Post by Veronika on Nov 4, 2003 16:48:04 GMT -5
How Can We Tell If a Child Has ADD?
Although very young children may show characteristics of ADD, some of these behaviors are in fact normal for their age. Even with older children, other factors, including environmental influences, can produce behavior resembling ADD. Therefore, a diagnosis of ADD cannot be made by teachers or school administrators acting alone, but rather by a team of professionals working with the parents and the child believed to have ADD. The team of school professionals follows a twotier evaluation process to properly identify children with ADD. As suggested by the Professional Group for Attention and Related Disorders (PGARD), the first tier involves a psychiatric evaluation to determine whether or not the child has ADD. The second tier involves an educational evaluation to determine the best program to meet each child's academic and behavioral needs.
Any diagnoses of ADD must be done by examining the child's history through interviews with parents, teachers, and health care professionals in order to determine when the behavior began and whether the child displays the behavior characteristics of ADD in many different settings.
To help with this, parents and teachers should complete a form asking them to measure and rate the frequency and severity of the child's behavior according to a fixed rating scale. The team will examine this information and determine a course of action agreed to by the parents. Physicians should perform a medical exam to check for problems with hearing or vision, and perhaps may administer neurological examinations. Parents are frequently requested to provide detailed family and developmental history as well as information about the child's abilities, interests, and behavior. A specialist should visit the classroom to observe the student's behavior and examine the amount of work accomplished over a set period of time. The specialist, frequently a psychologist, will assess the child, his or her ability to control his or her actions, and check for other emotional and learning disabilities.
While there is no single test for ADD, an accurate diagnosis can be made by combining observations, tests, and other measurements gathered from parents, teachers, psychologists, physicians, and the child.
Once the observation and testing is complete, the team will review the results and decide whether or not the child has ADD, and if the child needs special services. From this information, the specialists involved can develop a treatment and an education plan which directly address the child's learning problems and characteristic behavior.
Although very young children may show characteristics of ADD, some of these behaviors are in fact normal for their age. Even with older children, other factors, including environmental influences, can produce behavior resembling ADD. Therefore, a diagnosis of ADD cannot be made by teachers or school administrators acting alone, but rather by a team of professionals working with the parents and the child believed to have ADD. The team of school professionals follows a twotier evaluation process to properly identify children with ADD. As suggested by the Professional Group for Attention and Related Disorders (PGARD), the first tier involves a psychiatric evaluation to determine whether or not the child has ADD. The second tier involves an educational evaluation to determine the best program to meet each child's academic and behavioral needs.
Any diagnoses of ADD must be done by examining the child's history through interviews with parents, teachers, and health care professionals in order to determine when the behavior began and whether the child displays the behavior characteristics of ADD in many different settings.
To help with this, parents and teachers should complete a form asking them to measure and rate the frequency and severity of the child's behavior according to a fixed rating scale. The team will examine this information and determine a course of action agreed to by the parents. Physicians should perform a medical exam to check for problems with hearing or vision, and perhaps may administer neurological examinations. Parents are frequently requested to provide detailed family and developmental history as well as information about the child's abilities, interests, and behavior. A specialist should visit the classroom to observe the student's behavior and examine the amount of work accomplished over a set period of time. The specialist, frequently a psychologist, will assess the child, his or her ability to control his or her actions, and check for other emotional and learning disabilities.
While there is no single test for ADD, an accurate diagnosis can be made by combining observations, tests, and other measurements gathered from parents, teachers, psychologists, physicians, and the child.
Once the observation and testing is complete, the team will review the results and decide whether or not the child has ADD, and if the child needs special services. From this information, the specialists involved can develop a treatment and an education plan which directly address the child's learning problems and characteristic behavior.