How to diagnose ADHD? Diagnostic process for Attention Deficit Disorder. 7

ADHD diagnostic process has to be done correctly. Leading expert on holistic treatment of attention deficit disorder discusses how to approach attention deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnostic process. How to evaluate a child with possible ADHD? Why children with possible ADHD diagnosis must be see by experts who strictly follow ADHD diagnostic process?

ADHD diagnostic process is very important for correct diagnosis of ADHD. Dr. Anton Titov, MD. Only specialist in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder should evaluate children with potential ADHD. Many diagnoses of ADHD are wrong and mistaken. Video interview with top expert in holistic treatment of ADHD. ADHD Without Drugs. Teachers at school and parents fill questionnaires. Dr. Sanford Newmark, MD. ADHD diagnostic process has to be followed by teachers and parents diligently. They contain ADHD diagnostic checklist. But detailed clinical evaluation of child with potential ADHD is required. ADHD diagnostic assessment centers around time-consuming pediatric behavioral neurologist examination. Child suspected to have ADHD should have several visits to the evaluating physician. Medical second opinion helps to make sure ADHD diagnosis is correct and complete. Medical second opinion also helps to choose the best treatment for ADHD. Dr. Anton Titov, MD.  Diagnostic test for children with suspected ADHD should be performed only by an experienced neurological specialist. Video interview with top expert in pediatric attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD, ADD) and autism. ADHD diagnostic process requires deep understanding by the doctor and parents. Medical second opinion confirms that ADHD diagnosis is correct and complete. Medical second opinion also confirms that ADD treatment is required. Medical second opinion helps to choose the best treatment for autism and ADHD. Get medical second opinion on ADHD and autism spectrum disorder and be confident that your treatment is the best. ADHD diagnostic process. Dr. Anton Titov, MD. You mention that you spend on average about two hours evaluating the child to make ADHD diagnosis. Or to reject ADHD diagnosis. You talk to the child and parents separately and together. You talk to teachers or other caregivers. Perhaps a parent does not have the luxury of access to such expertise. Perhaps a parent can only consult a community-based pediatrician. Dr. Anton Titov, MD. How to ensure that a child is evaluated for ADHD in the best way? Dr. Sanford Newmark, MD (Integrative Medicine ADHD specialist, UCSF). That is a really hard thing. There are specialists to diagnose ADHD. My prejudice is this. Only physicians with real knowledge of the ADHD field should conduct an ADHD diagnostic process. Imagine that a pediatrician saw somebody with diabetes in the United States. This pediatrician would refer a patient to an endocrinologist pretty quickly.  The same thing should happen with ADHD. General practitioners or pediatricians must refer a patient to child psychologist or a developmental pediatrician or child psychiatrist. But unfortunately that’s not always possible. Dr. Sanford Newmark, MD. A general pediatrician should break visits up and say: “Okay. ADHD? Let’s spend a half an hour to evaluate the child. Then we will do the diagnostic forms. Then a child and parents will come back. I will spend another half an hour with them.” At least in an hour you can make much better evaluation than in a 15 or 20 minutes off-hand visit. But then I also think this. Many doctors don’t really know ADHD. They shouldn’t be dealing with ADHD then. They should refer children to ADHD specialists. Just like with other specialized medical problems. General physicians may not know a lot about specialized problems. ADHD is very specialized. But that may not be possible in certain places. It is not possible internationally, in under-served places. There just may not be ADHD specialists available. Dr. Anton Titov, MD. General pediatrician can break the visits down. They should not think about ADHD diagnosis as a “one visit problem”. Because it certainly can affect the child for many years to come. Rushing to diagnosis may lead to pretty significant pharmaceutical therapies. ADD diagnosis is serious decision to make. Dr. Sanford Newmark. It is a serious decision to make. How to treat ADHD is a serious decision. Even if a doctor decides that they have ADHD. You know pediatricians should put the amount of time necessary into dealing with ADHD. Physicians should breaking down visits into several parts. That is often what the pediatric residents ask me. Dr. Anton Titov, MD. The people who are being trained here ask me. “So how can we do this?” “We only have these short visits.” I say. “Well, you have short visits but you are allowed to schedule more of them.” If that’s what it takes to evaluate a child for ADHD properly. That’s what physicians should do. Dr. Anton Titov, MD. Is there a role for other nutritional supplements in ADHD therapy? For example, fish oil, fatty acids, iron supplements. Can they be used in the treatment of ADHD? Dr. Sanford Newmark, MD. Absolutely. These are useful food supplements that have been proven by research. For example, there have been a number of clinical trials showing that omega-3 fatty acids are helpful for ADHD. Omega-3 fatty acids are usually given as fish oil. One meta-analysis was done. This analysis combined several clinical trials. It showed that fish oil was about 40% forty percent as effective as the pharmaceutical stimulants. Fish oil had very few side effects. We also noticed that slow iron levels are associated with ADHD. Treating low iron levels with iron supplements can help ADHD. A recent clinical trial looked at iron use in the brain by functional MRI. Dr. Anton Titov, MD. Study showed that iron metabolism in the brain was different in kids with ADHD. Zinc is another food supplement that has been studied in ADHD. Dr. Sanford Newmark, MD. Some clinical trials show that zinc levels are important in ADHD process. Supplementing diet with zinc can help kids with ADHD. ADHD diagnostic process. Video interview with top expert in holistic treatment of ADHD. Only specialists should evaluate kids with ADHD.