[SingDanceRunLife]

I’ve thought, for many years that I might have ADHD, and have tried to get evaluated, but everyone keeps either saying no, it’s just your other diagnoses that are presenting in that way, or well, maybe, but nothing has ever been done.

I FINALLY have a psych NP who is willing to listen and talk about it, so I’m very happy about that. She said she wanted to wait a few weeks after doing a few med adjustments, related to my bipolar and PTSD, which makes perfect sense to me.

What sorts of things should I expect in our conversation? How are adults even evaluated? I know it’s not diagnostic, but I did take the ADHD test here on PC, and my score was very high (42), and I’m not at all surprised.

[sarahsweets]

Adhd is diagnosed by taking a thorough history and sometimes report cards or insights from others. I say sometimes because as adults we dont often have access to things like report cards.

[SingDanceRunLife]

Originally Posted by sarahsweets

Adhd is diagnosed by taking a thorough history and sometimes report cards or insights from others. I say sometimes because as adults we dont often have access to things like report cards.

Yeah, I definitely don’t have report cards from my childhood, or even middle or high school. They weren’t anything you wanted to keep lol.

[quietlylost]

There are some screening assessments for ADHD including the Adult Self-Report Symptom Questionnaire (ASRS) that you can find online. Not all providers will use that, though. Sometimes they will refer you to neuropsychological testing which is unfortunately not very helpful as it doesn't accurately diagnose ADHD. Usually as adults the best way to diagnose is through a good history and a good relationship with your provider. If your provider trusts you and can let you explain your challenges then it's likely that they will be able to help make a diagnosis if one is accurate or not.

That being said, it's also easy for providers to want to defer ADHD and focus on other issues as they feel more familiar with things like Bipolar Disorder and have a lot of stigma and bias around ADHD.

Personally I had a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder long before I was diagnosed with ADHD. I was able to get the ADHD diagnosis after working with a good provider who spent a year and a half getting to know me and trying things like non-stimulants to help with my challenges. Ultimately I got the diagnosis and medication and it's been life changing. I hope you can have a good experience as well. Good luck!

[Scienna]

Originally Posted by SingDanceRunLife

What sorts of things should I expect in our conversation? How are adults even evaluated? I know it’s not diagnostic, but I did take the ADHD test here on PC, and my score was very high (42), and I’m not at all surprised.

Hi @SingDanceRunLife

Congrats on finally having someone who is willing to listen and explore ADHD things with you!

I don't know for certain what the conversation might be like. From my own experience, it was a somewhat short checklist of questions about things including behavior, thoughts, approaches to time management, among other things. And it was only an evaluation from the DSM, to diagnose and treat my ADHD with medication (I don't have an ADHD-specific therapist, so it might be different or even a deeper conversation than I know).

But if you want to explore other evaluative resources, and "what it's like to have ADHD" sorts of articles, I suggest the ADDitude website (additudemag.com). It's completely dedicated to ADD/ADHD, and has a number of screening/evaluation questionnaires.

A good place to start is the ADHD Symptoms in Adults: ADD Checklist & Test, (Do I Have ADD? ADHD Symptoms in Adults: Checklist and Tests). It also has links toward the bottom of the page to further resources (additional questionnaires, other articles, etc.)

I've learned and realized a lot from viewing the many posts, articles, literature, and other resources on the site.

But please be aware, the website is HUGE!

If you tend to be inclined towards getting caught up in websites for hours, following article and link after article and link, I suggest you set a few timer alarms to help pull yourself out of getting swallowed up by the sheer abundance of information...

One more suggestion is the following video, which is an interview by the host of the youtube channel "How to ADHD". The interviewee is a 40-something father recently diagnosed with ADHD, and talks about what happened: What it's Like to be Diagnosed with ADHD as an Adult (

).

The "How to ADHD" youtube channel has been really helpful to me, so I suggest exploring her videos, too.

I hope this helps! Good luck!

[SingDanceRunLife]

@Scienna - Thanks! I had the conversation, and was diagnosed and prescribed Adderall which has been a major game changer!

[Scienna]

Originally Posted by SingDanceRunLife

@Scienna - Thanks! I had the conversation, and was diagnosed and prescribed Adderall which has been a major game changer!

@SingDanceRunLife - Congrats! It definitely helped me. Feel free to share how things change for you, and any issues or questions you might have! If I can help or share something useful, let me know!

- Scienna

[RestlessRob]

That sounds awesome. I’ve just joined. At 56im being diagnosed. Struggled my whole life. My poor wife is amazing for putting up with me