It looks like this is the appropriate place to post this follow up on the subject of Diagnosis. By no means is this meant to be all inclusive, it's just some insights on the subject that I hope will help you.

First of all, you need to become familiar with the diagnostic criteria used for ADHD. In looking to better understand that please recognize that all children in the world display some of these behaviors at any given point in time. That's where you also need to understand that there are certain conditions that MUST be met BEFORE you can ever look at the first symptom. These are :

1)the symptoms must be present during early age:usually starts to show between 3-5years for hyperactivity but not necessarily for Inattention (This is where it gets complicated.Most(92%) ADHD is inherited but you can acquire it at any point in time thru head injury or toxicity(lead paint or from chemo,etc.) So it can show up later, depending on the circumstances).;

2)there must be some type of problem(functional impairment) created by the symptom(s);

3) the behaviors exhibited MUST be different than what same age kids would normally exhibit(developmentally inappropriate (so get to know your developmental "milestones" if you don't already);

4) the symptoms have to be present for at least 6 mos in a row;

5) they have to happen EVERYWHERE and not just in one setting. Right here, please keep in mind that its possible to be accustomed to seeing these behaviors at home and then come to think that they're "normal' for your child. If your child really is ADHD then these behaviors are merely showing you he/she has the problem and

6) The behaviors have to happen ALL THE TIME. Remember, the symptoms are NOT what is normally displayed by same age kids. ALWAYS/EVERYWHERE are the keys here. If that seems complicated, it is. Nothing is worse than getting ahold of a symptom checklist and going to town on it without looking at these, as well as other significant factors like family history(remember it's mostly inherited), pre-natal care and birth complications. For example, Barkley made a point of saying in Wisconsin that nicotene exposure during pregnancy significantly increases the risk of ADHD.

I'm going to stop here for this post and get into the DSM-IV for the next one.

Thanks for taking the time to look this over.

This reminds me of an arguement that goes on around this neck of the woods...

One set of people test for 'entitlement" ... to determine if a student is entitled to certain services.

Another set of people test for diagnosis of what is going on, perhaps with an eye toward treatment or accomodation.

The point of view can artficially group similar people either together or apart.

The DSM-IV is no different. Some causes for the the symtoms of ADHD are excluded, that is, if you had closed head trama, and the symptoms started, you are not ADHD, you are TBI.

I understand the systematics invloved, I'm just not convinced that they make sense, especially since we may come to find out that a huge sub group of ADHD is brain damage or impariment caused by things we become able to trace or detect in the next few years.

It reminds me of an encyclopedia i have down stairs... it list "Mumps" as a bacteria too small to filter. It turned out to be a virus, which was both a horse of a different color and a damn fine guess, bearing in mind what they knew.

for me, the problem with this segregation in the DSM-IV is that treatment and especially appropriate accomodation are likely to be the same for these similar individuals grouped separately.

Just my 2 cents. (I'm still waiting for my invitation to sit on the DSM-IV panel. Checked my mail today, and it stil isn't here... something about qualifications, criteria, etc.???!) : )

Excellent points.Thats where secondary diagnoses come into play.You can have a primary dx and then add comorbid features.