Teens and ADHD diagnosis?

[LBW]

Has anyone on here had their teenager diagnosed with ADHD? I've suspected for a while that my oldest (14 year old boy) has ADHD. Both of his younger brothers have been diagnosed with it through developmental pediatrician evaluations. It has affected them more severely, and I think I've let some of my oldest's issues slip because they were minor in comparison to what we see in his brothers. But, he's in high school now, and I'm starting to see major impacts on his grades and overall happiness.

Would we have to go through a dev pediatrician for him? Wait lists around here can be 6-12 months. Or can a pediatrician diagnose? I think he needs a low-dose of a stimulant to stay focused in class and curb some impulsive behavior.

[georgiegirl]

Our pediatrician's practice has one nurse practitioner who manages kids with ADHD. If your situation, I'd probably try something through the pediatrician first. Since you are already familiar with ADHD and meds, and you think you know he has ADHD, I don't think waiting 6-12 mo for the developmental pediatrician is necessary. You can always make the appointment and then cancel it if you have gotten his issues under control by then (with the regular ped.)


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[american_mama]

My 14 year old DD1 was diagnosed last summer. Her major issue is procrastination and disorganization with school, most especially long-term projects, and some distractability in life. No teacher ever suggested she had ADHD or any issue we should look into, and she was a stellar student until about 7th grade, when her problems with projects in English and History in particular became an issue.

We started with her pediatrician (one particular pediatrician in the practice is the starting point for ADHD). She did a quick assessment, thought DD1 had some issues that merited more assessment, and gave us some referrals. We went to our university School of Education and had 2 long appointments with an educational psychologist, I believe, and one follow up. We went there because our insurance covers ADHD assessment at a very high rate already and it seemed like they covered it even more at the School of Education, plus the school also had the most appointments available.

We have not done medication for DD1. If we do, I'd go back to the regular pediatrician who I believe will prescribe it. I may be a little in denial here, but I think DD1 is a borderline case. The actual ADHD diagnosis part of the assessment was a bit boilerplate, as were the suggestions (albeit they were very comprehensive). DD1 doesn't need more time on tests, for instance, and is actually a great test taker. She does need some teaching/learning to go a bit slower on tests, especially if she finds them boring, so she doesn't make careless errors.

Instead of medication, I hired a weekly organizational tutor for her in the fall. That was helping, but the tutor quit in January. DD1 is still doing pretty well in school, using an agenda better. One problem subject from last year is much better this year. Oddly, high school is proving slightly better for her becuase she likes her classes more (more challenging, better taught) and she is doing her homework quite well, making a lunch every night before bed to make her very early mornings easier. Projects in English are still a problem, but slightly less than her two years in middle school. I just don't know that I see problems great enough to necessitate medication.

I was surprised at how I learned a lot from the assessment. In fact, some of the finer details were so much to take in that I probably still haven't gotten it, but some of the broad generalizations were new and helpful for me. The psychologists written suggestions were a bit boilerplate, but her verbal suggestions were more individualized and helpful.

[Kindra178]

If a sibling has an ADHD diagnosis, there is a very high chance another sibling will have it.


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[lizzywednesday]

DH was diagnosed as an older teen/college student; I don't recall his mentioning a developmental pediatrician, as he'd outgrown pediatrics by then.

My DD, though she is only 7, was diagnosed by an evaluation conducted by docs at a psych clinic. Her pediatric group, while wonderful in and of itself, didn't feel comfortable making the diagnosis themselves when we initially came to them in the fall of 2015. Obviously, your mileage may vary.

As it was, it still took us almost a year from the initial evaluation paperwork to get to the actual diagnostic meeting to get DD diagnosed! Specialist visits are going to be a PITB as far as wait-lists are concerned, and this is even in an area where there are a lot of great providers.

[LBW]

Thanks, everyone. I've made an appt with his pediatrician for a consult next week. If needed, I'll take the next steps and pursue appts with a specialist.