ADHD
A personal message from Dr. Bill Rutenberg
Director of the ADHD Test Center
Why test for ADHD if my child is doing fine?
Since initiating Quotient ADHD testing, I've become more and more impressed by the number high school and even college students, who've done fine, who come to me because as the academic load increases, they realize they can't focus long enough to efficiently finish their work. They can't resist the distractions demanding an instant response: Facebook, Twitter, text messages, video games and others. So what happened? Their intelligence and diligence has provided a safety net, but they finally reached the point where can no longer compensate.
Our children attend schools that demand high standards, demand the most from our children in a highly competitive environment. So I ask, can we allow our children to fail to achieve their best? Should a child have to work under a disability?
What are the facts?
- Every person with ADHD has a unique profile
- ADHD is a neurobehavioral disorder affecting 8-10% of students, yet many fly beneath the radar because their grades and behavior are fine.
- ADHD is associated with poor self esteem, anxiety, conduct issues, getting into trouble.
- Core symptoms: inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity. These symptoms vary between children and teens.
ADHDSymptoms
In Children
In Adolescents Inattention Easily distracted
Does not finish things
Difficulty following instructions,
Poor time management
Hyperactivity Squirms, fidgets
In constant motion
Restlessness
Impatience
Impulsivity Blurts out answer
Can't take turns
Irritability
Interrupts others
- Diagnosis: 5 assessment components:
- History and physical examination
- Neurological evaluation by your child's primary care doctor
- Family assessment
- School assessment
- Objective testing with the Quotient ADHD System
- How does the Quotient System work? Developed at Harvard University the test measures all 3 core symptoms: Inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity while the individual attempts to focus on a changing visual stimuli which appear at random locations, random intervals and random sequence on the computer monitor.
- Motion is measured 50 times per second and movement greater than 1 millimeter is recorded
- Patterns of movement and shifts between attentive, impulsive, distracted and disengaged attention states are measured simultaneously. This is important to distinguish ADHD from other behavioral disorders
- Results are compared to a database of age and gender matched children, teenagers and adults both with and without ADHD
- What happens after diagnosis is made ?
- Multi-modal Treatment Plan
- Parent / child education
- Behavior management
- Medication
- Integrative / complementary options
- School programming and support
- Regular interval evaluations
- A diagnosis of ADHD does not "label" a child, rather it qualifies your child for an IEP (Individualized education plan) and certain rights under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
