There has been a lot of criticism about the way ADHD is diagnosed. While various questionnaires and interviews of parents and teachers are used, there is still no reliable diagnostic test to diagnose ADD and ADHD. Many parents refuse to accept that a test for ADHD exists which will pinpoint a brain defect. That is the rather simplistic definition which the drug industry likes and will immediately offer a ADHD medication solution once the test for ADHD has been ‘confirmed’.

Now the classical procedure to test for ADHD is set out in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition) as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The actual exam or doctor’s visit will consist of a physical examination of the child and there will be clinical interviews with the parents and the child. This is mainly to exclude other conditions such as depression hallucinations and so on. The child’s teacher will be asked to fill out an assessment form. The TOVA (Test of Variables of Attention) is also filled out. None of these tools as a test for ADHD are very accurate in a clinical sense because they are subjective.

Following the DSM guidelines, the doctor or paediatrician will then try to establish from the results of the test for ADHD whether there is any impairment or hindrance in the child’s development. That is key. If there is no impairment then there is no disorder. A child may have lots of symptoms of ADHD but if his physical and social development is on a par with his peers, then he does NOT have ADHD.

In assessing all the information from the tests and questionnaires, the doctor will be assessing how long the symptoms have been present and from what age. Are they periodic or chronic by now ? What is the functional disorder present due to, or caused by these symptoms ? Is the child falling behind at school and are the relationships with his peers causing tensions and other problems?

The answers to these questions following the DSM will usually help the doctor to make a diagnosis.

To medicate or not to medicate ? This is the burning question parents have to face once the test for ADHD is over and a diagnosis for ADHD has been confirmed. As the standard conventional ADHD medications are addictive – about 20% of teenagers with ADHD are or will become substance abusers- parents have to make a choice. Certainly natural ADHD treatments are not addictive at all and there are no worrying side effects. Time to take a long hard look at these AHD alternative therapies which will be effective and do not cause withdrawal symptoms. The site below will answer any questions you may have.

Even the greatest football men get it wrong sometimes. Read the small print of Brian Clough’s life in management and you will find the man who discovered the young Roy Keane also once pinned Nottingham Forest’s hopes of avoiding relegation on Robert Rosario. Liverpool supporters of a certain generation still wince when they remember Bill Shankly buying Tony Hateley, a striker whose passes Tommy Docherty suggested should be addressed “to whom it may concern” while Manchester City were top of the league in March 1972 when MalcolmAllison signed Rodney Marsh for a club-record £200,000. They finished fourth.

Sir Alex Ferguson, like every leading man, has also failed in the market. Manchester United supporters can just about force a smile when they are reminded of Massimo Taibi’s goalkeeping, or the way Kleberson proved that being a Brazilian World Cup winner does not necessarily mean you can trap a football. What they could never have expected, though, was that they would reach the closing stages of Dimitar Berbatov’s first season at Old Trafford with Ferguson feeling compelled to speak out in defence of the Bulgarian.

Ferguson is not an admirer of supporters’ websites and message boards, particularly in this knee-jerk era when a footballer can be pilloried one week and exalted the next, but it would be difficult for him not to detect the growing disillusion when it comes to the virtual disappearance of a player who was signed, lest it be forgotten, on the basis ofFerguson’s unrelenting and almost obsessive belief that he would elevate the European champions to a new tier of greatness.

Docherty, who is now a pundit on BBC Radio Manchester, has been so outspoken over the years that his opinions arenow greeted with a knowing roll of the eyes at Old Trafford but the former United manager spoke for a lot of supporters recently when he said of Berbatovthat he “doesn’t seem interested” and “should look at Carlos Tevez andsee the way he always grafts to win the ball back”.

Ferguson, however, is not even willing to accept his £30.75m signing, the scorer of 23 goals for Tottenham Hotspur last season, has taken a backward turn. “I don’t see any evidence at all of him tailing off,” said the United manager when asked whether Berbatov’s almost apologetic attempt to beat Everton’s goalkeeper, Tim Howard, in Sunday’s penalty shoot-out at Wembley symbolised the way the player’s season had gone.

