I was wondering how many visits did you have to have in order to be diagnosed with adhd?? I heard some people say that it only took one time, but I heard a lot say it took several visits before they were diagnosed with adhd. I can't imagine why it would take several appointments to diagnose adhd..

It depends on your doc. some docs require psychological testing which is the most definitive way to get a diagnosis in my opinion.

Some symptoms can overlap different disorders, such as bipolar, or depression ( I was mistakenly diagnosed with depression since 1991 ). From the time the doc first suggested possible ADD in February, it was April b4 I could get my appt to be tested, and June before the diagnosis.

I've posted on this a number of times in the past;probably under Diagnosis & Treatment.

While there's no standardized protocol, if you review the Clinical Guidelines from different organizations/ agencies, you'll find they all mention the same suggestions.One of the most consistent points to be made is that test scores alone are inappropiate for the diagnosis of ADHD.

The truth is that evidence based (empirically (research) supported) assessments are driven by questions & issues found to have a positive correlation with "real life (actual)" diagnoses of ADHD; 93 (Family History & ADHD Risk Factors(excepting the DSM-IV TR symptoms) & 94 (DSM-IV TR symptoms) times out of 100;respectively.

Using the DSM-IV TR symptoms,which are currently THE most accurate diagnostic tool available today, the genetic contribution is .97

That's greater than Human Height (.81) or IQ (.55).

hope that helps

mctavish23

(Robert)