, depression, trauma and screen for autism, as well, since many of the symptoms and traits can overlap and/or be mis-identified as ADHD.
Dr. Conditt provides a comprehensive assessment for ADHD that includes:
- A clinical interview with the parent(s), child, together and separately, to identify concerns, but more importantly set goals for the assessment to make sure that the necessary information is gathered in order to best serve the child and family. We are learning that most people with ADHD have some sort of sensory-processing challenge (such as needing constant movement or auditory input) that will be assessed by Dr. Conditt.
- Behavior and symptoms checklists (Vanderbilt) filled out by adults who spend a lot of time with your child – parents, caregivers, and teachers most commonly. These checklists provide information about behaviors observed in the real world.
- A computerized variable-attention test that gives results comparing your performance against age peers in the domains of Inattention, Impulsivity, the ability to Sustain Attention and remaining Vigilant (staying alert during boring periods).
- An IQ test to measure Processing Speed (how quickly is new information processed), Working Memory (the ability to hold multiple pieces of information in mind at once and manipulate them mentally), as well as screen for possible learning differences.
- A checklist rating Executive Functioning Executive function and self-regulation skills are the mental processes that enable us to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks successfully.