Getting an ADHD diagnosis?

[~cassie]

I spoke to my 6 yr old sons teacher last night.  We had a really good conversation and I asked her what she thought of the possibility of him having ADHD and she thinks it is definitely a possibility for him.    I sent her the ADHD checklist I picked up from the pedi the other day and I have one to fill out as well.  What are the next steps in the process?  Do I set an appt with the pedi to get a referral to a psychologist to do a full eval?  What then?

[Emmeline II]

Whether or not you need a referral is likely up to your insurance; if you would just like a name you may be able to just call your ped's office and ask.

We went straight from a family therapist (pre-diagnosis) to a psychiatrist because it was clear to us at that point that ds would need medication. Ds also goes to a CBT for therapy.

Sometimes parents go to a psychologist first because they are afraid a psychiatrist will pressure them to medicate, though I've also heard parents complain that their psychologist was pressuring them on the medication issue anyway, for which they would need to go to an MD, so .

In any case it would probably be a good idea to also get a more in depth eval by a developmental-behavioral ped led team, though it can take awhile to see one; we waited 9 months--the hospital clinic required a referral.