+ How does ADHD assessment work in your practice?

During an ADHD assessment, I will gather information in many ways to determine if ADHD is causing your child’s attention challenges. These include:

• Clinical Interviews - Talking with parents, teachers and your child.
• Standardized Questionnaires - Completed by parents, teachers and your child.
• Neuropsychological Tests - IQ, attention, inhibition, executive functioning, memory, and academics
• Other Data Points - School records, classroom observation, and your child's behavior during testing

Whether or not your child has ADHD, assessments help discover the root causes of academic, behavioral, or social difficulties. With this information, we can develop a plan that will help your child overcome challenges and build on their strengths.

+ What is Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder?

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a condition that impacts between 5-10% of children and adolescents. Signs of ADHD, including the ones described above, are usually present during elementary school. They might be subtle, or they might be obvious. In spite of challenges with attention, kids with ADHD can be successful and happy with the right support.

+ How is ADHD diagnosed?

Some kids are diagnosed with ADHD by their pediatrician based on rating scales completed by parents and teachers. This works well if you are just looking for diagnosis and medication, and if your child does not have any other learning challenges or mental health conditions.

Neuropsychological assessments provide more certainty about diagnosis, since many factors (school environment, learning disabilities, depression, anxiety, giftedness, etc.) can impact attention. This approach gives us a clear picture of what is going on, how attention impacts your child across settings, and what can be done to help them thrive.

+ Are there different types of ADHD?

Yes! Research shows that most individuals (about 50%) have both inattentive and impulsive/hyperactive symptoms of ADHD. This is called combined type. About a third (35%) of people with ADHD have trouble paying attention and getting organized, but are not impulsive or hyperactive. This is called inattentive type. Finally, a small number of people (15%) struggle to inhibit impulses and control their behavior, but do not have difficulty paying attention. This is called impulsive/hyperactive type.

+ What else can cause attention problems?

There are many different reasons why your child might be struggling to pay attention or regulate their behavior. Many children with learning disabilities avoid tasks that are challenging for them. Depression and anxiety both cause concentration difficulties. In addition, gifted kids often appear inattentive because classes are moving too slowly for them. This is another reason why a comprehensive assessment is important for diagnosing and treating ADHD. Questionnaires alone might be able to tell us if your child is having trouble with attention and impulsivity, but they won’t tell us why that is happening.

+ How can an ADHD test for teens and children help?

The first step in supporting your child is having a clear understanding of why they are struggling. By doing a comprehensive assessment, we look at the “whole child” to make sure that we aren’t missing factors that are impacting your child’s ability to succeed at school, with friends, and at home. For example, almost half of kids with ADHD also have a learning disability, so we make sure to look at their academic skills during an assessment. Once we have a clear picture of your child’s profile, we can put together a system of supports across settings to help them reach their potential.

+ Where do your ADHD assessments in Palo Alto take place?

My office is located at 630 University Avenue, Suite A, Palo Alto, California 94301. I serve Palo Alto and the surrounding areas between San Francisco and San Jose—including San Mateo, Redwood City, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Menlo Park and Los Altos.