ADHD Symptoms
Children, teenagers, and young adults with the inattentive presentation of ADHD may often:
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Complete schoolwork and tests slowly and inefficiently
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Forget to turn in completed assignments
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Have a disorganized backpack, locker, or bedroom
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Become overwhelmed by large assignments and procrastinate
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Complete only parts of an assignment
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Need many reminders when completing daily routines
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Make careless mistakes
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Fail to “buckle down” to focus on material that is boring to them
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Children, teenagers, and young adults with the hyperactive and impulsive presentation of ADHD may often:
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Talk too much in class, interrupt others, or blurt out information
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Disrupt others working nearby
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Fail to think through the consequences of a behavior before acting
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Fidget excessively or leave their seat at inappropriate times
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Get over-stimulated or too wound up
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Be impatient when waiting for their turn
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Lose control of their temper too easily
Reasons to Evaluate
​Testing can help parents better understand their child’s difficulties and what to do about the difficulties. Recommendations for school supports are often given. For example, a student might need to take movement breaks during the day, have large assignments broken into smaller parts, keep an extra set of textbooks at home, or have instructions provided both orally and in writing. Parents typically seek evaluations when a child still struggles despite having tried multiple solutions to address the problems. Some parents seek evaluations because medication has been recommended for their child, but they want additional information about their child’s functioning before making a final decision about medication.
The Testing Process
Testing begins with a diagnostic interview conducted with parents. The interview involves an in-depth review of your child’s history. Several testing appointments with your child follow, during which your child will be asked to complete a wide variety of activities. For example, your child might be asked to solve math problems, memorize different types of information, or filter out distractions while completing a simple task. Parents and two teachers will be given detailed rating scales that assess how your child functions compared to same-aged peers. All results are reviewed with parents in a final feedback meeting. A written report that describes all findings and provides recommendations for home and school supports is provided.
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In an ADHD evaluation, the following are assessed:
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Various types of attention (e.g., the ability to sustain attention on a very boring task and the ability to filter out distractions)
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Executive functioning
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Academic skills (reading, writing, math, and language) and reasoning abilities
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Efficiency of information processing
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The ability to memorize and retain information in different forms
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Social functioning, emotional challenges (e.g., anxiety, problems with self-esteem) and behavior challenges
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The fee for an evaluation is $2250. Assessment for learning disorders, anxiety, and other common problems is included because these problems may cause a child to appear to have ADHD when they do not. In-network insurance is not accepted, but parents can receive a receipt for out-of-network insurance reimbursement.