ADHD test

definition

An ADHD test is designed to determine if a patient's symptoms are due to this particular Attention disorder caused. Since the disease can express itself very variably and the symptoms can also occur in healthy people, there is no single test, the ADHD beyond doubt can prove but many different. A detailed examination of the person and the performance of several tests are therefore necessary for the diagnosis.

What tests are there?

The most popular ADHD tests are Questionnaires and Self-teststhat are offered on the Internet. Various providers give the patient or their parents the opportunity to answer questions from home and receive a result immediately. Unfortunately only those at least of these tests reliable, because they often come from dubious sources and the disease is so variable that many patients fall through the cracks with such standardized questions.

For one the doctor makes a reliable diagnosis hence other tests. He also has questionnaires filled out, but not only asks the typical ones Symptoms, but also associated problems and other abnormalities. In addition, he ensures in a detailed discussion with the patient that the symptoms meet the ADHD criteria and are really attributable to the attention disorder.

Just as important as the actual ADHD tests are still further investigationsthat rule out other causes of the symptoms and provide information about the patient's physical and mental health. Therefore also belong Tests of intelligence, of Behavior, of Visual and Hearing ability and many more for ADHD diagnostics.

Which doctor tests that?

With the child he leads Pediatrician the ADHD diagnosis carried out in adults Family doctor or psychiatrist. In addition to the tests, there is also a thorough physical and psychological examination different specialists may be required. Which doctors and disciplines are involved in ADHD testing therefore depends on the patient and the individual appearance of their disease.

Tests for children

Tests that are to be carried out on affected children serve either Diagnosis or the Therapy control. That is particularly important child-friendly implementation these exams. While parents and teachers have written answers to questions as a good way to identify abnormalities, children need to more informal test situations. Processes on the computer are therefore usually presented as a game in order to avoid distorting the results due to a lack of motivation.

Questionnaires like that SDQ (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire), the Conners scales or the CBCL (Child Behavior Checklist) must therefore be completed by parents and teachers and are designed for diagnostic purposes. Older children can also answer the questions independently. These tests give clues Behavioral problems, emotional and somatic complaints and other problems such as those encountered in ADHD. Many other standardized tests, which are similarly widespread and are used at the doctor's discretion, are structured according to the same pattern. Many of these questionnaires not only record ADHD, but also numerous other diseases that cause it behavior and the concentration can influence. Thus, although an ADHD disease is not unequivocally determined, but hardly one accompanying psychological problem overlooked.

In addition to these behavioral tests, there are also attention tests that are structured differently. One example is that QB test, a computerized process for objective Measurement of attention, impulsiveness and Hyperactivity. It can be used in diagnostics and therapy control. The child sits in front of a monitor and should react to the stimuli displayed. Meanwhile, he wears a headband with a reflector that sends data to the computer. Comparable tests are also based on the principle of Reaction test. However, even these procedures cannot prove what is causing the attention problems and whether it is ADHD.

Another popular test is the TAP (test battery for checking attention), or the child-friendly form called KiTAP. Here, too, the child sits in front of a monitor and should react to given stimuli without being distracted by a disruptive factor. This procedure is used to control therapy. There are a variety of other tests based on the same principles that can be used by pediatricians, teachers, psychologists, and other professionals and used at their own discretion.

Tests for adults

There are questionnaires not only for children, but also for adults. However, the questions are adapted and expanded according to age, as the disease also changes with age. Tests like that Conners scales there are, for example, different versions for young and old patients. However, in adults it is recorded accompanying psychological problems and typical compensation mechanisms just as important as finding the actual ADHD symptomsbecause otherwise the disease would be overlooked in many patients. It is not uncommon for them to no longer show the typical signs of the disease, as they compensate or cover them up.

There are also a variety of other diseases that trigger the symptoms and could be confused with ADHD.

The tests for adults are thus often more complex than the one for children. For example, the WURS (Wender Utah Rating Scale), which, in addition to the typical problems in adulthood, is also intended to retrospectively record ADHD symptoms in childhood. Unfortunately, such questionnaires are less effective in adults than in children and are therefore only meaningful in conjunction with a detailed medical history.

So in addition to the tests there is a extensive medical consultation with processing of the medical history necessary to recognize the ADHD symptoms as such. In addition to the written exams, there are also for adults computerized methods of measuring attentionin which the patient is confronted with stimuli and must not be distracted by disruptive factors.

Also the TAP (Test battery for attentiveness testing) are available for every age group. The adult patient can often assess his or her condition and the effects of the therapy himself. In order to rule out other causes of the symptoms, exams should be taken in addition to the ADHD tests intelligence, of Behavior and the physical and mental health be performed. So will be accompanying psychological problems such as. Obsessive-compulsive disorder detected. The determination of the attention deficit in adults is therefore much more complex than in children.

Course of a test

How an ADHD test works depends on the patient and of course the setting of the respective test. Questionnaires are filled out at home or at school or at the doctor's. For computerized procedures the patient is invited to an institute that offers these tests. Before each test, the patient is told that Procedure explained in detailin order to avoid the results being influenced by comprehension problems.

In some procedures, the processing of the tasks is simple, for example the correct statement should be ticked for each question. Require other tests Responsiveness or ask practical tasks. Each test is different and has to be explained to the patient in an understandable way. If the patient is tested for diagnostic purposes, the tests are included detailed patient consultation and other investigations ahead. Are the tests used for Therapy control, the patient will at some point after taking the medication checked.

Are there also online tests?

Yes, and not too tightly.Various places on the Internet offer self-tests and questionnaires. How serious and well-founded these tests are depends on the provider. The questionnaires prepared by experts, such as the the WHO (World Health Organization), are much more reliable than the self-tests from parenting magazines and the like. As already mentioned, however, no such test can capture all patients or interpret the symptoms with certainty as ADHD. The Online questionnaires are therefore no substitute for a visit to the doctor.