ADHD Diagnosis: Why, When, and What It Is Like | ADHD Diagnosis Process
My Journey to ADHD Diagnosis
Does it feel like all of a sudden everyone has ADHD? Are you reluctant to seek a diagnosis because of the stigma around mental health or fear of band wagon jumping? I totally get that.
I first suspected that I had ADHD around 2010.
I spoke with a friend who was also a social worker about getting an official diagnosis but never did anything with the information she gave me.
Eleven years later, I finally brought it up to my family doctor who gave me local resources specializing in Adult ADHD.
It took me almost 2 years to follow up and actually schedule a diagnosis. And wouldn’t you know it, after waiting 11 years to ask my doctor, 2 years to schedule an appointment, and 6 weeks for the actual appointment, I had to reschedule 2 days before because I had put the wrong date to pick up my son from camp on my calendar. 🙄
Which totally track with ADHD…I’m surprised the therapist giving me my evaluation didn’t just diagnosis me right there. 🤣
I wanted to share my diagnosis journey with you because I feel like I have heard many similar stories in my community of women suspecting they had ADHD for awhile but never quite getting around to an actual diagnosis.
I put off my ADHD diagnosis for years is that I feared having a mental health label.
I put off my ADHD diagnosis because there are just so many steps to take to get there…and lots of steps can be exhausting. I get it.
But I will also say that the weight that was taken off my shoulders when I was finally able to put a name to why my brain was operating the way it was.
Why Seek An Official ADHD Diagnosis?
Before we dive into the ins and outs of ADHD diagnosis specifically, I do want to address mental health diagnoses in general.
I received a comment on one of my YouTube videos saying she had suspected she had ADHD for awhile and had even started the diagnosis process. But she was stuck bc she worried that her diagnosis wouldn’t be ADHD and then what would that mean.
Here’s the thing…when you work with a mental health professional, they are going to be able to help you create a treatment plan for whatever it is that is affecting your quality of life. Whether it is or is not ADHD. There are people out there who want to help you make your life better.
Getting an ADHD diagnosis is a very personal decision. I am obviously pro-diagnosis (even if it did take over a decade to follow through for myself). There are other ADHDers out there who may disagree.
I did, however, read an interesting study from 2019 that compared the quality of life between respondants with ADHD symptoms and those with an official diagnosis.
According to this study, those with an official ADHD diagnosis were more likely to experience better functional performance, work-related productivity, a higher quality of life, and better self-esteem than those who experiencing symptoms without an official diagnosis.
This isn’t to say that an ADHD diagnosis is some sort of magic that suddenly makes everything all better.
Not even close.
But it can start the ball rolling on a treatment plan and coping strategies with the goal of a better understanding of your brain and why you behave the way you do.
How to Know When to Seek an ADHD Diagnosis?
First, if you feel like you are struggling, seek help.
As I said before, even if it isn’t ADHD, a mental health professional will help you create a treatment plan and provide you with the support you need.
But what if you don’t feel like you are “struggling” per se and just feel like things could be better?
Well, if you resonated with the executive function or other symptoms we discussed previously on a regular basis, that could be a signal to bring it up to your family doctor on your next visit.
Wanna learn more about ADHD symptoms? Click here to learn about how ADHD impacts executive function.
And click here to learn about physical, emotional, and behavioral ADHD symptoms.
You also may want to seek a diagnosis if you’re experiencing symptoms and you recognize someone in your family is also experiencing symptoms. I have to admit that my son’s official ADHD diagnosis was one of the factors that finally pushed me into scheduling my ADHD diagnosis.
What Does the ADHD Diagnosis Process Look Like?
I’ll start with my son’s ADHD diagnosis process…
His diagnosis involved an assessment from his teachers, a lengthy evaluation from us, and sit down interview with his doctor for about an hour.
Pretty early on in his kindergarten year, we identified several ADHD symptoms like struggling with follow through, high distractibility, having trouble focusing, and generally acting like Beavis hopped up on sugar a lot of the time.
But alas, this was 2020 and due to unusual circumstances in the world 🙄, we weren’t able to start the diagnosing process with his kindergarten teacher.
And when we finally started the process again at the beginning of second grade, his teacher filled out the assessment but the results showed very different behavior than what we were experiencing at home.
We now realize this was most likely due to him masking at the beginning of the school year. At the mid-year conference, his teacher asked if he could take another crack at the assessment because he had noticed some behavior issues, struggle to complete work, and struggling to organize his thoughts.
I wanted to make sure I included this anecdote in case you suspect that you or someone you love is struggling with ADHd or another mental health issue. Don’t just stop seeking answers if the original hypothesis doesn’t turn out the way you suspected. As I said before, even if it doesn’t turn out to be ADHD, mental health professionals will help you to figure out what is going on and create a treatment plan.
My diagnosis process started with a conversation with my primary care physician.
She gave me a list of local therapists that specialized in Adult ADHD. And as I said earlier, that list set on my desk for nearly 2 years until I finally checked to see which therapists were covered by my insurance.
When I finally booked my appointment, it took about 6 weeks to see the therapist. I also had to fill out a very detailed assessment of my background, my behaviors, my mental health, and my family history.
The day of my appointment, I met with my therapist for 90 minutes to review the assessment and she asked additional questions in person before making her final diagnostic determination.
I want to restate that if your mental health feels off for any reason, seek help. Even if it isn’t ADHD, a professional can work to create a treatment plan that may include coping strategies, talk therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, medications, or any combination of what I mentioned.
Here are your next steps if you’re ready to seek an ADHD diagnosis…
Take a breath. There are going to be some steps involved and we ADHDers often struggle with multi-step processes. Make a checklist. Schedule time to do these steps. Find some accountability to follow up with you to make sure you are doing it.
Find out what is covered by your insurance. Typically ADHD assessment and follow up appointments with therapists would be under any mental health coverage you have.
Talk to your family doctor. Ask for recommendations. Compare to who is covered by insurance.
Decide where you’ll have assessment. Call to schedule appointment the appointment immediately. Put it on your calendar right away.
Schedule time to fill out self-assessment. Make it an appointment. Have a friend or family member follow up to make sure you are doing it.
And whether you are officially diagnosed with ADHD or just a mom entrepreneur struggling with executive function who needs some help prioritizing tasks and following through, I want to support you!
My ADHD coaching program meets with clients on a weekly basis to determine what needs to be done to keep up the momentum and when they will work on certain tasks or projects. Then I follow up through out the week to see if they are progressing or need additional support.
If this sounds like the sort of help you need, ADHD or not, click the button below to schedule your free, no-obligation call with me to see how I can support you!
