How do they test for ADD?

asim

asim

asim

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I've heard that many people suffer from ADD (attention deficit disorder) or ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and a lot of them dont even know it.

I've read about the symptoms but I was just curious if anyone knows how they diagnose it?

Does anyone here suffer from it?

Any info would be helpful thanks.
 
Wikipedia is your friend

Apologies if you were expecting a response from someone with first-hand experience or extensive knowledge on the matter, but hey, there are all the facts, anyway :)

Edit: Whoops, the Wikipedia article on the matter seems to be pretty heavily Americanised, but all the information about the actual diagnosis techniques is still there. Also see this article on About.com

*av
 
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Sorry what did you say? I wasn't concentr.....oooooh a squirrel!

[runs outside and chases squirrel]

SiriusB
 
Should have realised not to post a serious thread in the middle of the night. Everyones drunk.

Thanks for the wiki Al Vallario
 
asim said:
Should have realised not to post a serious thread in the middle of the night. Everyones drunk.

Thanks for the wiki Al Vallario
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Mickey_D is normally on around this time as he's in the US. I believe he will have the information you're looking for.
 
GP Notebook link to overview of UK recommendations

ICD-10 Definition (ICD-10 is the International Classification of Diseases, produced by the WHO, it lists the criteria for diagnosis of diseases, and is what tends to be used by UK psychiatrists when diagnosing mental heath disorders)

eMedicine link (admittedly from a US perspective, where they tend to use DSM-IV, rather than ICD-10, but gives an excellent, if detailed, overview)
 
Trixter, j00ni thanks for that info. Hoping some other people will have first hand experience with this as well.
 
I was diagnosed with ADHD about 10 years ago.
At first I saw 2 different doctors at the local surgery, then I started seeing a psychiatrist, who put me on medication. Was taking Ritalin at first, but later I started taking concerta instead as it was more convenient.

The only way I think it really effected me was having a quite short temper, I'd be fine one minute, then suddenly, bang, I'd go mental. I can't really remember a huge detail about it though.
Nowadays I'm over it, haven't taken meds for 4-5 years and very rarely get really angry (can only think of 2 times when I have been. One caused by my step dad saying something bang out of order, and the other one I was very drunk..... but nm that.... :o )

I still can't work out why I was diagnosed with ADHD rather than ADD, I was never hyperactive :/
 
asim said:
I've heard that many people suffer from ADD (attention deficit disorder) or ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and a lot of them dont even know it.

I've read about the symptoms but I was just curious if anyone knows how they diagnose it?

Does anyone here suffer from it?

Any info would be helpful thanks.
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Bit of a contenious subject, I'd be more concerned as to WHY you'd want to know. ADHD is a poorly understood group of symptoms that are called ADHD just to simplify the process and justify a simple generalised treatment.

If you think you have a poor attention span, or are acting innapropriately, I'd personally take steps to address the problem rather than attempting to buy into a psychological model. I've worked with kids who suffer from ADHD and can guaruntee you that they can be right little *****, but then again kids without ADHD can be little ***** as well. Labels aren't always useful.
 
I have a friend who's son was diagnosed with ADHD and is on medication. This led me to start doing some research on the subject.

I can say that ADHD explains who I was as a child and onto ADD as an adult. This is just observation from who I am, life experience and from questioning people close to me.

It would explain things but thats not to say I have it. That diagnosis should most definitely be made by professionals. I just wanted some info from those with first hand experience so that I could see whether I should actually pursue it any further.
 
asim said:
It would explain things but thats not to say I have it. That diagnosis should most definitely be made by professionals. I just wanted some info from those with first hand experience so that I could see whether I should actually pursue it any further.
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Why? What is it you find unsatisfactory about yourself?

Do not place authority of your health into the first person who would tell you what is 'wrong' with you...

If you want to understand yourself better, the best person to help you do that is yourself...
 
It's a simple questionnaire which they give the parents:

Can you be bothered to discipline your children?

Yes?

No?

If Yes, your child is fine.

If no, your child has ADD. Don't worry; whenever someone complains about the horrid little waste of cells you like to call 'son' running up and down the train, hitting people and screaming, you can just say "They have ADD."

You don't even have to get your child to stop what they're doing - it's that simple!

Here's the Ritalin. Welcome to the world of ADD; it will never be your responsibility again.

*n
 
cleanbluesky said:
Why? What is it you find unsatisfactory about yourself?

Do not place authority of your health into the first person who would tell you what is 'wrong' with you...

If you want to understand yourself better, the best person to help you do that is yourself...
Click to expand...

I'd rather not disect all that I dont like about myself in the middle of a forum. If the best person to help me understand myself is me then I already know the answer. Not knowing about it has just meant I've found ways to cope or hide the issues subconsciously. But sometimes I wish I'd known earlier because then I could have managed my life better.
 
I read in the Daily Mail that fish oils are very, very beneficial for people with ADHD; I think it was in yesterdays.
 
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