There are over 6 million children ages 2-17 who’ve been diagnosed with ADHD in the US alone. If you’re reading this post, you might wonder if your child has ADHD as well.
The first logical step would be to schedule a formal evaluation, right? Well, unfortunately, wait times for formal evaluations can exceed six months in many areas of the US.
Your best course of action in the meantime? Address the symptoms that lead you to seek an ADHD evaluation in the first place. The following five experts can help:
Does this seem like a long list? Read on to learn how each medical exam and assessment may benefit children with suspected ADHD:
1. Conduct an Evaluation with an Occupational Therapist
If you think you child has ADHD, consider booking an evaluation with an Occupation Therapist as your first step.
While Occupational Therapists (OTs) are not licensed to provide an official ADHD diagnosis, they are able to point to behaviors, weaknesses, and tendencies indicative of ADHD.
The biggest value of an OT assessment is that it can point to areas where your child’s abilities are lagging compared to their same-age peers. Better yet, they can provide a treatment plan and therapies to address these weaknesses regardless of what a future ADHD assessment will indicate.
Next come the medical exams. As ADHD and other medical conditions can result in similar behaviors, it is important to rule them out by using the following medical exams:
2. Complete a Comprehensive Eye Exam
If you think your child has ADHD due to his or her difficulties in paying attention, reading, and/or doing homework, it’s worth getting a comprehensive vision assessment.
Issues with eye convergence can make the tasks above hard or even impossible to complete. A certified optometrist can assess your child’s eye health and rule out vision as a cause of ADHD-like symptoms.
Read more about Is It ADHD or Vision Problems in Attitude Magazine.
MomTip#1: Some children have a hard time paying attention during these longer eye exams. Offer small rewards such as sugarless candy or gum during the eye exam. This will help keep children on task and provide more accurate results.
Now that you know how to evaluate your child’s vision, it’s time to look at their breathing and sleep:
3. Get Sleep and Breathing Evaluated through an ENT
If you think your child has ADHD because they never seem tired, are often distracted, and don’t seem to know how to relax, have their breathing and sleep evaluated by a medical professional.
Unfortunately, breathing, sleep and ADHD are closely linked but often neglected when considering a possible ADHD diagnosis.
Here’s how breathing, sleeping, and ADHD-like symptoms are connected:
As evidence of this connection, three out of four children and four out of five adults with ADHD have also been diagnosed with a sleep disorder. Read more about the connection here: ADHD and sleep disorders.
The best course of action for evaluating breathing issues is a visit to an Ear, Nose & Throat Doctor(ENT). ENT’s can identify enlarged tonsils, adenoids, tongue-ties, and other potential causes for sleep/breathing disruption and refer patients to sleep studies if needed.
Interestingly, Studies have shown that an Adenoidectomy and/or Tonsillectomy resulted in reduced ADHD symptoms in many young patients who underwent one or both procedures.
MomTip#2: Consider taking your child to the dentist as part of their breathing evaluation. Narrow jaws can also affect a child’s ability to breathe properly. Read more about ADHD and Orthodontic Treatment for a better understanding of the connection between the two.
In addition to sleep and breathing issues, your child might have other medical conditions worth examining:
4. Address Other Unique Medical Conditions
In addition to sleep and breathing, ADHD can manifest in other surprising ways in a child’s body. Incontinence, constipation, and nutritional deficiencies are some examples of conditions that may be linked to ADHD.
Invest some time researching your child’s current medical conditions and their possible connection to ADHD. Some conditions, such as nutritional deficiencies can easily be addressed and mitigated before an official ADHD diagnosis is even made.
Lastly, take all the evaluation and assessment results you obtained for your child and visit one last medical professional – a Developmental Pediatrician:
5. Meet with a Developmental Pediatrician
While the wait time for formal assessments through a hospital or a private clinic can be long, some Developmental Pediatricians have a shorter wait time and may be able to diagnose and treat ADHD directly.
A developmental Pediatrician will use the medical information you provide to rule out other medical conditions and use their own evaluation tools to reach a formal ADHD diagnosis or refer you to another office for evaluation.
MomTip#3: Don’t be alarmed by long waitlists for ADHD evaluations. Sign up for appointments, even if they are six months or a year away. They will come around before you know it and the medical professionals on this list can help address symptoms and provide tools for support in the meantime.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all these suggested medical professional visits remember that they don’t have to happen all at once. Each of these is its own tool for learning and supporting your child, something you will spend your life doing regardless of one medical condition or another.
This journey toward an ADHD diagnosis can be long. Moms need to take of themselves while they advocate for their child’s unique needs. Read Moms Want to Feel Better. Micro Habits Can Help for some easy ideas for doing just that.