A diagnosis of ADHD can be very helpful in treating problematic behaviors and poor performance. After all, you cannot start treating a disorder if you do not have a name for it. What is bothering about the diagnosis these days is that there are several doctors who write prescriptions for AHDD drugs after checking the list of products. At a detailed level, diagnosing ADHD seems easy and obvious, but few know that frustration is much more complicated than just uncontrolled hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity. There are a number of other disorders that also have these symptoms, and a child who has ADHD may also suffer from other related problems, such as food allergies or visual impairment. Here are the most common mistakes that doctors make when they diagnose ADHD.
Based only on the symptoms
ADHD is traditionally diagnosed with 18 diagnostic criteria — symptoms or behavior that indicate the presence of a disorder. If at least 12 of these symptoms have been present for at least 6 months in two different conditions, the child is said to have ADHD. There are a number of tests that can detect ADHD, but the simplest and most inexpensive ones to implement are rating scales that will be completed by parents and teachers. Rating scales usually list variations of diagnostic criteria and ask the parent or teacher to evaluate them according to their frequency or severity. These scales are really useful only for determining the need to visit a doctor or conduct further tests. Based only on these scales, you do not get enough information from the doctor to get a true idea of the child’s upset. ADHD is more than just superficial behavior, and there are a number of factors that can cause these symptoms.
Prescribing medications to find out if it works
Although ADHD medications have helped many children overcome their symptoms, this is not a treatment that will work for everyone, and it is not a very effective long-term solution to the problem. First, the effects of treating ADHD last only a few hours. As soon as the drug is erased, the child becomes as hyperactive or inattentive as before taking the medicine. Second, ADHD medications only suppress the symptoms; they do nothing to solve the real causes of frustration. As I mentioned earlier, the causes of ADHD cannot always be treated with medication. Food intolerance, toxic effects and nutritional deficiencies are just some of the environmental causes that require a more holistic intervention.
Inability to check for co-morbidities
Children with ADHD experience more than just hyperactivity, inattention, and impulsivity. They also suffer from sleep problems, asthma and allergies, to name a few. In some cases, treating a concomitant illness gets rid of the symptoms of ADHD. However, these disorders cannot be detected with just a thorough examination and a hasty diagnosis.
If you think your doctor has diagnosed your child with ADHD based only on symptoms or a scale, it is best if you get a second opinion from a health professional with thorough testing procedures. Chiropractors with functional medicine training provide a battery of tests to determine not only the presence of ADHD, but also its potential causes.
