What’s involved in an ADD assessment?
It’s important that a parent who has a child with symptoms of attention deficit disorder go through an assessment process conducted by a trained profession. ADD is a medical diagnosis. Many school counselors or school psychologist may initiate the process by interviewing the child, parent(s) and teachers to see if the child has the symptoms of ADD, but from the point on, a trained professional, skilled in this area takes over. Contacting your medical doctor, insurance carrier or nearby counseling clinics will be able to assist you. You child’s school counselor or school psychologist may also be able to provide you information on where to take your child to be assessed. The assessment process for ADD/ADHD normally includes the following:
- Parent(s) and child meet together and separately with the professional to discuss why they are there and what they believe is happening.
- Parents often individually are asked to fill out a parent questionnaire form regarding numerous situations that they see in their child’s behavioral and academic performance.
- The child’s teacher (s) are asked to fill out a teacher questionnaire.
- An evaluator will administer a standardize IQ test (most commonly used test is the Wechsler test).
- A learning disorder assessment may also be given to rule out a learning disability.
- Computerized assessments may include a TOVA as well as other concentration assessments.
- The evaluator will review all assessments individually and as one prior to meeting with you to make recommendations.
- The evaluator may ask you to check with your school to see if the school has current IQ or learning disability assessment scores.
If your child has been diagnosed with a learning disability (this is a school diagnosis) it may save your child time and you, the parent, money by getting these scores to the ADD/ADHD evaluator.
Parents who need more information regarding ADD may go to “Ask A Counselor” section of ScottCounseling.
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March 11th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
The one thing to remember about seeking treatment for ADHD is that what works for one may not work for your child and vice versa. This is because we are all different and we respond to certain treatment regime/method differently. Until and unless the cause/s of ADHD is known, the best treatment remains at best a “trial-and-error” approach. If it works, keep it, if it doesn’t move on, etc.