ADHD diagnosis help

[ciyoa]

I'm new on here....

9yr old son going through assessment process for ADHD, had school assessment and apparently had a fantastic lesson with no issues or elements of impulsivity or needing to be kept 'on task' at all!!

Does this mean likely not adhd?

Has the QB test booked for 3 weeks time.
Dh and I are certain he has at least aspects of ADHD, but I feel these are less obvious as we have been using strategies for a good while now.
It's not the label as such we want, but the validation to us that he finds things more difficult and that just 'extra discipline' isn't what is needed, (as some family members suggest), as we are strict but it has little effect as he just doesn't think of consequences before acting. All agree (school, family) that he is not malicious.

Oh, just so frustrating!

We go from bring more patient and understanding, to being tired and frustrated and saying "you're 9 now for goodness sake!"

Any ideas much appreciated.

Did anyone get a diagnosis despite this kind of assessment?

The class room is the most structured place where things go in a set pattern and people have to be quiet when they are told to, so arguably the place where you are least likely to see behaviour outbursts.

But behaviour outbursts are NOT a reliable guide to ADHD anyway.

If a child is working four times as hard an a nt kid to stay on task, they deserve recognition for that.

I'd press on and find out what the issues are, and ensure that the evidence of attention and impulsivity from less structured settings goes in. You may need to keep a diary and think of examples from other places like play ground etc.
Also look back at the time before you used the strategies.

If you dare, take them away and see what happens....

If you don't ask, you won't know.

Hope this helps

I'm going to bump this up a bit

there are some mums with adhd dcs who can help you

a lot more than I can

When DS (6) was being assessed, they asked the school to complete a questionnaire where they teacher was able to say what DS was usually like as opposed to just someone sitting and observing a lesson.

Before our appointment with the consultant, we made a list of things we felt we of concern i.e. We had to put him in 1-2-1 swimming lessons as he could not pay attention, stop football training etc. we also listed other things that I didn't think were relevant such as DS can hyper-focus ona film, game etc to the exclusion of everything else.

There are a number of things that they are looking for which need to occur in more than one setting. This is why it is much more that a need for rules/discipline (been told DS needs us to be stricter but also told by some family we are too strict!!)

When DS was being assessed by the consultant, I gave him my iPhone to play with to occupy him whilst I spoke to the doctors. I remember thinking that DS was so quiet that they wouldn't believe me that we had any issues with him which is why I nearly fell off my chair when the consultant said it was clear he was going to diagnose ADHD - I hadn't noticed (perhaps so used to it) that although DS was 100% engrossed in the game, he had changed positions from sitting, to standing, lying on his back, lying on his front all without breaking attention!

Try not to worry about one assessment & keep pushing if you think there is a problem. Perhaps keep a diary of behaviour so you can see any patterns or at least have a record of things - I used this and it was surprising that things I wouldn't have thought had anything to do with ADHD helped the consultant to understand.

(I will say at this point - before we were put on the list to see the consultant, we had to be assessed by Barnardo's to see if it was a parenting issue. When they were satisfied that we had rules, consequences, routines etc in place we were fast tracked for an appointment.)

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions - will try my best to help.

Thanks guys for your replies. W have the QB test in a couple of weeks so will see what that says.
You're right, we have so many strategies in use already that I forget!
I will tr the diary for examples to relay, e are just so used to it we don't always notice, as you said...

He s ADHD on something else at school (not relating to himself) and asked me what it meant.
I explained it in simple terms and he said " that sounds like me! Maybe we should ask the doctor mum?" Bless him! So I explained we felt that way too etc, just funny that he recognised it too??

Clever lad

Update!
We had the QB test last week, which showed higher than "average" activity and lower than "average" attention for a 9 yr old boy. No surprises there!

I'm finding it frustrating though, as they said they are still not able to even say it is likely adhd as need to present to a psychiatrist now, may need more assessments, need to rule out other things and may have ASD and sensory issue traits instead/ as well as!

Looking like it will be summer before we know ??problem being that no advice forthcoming to us or school until diagnosis.

He was in trouble this week for defacing furniture, he was in a situation where was expected to be quiet and still for 40 mins, and happened to have a badge on him. He had fiddled with it and scratched his name. School coming down heavily, and obv I have explained unacceptable behaviour, graffiti, got him to write apology letter etc, but I know he was just distracted and didn't think about the consequences. They treat him like everything is purposeful when it truly isn't.

What is all the more frustrating us that we self referred to camhs 2 years ago and they dismissed us after 1 assessment putting everything down to his hearing impairment. I now feel we are just 2 years behind where we could be.

Anyone got any advice? Does it get better with school once you have a diagnosis?

What is the QB test?

My six year old has recently been diagnosed with ADHD. During the consultation his Paed was reluctant to give the diagnosis but she has given it to us in writing. Paed has told us to go on a parenting course before she will refer to ADHD clinic.
I took DS to a private Dr for an ASD test after seeing he Paed. This Dr diagnosed both adhd and ASD. She recommended that DS take medication so I now have to wait for his Paeds response.

School have been really good. My son already has measures in place such as movement breaks 3 or 4 times an hour. DS also has a 1-2-1 so there isn't much more support for them to add post diagnosis.

Hi orangepudding, sorry to hijack thread, my ds is also 6 and recently diagnosed with ADD (already has a diagnosis of asd), he is on medikinet xl. I'd be really interested to find out how your ds goes on medication and which one they recommend.

Ds2 is 12, and has just been diagnosed with ADHD. We have had a lot of contact with various professiona;ls over the years: as a toddler he had a huge speech and language delay, which he overcame; then we had concerns over his ability to regulate emotions.

We finally got the diagnosis of ADHD after a two hour interview with just DH and me, and then the completion of Connors questionnaires by both us and his teacher. (he also had previous pysch assessments, which raised concerns over attention levels).

He is so clearly ADHD that I cannot believe we missed it for so long. He has just started on 18mg Concerta, which is going to be increased in a week to 27mg. Already I can see an improvement in his behaviour.

My DS1 has been diagnosed with both ASD and ADHD. The ASD took less than a year to diagnose, even though we always thought his problem was more attention based.

His ADHD was diagnosed a few months ago after about 5 years of Connor's forms, and the final straw was that he started getting into trouble at school because of his impulsiveness and inattention. He has started atomoxetine now (having had a go at medikinet (ritalin) and finding the side effects too much) and he can now concentrate in class, is high on the waiting list for a superselective secondary school and is likely to get level 6 in his maths. He can now hold a conversation more easily so his friendship group has improved.

I would say that of the two diagnoses, the ADHD diagnosis has made the most impact and I would definitely recommend chasing one if you feel that is your DSs problem.

DS diagnosed aged 7 with ADHD and Dyslexia. Class observations were good although he was 'restless' at times but what 7 year old isn't. Despite this, we knew there was definitely something 'different' about his behaviour/energy/inattention that was affecting him at school significantly. The dx for us did not mean a plethora of help at school, but it did put him above the radar and he got more attention and some allowances for poor attention span. He's now an adorable almost 12 year old and is doing really well at first year of seniors. Looking back to his dx, I was petrified of the future, but taking one day at time helped and having realistic expectations was a bonus. As long as they enjoy school and want to be there, your half way home.