“He came on and actually did quite well,” Ferguson continued. “He did really well. He is disappointed to miss a penalty, of course, and he will get criticized for that. When you pay £30m for a player, then everyone thinks he should be able to score a penalty. But it’s not just about that.”

All very well, except the lesson of history is that Ferguson will publicly defend his players even when it is blindingly obvious that something has not quite clicked. Berbatov has scored 13 goals in 36 games, including four appearances as a substitute. Add to that 12 assists and his statistics do not look too shabby at all – certainly not bad enough to deserve Docherty’s description of him as an “absolute disaster” – but it is the frequency with which games are passing him by that is troubling.

His partnership with Wayne Rooney has yielded a solitary goal all season, and that was back in October. Then take into account that Berbatov’s four goals in the Champions League all came in autumn against poor opposition – two against Aalborg and two against Celtic – and it becomes a little clearer why some Old ­Trafford fans have started to question whether the 28-year-old will come to be thought of in the same way as Juan Sebastián Verón.

Berbatov’s sympathizers – and there are many – will say this is too early to judge him and there is a certain amount of logic in that. Equally, however, it does not reflect well on him that, over on Manchester City’s websites yesterday, they were congratulating themselves for having signed Robinho rather than Berbatov – despite the Brazilian’s own settling-in issues.

Sometimes it just does not work out. A particular player might not be able to cope with being at a particular club. That player might not automatically fit into the team’s style of play. In Verón’s case the Argentinian was a sublime passer of the ball, a far better player at Old Trafford than people like to remember, even if it is true that he could not fulfill his early promise. It was simply an idea of Ferguson’s that did not work. The worry for United is that the same is starting to be said of Berbatov.

not just the ones where you give your opinion about how you think you are, like i dont want those questionaires

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Not sure if this helps but try the links below.
ADD = Attention deficit disorder
I work with ASD kids = Autistic spectrum disorder
Good luck

Just wondering what the official tests are that doctors give patients to diagnose ADD/ADHD, not the self tests etc.. sources would be appreciated

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It depends on the doctor and if he is going to administer any psych testing. My psychiatrist just listened to my symptoms and diagnosed according to the DSM-IV TR. That is primarily how psychiatric disorders are diagnosed.

My daughter is being reevaluated for her trianual this year. She has an IEP for speech. She also has a central auditory processing disorder which has been diagnosed by an audiologist. I would like to know what tests they should give her so that I can educate myself on what they are for. Please include a complete list of tests for ADHD and auditory memory?

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You have to sort out a couple of things – first schools cannot do medical diagnosis AND a medical diagnosis does not meen a student will get services in school.
If you child already has an ADHD diagnosis from a Medical professional (MD) not a nurse practioner or Psychologist, the school will look at the following things (dependent on what was done outside)
IQ – there almost always has to be an IQ test – if one was done by a Psychatrist withint the last year – outside of school School will use a different test or perhaps review the previous results.
Behavior Assesment Scale for Children (BASC)- this is a checklist filled out by you and teacher on what kinds of things bother your child, what behaviors are seen in various settings.
ABAS – is a tool for looking at adaptability – gets to safety concerns, self cares, independence etc. also a checklist for school and home
Academic TEsting – typically a Woodcock Johnson – to look at how the student applies their IQ
Work skills or org skills check list – to see what the issues are in work completion, time on task, organization etc.
Observations in several settings.
Perhaps a Speech/Language screening to get at processing and pragmatic language.
APD is not a disability category that is provided by most states so what they would look at is the impact of the issues on academic functioning. Working memory and processing speed you get out of the IQ and Academic testing.
There would likely be a Sensory Processing set of tools – checklists, observations etc.
That said – in most school districts you also have to have an educational need. So you can have a disability but if you are still passing your coursework – you may not qualify for service.
The key would be is the outside ADHD diagnosis from a medical professional and dated within the last year.
I’m sure there are a ton more but this is what I do and quite typically will give a pretty good overall look at a student.