ADHD is a biological condition of the brain which can be shaped and/or aggravated by many different internal and external factors.
One has to wonder how your doctor reacts in private when faced with a complicated case of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Does he welcome the challenge or does he face the complicated evaluation process with a certain amount of trepidation.
I suspect there is a little of both going on.
In this informational article titled "How to Diagnose ADHD" we will lay out the seven basic methods used for unraveling the mystery of ADHD.
It is important to point out that the intricacy of the evaluation process can involve an elaborate series of cumbersome tests that may take hours or even weeks to complete or a few simple questions combined with a questionnaire.
It largely depends on your doctor and their profession approach.
  *Psychiatric/Psychological Evaluations This step varies from doctor to doctor but generally involves completing a fairly straightforward questionnaire which scores your symptoms, rating them from being severe to nonexistent.
Most of the questions will follow guidelines put forward by the DSM-IV.
  *Educational Testing This step evaluates age appropriate performance.
These tests have less to do with trying to identify the symptoms of ADHD than with evaluating the patients intellectual functioning in terms of potential, balance, and performance in relation to perceived potential.
  *Behavioral Assessment This may be included in the educational testing criteria.
A behavioral assessment is normally conducted by a trained behavioral specialist who has both experience and an understanding of ADHD.
  *Medical Testing As you may or may not know ADHD shares many of its problematic symptoms with a multitude of other medical conditions.
This test is designed to rule other conditions such as thyroid dysfunction, allergies, brain injury, brain tumor, connective tissue disease, lead poisoning, and Asperger's just to name a few.
  *Skills Testing Both motor and cognitive skills will likely be tested.
Motor skills tests are usually administered by a trained occupational or physical therapist.
Social skills tests are often administered by counselors or psychologists who have specialized training in the area of social skills.
  *Performance Evaluation This step involves measuring an individual's ability to maintain attention and is conducted using the standardized continuous performance test (CPT).
Don't underestimate the importance of this test due to the fact that a positive diagnosis will hinge on whether or not your child has inattention.
  *Physiological Testing This type of testing may just be the future of ADHD diagnostic procedure but hasn't yet made it into the main stream.
There are many different options all with long names and odd abbreviations.
Examples would be EEG, ERP, MRI, PET and so on.
  In summary, how to diagnose ADHD is perhaps as complicated and confusing as the condition itself, not to mention the astronomical costs that could be involved.
Perhaps this explains why many parents of suspected ADHD children are choosing to embark on an alternative treatment plan including a wide range of natural alternatives.
Perhaps the most popular of these treatment options for ADHD is that of homeopathic remedies.
Homeopathic remedies for ADHD /AD/HD are very safe and have shown promising results in controlling such problematic symptoms as inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity.
If you are hesitant about the evaluation process and are searching for a natural treatment option this is an area worth considering.