We sought out a dx with a psychiatrist when we saw her really suffering with self-esteem issues. On the verge of being depressed. The constant corrections in behavior (calm down, pay attention, etc.) at school and at home were really taking a toll on her.
She was struggling to do what typical kids could do seemingly without effort. Socially the behaviors were also affecting her.
This pretty much sums it up for us as well. DD's diagnosis is not ADHD, but the anxiety and impulse control issues were making things very hard for her. I made the call when I watched her at a school function meant to be fun, struggling so hard to hold herself together. We started the process for a referral to a psychiatrist soon after.
But at that point we had had her in therapy for a long time (over a year) and tried as many other avenues as we felt were feasible for us and her before medication. She was also older, 4th grade, and I knew that vs. her peers she was quite delayed vs. just being a little immature.
Beth, mom to older DD (8/01) and younger DD (10/06) and always missing Leah (4/22 - 5/1/05)