What kind of DR. do I need to see to diagnose me with add?!


Question:

What kind of DR. do I need to see to diagnose me with add?


Answers:

You can go to a neurologist, a psychiatrist, or a psychologist. After getting a physical to rule out medical causes for your symptoms, I'd go to the psychologist (ideally a neuropsychologist) first, who will adminster tests, and who subsequently may make a referral to one of the other two, for medication management.

Aside from ruling out medical causes of the problem, a medical doctor can't do much to establish a diagnosis aside from asking you a few questions, since currently there is no definitive, biologically-based diagnostic test for ADHD (although research is headed in that direction), and medical doctors have minimal training in psychometric testing. Currently, diagnosis is based on assessment of behavior and your subjective feelings. Comprehensive ADHD evaluation should be made based on how a person functions in a variety of settings, and should rule out other causes of the problem, such as other mental disorders. A psychologist has the most extensive training in testing and assessment, and will generally gather information from other people (your teachers, parents -- depends on your age) in addition to administering various tests to you. However, be warned -- adult psychological evaluation isn't often covered by insurance.




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