For those of you who weren’t diagnosed until adulthood (I’m in my late 40s), what was the diagnosis process like? Are you just given a written test, or does someone evaluate you more thoroughly? Do they try to understand your symptoms, or is it more of a checklist? If anyone has personal stories they’d be willing to share, I’d love to hear them. I’m also just curious about what to expect during the appointment. Who do I make it with? A psychiatrist?
I also wonder if there are other related conditions or learning disabilities that I might have, such as dyslexia. Do I need to be proactive in asking for multiple diagnoses? Or will they be able to evaluate me for anything/everything?
I was diagnosed 10 years ago via a neuro-psych assessment. It wasn’t cheap but I wanted to assess for other areas of needs, such as short term memory retention. The assessment included an interview followed by several hours of structured testing.
These days, I believe there are quicker ways to test specifically for ADHD via a limited set of questions. A psychiatrist can certainly do this but most primary care physicians should also be able to as well. Depending on where you live, access to psychiatry might be limited and your primary care physician may be the one to manage your meds (if warranted) in any event. A psychologist may be able to diagnose ADHD but can’t offer medication options.
Re: learning disability/dyslexia, the neuro-psych testing can identify these issues. There may be simpler, more cost effective methods to identify these or other deficits. If you potentially need accommodations in the workplace, they may require some proof of assessment.
Hope that helps.
I was recently diagnosed from a neuro-psych. Similar process of many hours of testing (~5h). My friend was also diagnosed recently from a psychiatrist through question answer, but no formal cognitive evaluation measure. The amount of clarity I got from the neuro-psych in terms of cognitive function and my specific circumstances was significantly more helpful than what my friend got from the psychiatrist.
After all the formal testing, I was given a thorough 17 page report including a breakdown of each aspect of cognitive functioning, any applicable disorders (with recommendation for therapy to investigate further and confirm), next steps, and treatment and coping mechanism recommendations. My friend was given a broad diagnosis of unspecified ADHD with no additional information.
If you are able to afford the neuropsych eval, it is well worth it.