I THINK MY CHILD MIGHT HAVE ADHD (PART 1) - FIRST STEPS
If your child is having issues with focus, motivation, impulsivity, or hyperactivity, you might be wondering if they have ADHD and what your options are. Your child’s school is a great place to start. If you are seeing behavior concerns from your child at home and in the community, it is likely that concerns are showing up at school as well. Talking with your child’s teacher will help you to get another perspective on your child’s behavior and how any presenting behavior concerns compare to other children the same age.
How do schools address adhd related concerns?
Depending on the severity of the behavior concerns, your child’s teacher may want to problem solve with you on their own by attempting interventions in the classroom and at home. Alternatively, they may refer your child to other support staff in the school such as a school psychologist, school social worker, or school counselor. They may also refer your child to a team of support staff, commonly called the Multi-tiered Systems of Support team or MTSS, to develop and implement systematic interventions and track the effectiveness of the interventions. If your child’s behaviors are significantly discrepant from their peers, they may be referred for an evaluation to determine if they qualify for supports through special education. A special education evaluation is typically not recommended until targeted general education interventions have been attempted and were not successful.
Are the ADHD symptoms and behaviors similar to Same age peers?
All children display symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity to some degree and in certain contexts. Comparing your child’s behaviors to their peers is a great place to start when determining if their behaviors are the result of a neurodevelopmental condition such as ADHD. Your child’s teacher and other school staff will be able to provide you with more information about your child’s behavior and how their behavior compares to other children in their classroom and in the school. In addition, talking to other parents who have children the same age and talking to your child’s pediatrician can also help you get a better understanding of what types of concerns are typical. After talking with these sources, you may find that the behavior concerns that are occurring at home and at school are very typical and developmentally appropriate. If that is the case, you and your child’s teacher can continue with the supports that are already in place and communicate again in the future if any new concerns arise or if the behaviors become more severe.
How Schools support relatively minor concerns
On the other hand, if your child is having more concerns at school than other children, but the concerns are relatively minor, working with the teacher to implement additional supports and accommodations in the classroom and discussing how you can better support your child at home can often be enough to mitigate the concerns. These new strategies for support and accommodation can help your child build the skills to problem solve situations and advocate for themselves when needed. In order for these plans to be effective, it is important to discuss and prioritize specific concerns and develop supports that are targeted to those specific concerns. The more the supports are targeted to your child’s individual needs, the more effective they will be. A plan should also be discussed for tracking the target behavior concerns so you will have some information to determine how the supports are having an impact. After a plan is developed, it is important to check-in with your child’s teacher on a consistent basis to hear about how well the supports are being implemented at school and share how they are being implemented at home. Often the plans will need to be adjusted slightly or changed all together after attempting to implement them in real life situations.
How Schools support Larger concerns
Another potential scenario is that after talking with your child’s teacher you discover that your child’s behavior concerns are more severe or are occurring significantly more often than other children their age. If this is the case, it would still be helpful to meet with your child’s teacher to develop a plan to implement supports at home and at school; however, additional supports will also likely be required, so ask your child’s teacher if their school has an MTSS team or other student support team, or if they can involve other school support staff such as a school psychologist, school social worker, or school counselor. If the behavior concerns involve inattention, motivation, organization, executive functioning, impulsivity, or hyperactivity, you can ask your child’s teacher or other school staff who work with your child if they have any knowledge of ADHD. Although public schools are not able to diagnose ADHD, many school staff have experience working with and supporting students with ADHD and can give you an idea if you child’s behaviors are similar to other students who have ADHD. If ADHD seems like a possibility, you can seek out a clinic that specializes in ADHD assessments, or discuss your concerns with your child’s pediatrician.
Next Steps If ADHD is Suspected
If you are interested in pursuing an ADHD evaluation for your child, read on to Part 2 and Part 3 of this blog series to learn more about what the ADHD assessment process entails. For more information about ADHD evaluations in the Twin Cities, be sure to check out White Bear Psychological Services ADHD Testing page or contact us to schedule a phone call with our client care specialist.
