When Should you get your Child Tested for an ADHD Diagnosis?

A common question I get asked is how did I know when it was time to get my children an ADHD diagnosis? Deciding when is the right time to get your child tested for a possible ADHD diagnosis is one of the hardest questions to answer. The real answer is there is no one answer. Both my children have an ADHD diagnosis. Both have a different type of ADHD, and both had completely different ADHD diagnosis stories.

My Off-the-Charts ADHD son

I knew my son had ADHD before I even knew what ADHD was. As a child he seemed to have endless energy. It seemed like nothing could keep his attention. I remember when he was three and four, trying to figure out a birthday party theme was difficult. Other kids his age were all consumed with dinosaurs, rockets or a TV show. I’m not complaining that my kid didn’t obsessively watch 100 episodes of Teletubbies a day. But I realized nothing held his attention. As he got older and got more independence I also noticed that nothing seems to tire him out.

I just thought my son was a high energy child like his father. The difference being that when his father was a kid no one understood about ADHD. I question myself like many mothers do. Perhaps I wasn’t the best mom. Perhaps him being my first I was too lenient. And I thought for sure once he went to kindergarten having a more rigorous schedule would help. None of That was true. He started school and his energy probably grew more because he was being forced to sit in the chair and focus more.

ADHD Diagnosis

We made it through kindergarten and in grade one I was in close contact with his teachers and it didn’t take much for me to understand that he was not able to function in a regular classroom. Or that the regular classroom was not suited to what he needed. Either way working with his teacher and the specialists at school and his pediatrician I took him to be tested for ADHD with a neuropsychologist. He did the testing, but could not offer an official diagnosis, because an ‘official’ diagnosis can only happens after a child has two years of schooling and that does not include kindergarten (guidelines suggested by American Academy of Pediatrics and & Canadian Pediatrics Society). They do this so that the child has time to adjust to school routines and so things like dyslexia, learning disabilities or other problems can be ruled out. It’s also difficult to obtain sound observations from non-parent observer.

Pre-School to 2nd grade ADHD Symptoms

Now looking back, my son had all the ‘traditional’ ADHD symptoms of pre-school to grade 2 aged child:

Trouble following directions like pick up your toys or brush your teeth.
- To be honest I thought he just didn’t like to brush his teeth.
Has trouble remembering things he just learned.
- A good example was my son could never remember the days of the week (not just in order, but the day in any order, how to spell his name, or 1 + 1 = 2).
Constantly talking while doing activities or watching TV/movie.
- This would drive friends and family crazy, especially when watching a movie… and he still does it today!
Impulsively grabs at things without asking permission
- This is something teachers/datcare workers will likely notice more if he grabs their things or friends items. Or you may notice as he grabs EVERYTHING as he walks down an aisle of a store.
Gets very upset, or has reactions that doesn’t fir the situation.
- This is still something my son is working on. He feels emotions with such intensity, it’s hard for him to process.

My Inattentive ADHD girl

My daughter had a completely different ADHD diagnosis story. Lately, I am hearing more girls similar ADHD diagnosis stories. Perhaps it was being the second child or perhaps because her brother’s ADHD was so extreme she always seemed like a quiet good baby. She wasn’t a big crier wasn’t hyper active none of the things that you would normally associate with ADHD. In kindergarten right away she took to the school setting. All her teachers commented on how easy-going she was and how well she was doing in school. She loves school to which also made it easier.

At the end of grade one into grade two we started to notice that she was struggling more. Reading was very difficult for her and I started to notice a pattern that whenever she did have to read she would convince me or her father to do the reading for her. I also started to notice how she had the ability to memorize a book after having it read to her only once. This along with the ability to look at the pictures and figure out what the story was went a far way in helping her guess what the words were she was reading rather than know what they were. In grade two her teachers started to notice she was not making the progress she should be. She started acting out in class and being disruptive. She wasn’t rude or mean, just not sitting in her seat ad not taking part in schoolwork. We realized it also happens to be the grade where children start to read and write more on their own as well.

We didn’t know what was going on. She wasn’t having problems or acting out in class so much as to get sent out of class or in trouble, but I could see she was frustrated. All of her teachers always talked about how smart she was. We couldn’t figure out if she was so smart, why was she struggling with reading and writing. Was it a learning disability? Was it that she has ADHD like her older brother?

Based on discussions with her teachers, and resource workers, we went back to the neuropsychologist and had her evaluated. Honestly we had started to think maybe she has a form of ADHD which just makes it difficult to sit and focus on reading. It turns out we were wrong again. She had severe dyslexia which was compounded with inattentive Inattentive ADHD or what used to be known as ADD. She was able to mask it for so long because we also found out that she has high intelligence.

ADHD Symptoms for Kids Grade 3 to 7

When I look at the traditional symptoms to diagnosis ADHD in kids in grade three to seven I see why it was hard for us all to tell.

Gets restless during field trips or outings they are not interested in.
- She was always so focused on behaving and could always find something to interest herself, this never happened.
Puts off starting on tasks, whether it’s writing or putting clothes away
- This one is still a daily struggle for her!
Goofs off in class to get attention.
- This happened a lot in grade one, but seemed to get better once we figured out it was a learning problem.
Rushes through homework and turns in messy and careless mistakes.
- Honestly, she worked with resourced teachers since grade one and her writing was always very neat.
Says or does things without thinking about the consequences.
- Again,she had none of the impulsivity of ADHD. She would always think things through, mostly because she always wanted to make sure she did whatever she was doing correctly.
Works slowly and doesn’t finish quizzes or assignments in a reasonable amount of time.
- Her high intelligence makes her so competitive, she always takes the time to finish things, especially tests because she wants a good mark.
Has trouble following directions. Anything with more than one step can throw them off.
- YES! A thousand times yes!

It was only later and has more studies were done that we came to realize that inattentive ADHD (ADD) is more common in girls than it is boys. Due to the fact that they don’t do not have the impulsivity and hyperactivity of ADHD makes it harder to diagnose ADHD.

ADHD Diagnosis

ADHD Symptoms in Teens

In case you were wondering what the symptoms for diagnosing older kids … here they are. For those of you with young children with ADHD, it’s really a roadmap for what to expect as they grow… or at least my ADHD teen is following with pretty much all of the symptoms!

ADHD symptoms in Teens:

Trouble prioritizing tasks and completing what is important.
Needs to review content multiple times to truly understand it. That includes asking teachers to repeat what they have said and re-reading assignments.
They still find it difficult to stay focused on any tasks that don’t interest them.
“Spaces out” when listening to the teacher’s lesson or doing assigned reading
Impulsivity leads to risky behavior without any regard to the consequences on them or those their actions may affect.
Forgets to write down assignments, deadlines, work responsibilities, etc. Yepp, still putting off getting things done in a timely manner.
Has a hard time making friends. This one is written down as teens, but if your the mom of an ADHD Kid, you know they struggle with it their entire life.

So When Do You Diagnosis Your Kid for ADHD?

You may be at the bottom of this article, saying she didn’t tell me exactly what age to bring my kids to a specialist to have them diagnosed with ADHD. The reality is there is no answer. Every child is different. Just as both my kids had different stories, your child will too. My husband wasn’t diagnosed with ADHD until he was in his 40’s and we only knew then because of our children.

The reality is you as the parent know your child best. You know if your child shows any of the common symptoms of ADHD, how much it affects their schooling, social relationships, etc. You can decide when it seems like they are trying hard but still struggling a great deal. When you find they have reached that point is when you should take them for an ADHD diagnosis.