psychiatry

  • Join the Club! An Alternative ADHD Screening Tool Join the Club! An Alternative ADHD Screening Tool

    Join the Club! An Alternative ADHD Screening Tool

Join the Club! An Alternative ADHD Screening Tool

The more I work with clients with ADHD and explore the common threads that link us together, the less satisfied I am with the screening tools that are used. It’s not that the tools are inaccurate, it’s that they are incomplete, in my opinion. It is hard to boil the lived experience of ADHD down to 18 questions on a form, I’ll give you that, and you probably don’t want to make the form too long or complicated or the client will get distracted, forget that they are doing it, get bored and put it down and lose it, etc. Having said that, I find that one of the advantages of being a clinician who actually lives with an ADHD brain is that I can sometimes go beyond the surface-level questionnaires and dig a bit deeper into the more subtle aspects of being this way. For this reason, I have come up with my own questionnaire. It is not scored, there is no rating scale and there is no cutoff, categorical designation that tells you whether you “have it” or not. Instead, read through it, or have someone read it to you and think on each item: Can I relate […]

By |December 29th, 2017|Blog, Education, Insight|Comments Off on Join the Club! An Alternative ADHD Screening Tool
  • Wondering About ADHD? Wondering About ADHD?

    Wondering About ADHD?

Wondering About ADHD?

Here are the answers to some common questions: What’s the difference between ADHD and ADD There is no difference. ADHD is divided into three types: Inattentive, Hyperactive/Impulsive, and Combined. ADD is the Inattentive type. When it comes to diagnosis, the official label is ADHD. This confusion is probably responsible for many missed cases of ADHD. How do I know if I have it? Psychiatrists or psychologists are the only mental health professionals qualified to diagnose ADHD. If you have concerns, make arrangements to see one of these individuals. The diagnostic criteria for ADHD are as follows:  A. Either (1) or (2) 1) Six or more of the following symptoms of inattention have persisted for at least six months to a degree that is maladaptive and inconsistent with the developmental level: Inattention often fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, work, or other activities often has difficulty sustaining attention in tasks or play activities often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly often does not follow through on instructions and fails to finish schoolwork, chores, or duties in the workplace (not due to oppositional behaviour or failure of comprehension) often has difficulty organizing […]

By |January 19th, 2012|Blog|Comments Off on Wondering About ADHD?