Psychiatry Treatment: Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Testing for Children, Adolescents, and Adults

ADHD testing helps us understand the details of your symptoms, allowing us to tailor an individualized treatment plan and recommend specific support for home, school, work, social situations, and any emotional, psychological, or functional problems or challenges unique to you.

An accurate diagnosis supported by a detailed assessment informs the diagnosis and helps us focus on what you need for your symptoms and your goals, all in the context of your life.

At Crownview Medical Group, we assess ADHD with the following evidence-based ADHD metrics:

When testing for ADHD in children, adolescents, and adults, we focus on two core areas:

Following criteria established by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Behavioral Disorders, Volume 5 (DSM-5), we identify the primary symptoms and impairments associated with ADHD, and collect extensive information – unique to you – on the following:

In addition to evaluating diagnostic criteria established by the DSM-5, designing an effective treatment requires a comprehensive analysis of how ADHD affects all areas of life, including:

The core symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity are consistent across age groups but appear in different ways in different phases of life. This requires a nuanced understanding of the following:

ADHD testing in children and adolescents requires a sophisticated, nuanced understanding of the difference between typical childhood and adolescent behavior and behavior caused by ADHD.

Everyone knows kids can be excitable, distractible, inattentive, bursting with energy, and can have problems listening, following directions, following through on directions, and focusing on things they don’t want to focus on. Everyone also knows teens can show the same behaviors, but in different ways and in response to different developmental factors, needs, and tendencies.

ADHD testing in adults requires a thorough understanding of how ADHD appears after childhood and adolescence and the way symptoms change during adulthood. We gather information from you, your family members and/or friends, and from our own clinical observations and interpretation of the CAARS assessment.

When you develop ADHD early, but it goes undetected – and therefore untreated – several things can happen:

Standard ADHD testing and screening involves an element of subjectivity that can skew the results.

Self-reports from children and parents may not represent what’s actually going on for a variety of reasons, including:

Self-reports from adults may involve omissions or decisions not to disclose based on thoughts like I have this under control or it’s like this for everyone or I have this quirk of mine all figured out, while self-reports from adults about the specifics of when symptoms first appeared may simply be lost to the passage of time.

Clinician-assessed metrics also involve subjectivity even when administered and interpreted by experienced clinicians. While mental health professionals – and all medical professionals – spend years developing objective analytic skills, the fact remains that every diagnosis is based on a combination of objective metrics and an interpretation of those metrics influenced by an in-person interview.

The CPT-3 is a computer-based assessment that scores in-the-moment performance on tasks that measure attention, impulsivity, and executive function. There is no self-reporting or interviewing in the CPT-3. You’re scored on the answers you give and the tasks you complete. This test offers a level of diagnostic objectivity that’s not possible with other assessments and is an important component of our comprehensive ADHD testing. It eliminates subjectivity and potential misinterpretation as much as possible.

When we know exactly how your ADHD appears and affects your life, whether you’re a child, adolescent, or adult, we create a plan that can improve:

We can help you develop the skills you need to live with ADHD, and provide the practical, useful tools you maya need to move past longstanding barriers, resolve decades-long challenges, and help you thrive in all areas of life.