Dd’s School counselor thinks she has adhd

amother

Ecru

Mon, Dec 17 2018, 7:38 pm

I just feel so lost right now. I don’t know how to process this. She’s my oldest. I’m not ready for this whole new phase of adulting. There are so many options, so many directions I can go in and I feel like whatever I do will affect her for the rest of her life. I’m terrified.

amother

Ecru

Mon, Dec 17 2018, 9:57 pm

seeker wrote:

What are the so many options and directions? One step at a time - Get an expert evaluation to see if the counselor is right. Did you have concerns before or was it only raised by the school?

She wants me to get a concentration test done, basically the kid sits in front of a computer and her reactions are then analyzed. Or I can skip that and go directly to a psychiatrist.
I was fine with her at home I didn’t think she had an actual problem until her teachers started calling. Once it crossed my mind that she may have an issue I started noticing things at home as well.

amother

Pink

Mon, Dec 17 2018, 10:33 pm

The school counselor is not able to diagnose. If you want to know for sure you should have her evaluated. I’ve had speech therapists, social workers tell me things they thought about my kids and they were wrong. Only someone who is licensed to diagnose can say for sure.

seeker

Mon, Dec 17 2018, 10:37 pm

Who would be administering the concentration test? I have heard of these things having validity, but it would need appropriate context.

Going directly to a psychiatrist for a childhood ADHD evaluation is not the usual route. It's more commonly assessed by neuropsychologists or educational psychologists.

You're right that this is a new phase of adulting. Deep breaths, you will rise to the occasion. Give yourself a pat on the back for encouragement, you'll ask for help where you need to and will figure this out one step at a time. You got this. And it is extremely unlikely that anything you do in the near future will scar her for life. Assuming here that you are relatively normal Wink

LittleDucky

Mon, Dec 17 2018, 11:12 pm

School counselors cannot diagnose. Neither can social workers. You should see a school or educational psychologist. They will do multiple tests, not just one. Psychiatrist is appropriate later on for medication evaluation if needed.
ADHD is often misdiagnosed. For your kid to have the diagnosis you likely would have seen the symptoms. Symptoms should be in multiple situations- like school, home, work etc.

enjoying kids

Tue, Dec 18 2018, 7:50 am

It is so important to get a differential diagnosis. Many conditions and problems can masquerade as ADHD, from poor chemistry with the teacher, to a bullying issue, to fluid in the ears, to sleep apnea! The school counselor should not be making armchair diagnoses!

oneofakind

Tue, Dec 18 2018, 7:59 am

I was a school counselor and I agree. The source of the symptoms can be many things besides ADHD. It is genetic so if someone else has it, it's possible she has it too. An evaluation by a neuropsychologist is the way to go. Most importantly are the recommendations at the back of the written evaluation. They will give you a guide what to do from here and will guide the teachers.

Going directly to a psychiatrist or this "concentration test" will not give you accurate information at all.

mha3484

Tue, Dec 18 2018, 8:05 am

I can tell you what we did for my son if it helps you. We started with counseling in Nursery (4 year olds) since the early childhood director was concerned about appropriate social skills. After a few sessions the therapist asked us if we ever looked into ADHD. He was still pretty young so we just kept with the counseling/behavior therapy and tried some natural supplements. Towards the end of the school year we were finding it was not totally enough so we went to a neurologist who had the school fill out questionnaires and talked to us and recommended one medication that was appropriate for younger children. He would make some progress then hit a plateau so we tried a developmental pediatrician when my son was in pre 1a. She was fantastic. She met with us for close to two hours and had the school fill out a ton of different forms and she was very confident in diagnosing ADHD.

In 1st grade we decided to full a full eval with a neuro-psychologist. It was very worthwhile. It gave us a much deeper understanding of his strengths and weaknesses, gave the school recommendations for how to work with him and when we needed to make some changes school wise they were available to give feedback on what they thought would be good choices.

I think in the beginning while you are still figuring all of this out, a dev ped is a much better choice then a psychiatrist. Its more whole child focused, less here are the meds come back next month. If I can help you please feel feel free to reach out. I know how stressful it is!

amother

Lilac

Tue, Dec 18 2018, 8:23 am

amother wrote:

How old is your daughter? It’s so hard when it’s the first child- no basis of comparison! My oldest DD was always a little out to lunch, but I thought it was simply a personality quirk.

I wish the the school had raised the topic of ADHD. She struggled for a long time but since she was only inattentive and not disruptive, no one said anything and it never occurred to me.

It took a random conversation with her doctor, who suggested investigating further and referred us to psychiatry. They said it was clear cut - ADHD inattentive subtype. That was a huge turning point and things have improved immensely since then. I am sad about all the struggling she had to do over the years and I wish that the school would have said something but no one ever did - not until they wondered why she suddenly showed massive improvement .

I wish you the best of luck and clarity with your decision and I hope this leads to good things for you and your DD!

amother

Pink

Tue, Dec 18 2018, 8:27 am

I think before you get overwhelmed with all the information here you should speak to your pediatrician and ask for guidance.

I’m advising you to do this from personal experience. I have taken one of my children for so many evaluations and have never really gotten a diagnosis. Everyone agrees they see the issues.... some suggest this, some that ... at the end I found my pediatrician to be very knowledgeable and was able to help us more than everyone else.