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Preparing for your appointment
By Mayo Clinic staffYou're likely to start by taking your child to a family doctor or a pediatrician. Depending on the results of the initial evaluation, your doctor may refer you to a specialist, such as a developmental-behavioral pediatrician, psychologist, psychiatrist or pediatric neurologist.
It's a good idea to be well prepared for your child's appointment so that you can be sure you have time to cover all of the points that are important to you. Here's some information to help you get ready for your appointment, and know what to expect from your doctor.
What you can do
- Write down any difficulties your child has at home or at school, including any that may seem unrelated to the reason for which you scheduled the appointment.
- Write down key personal information, including any major stresses or recent life changes.
- Make a list of all medications, as well as any vitamins or supplements, that your child is taking.
- Write down questions to ask your child's doctor.
Your time with the doctor is limited, so preparing a list of questions will help you make the most of your time together. List your questions from most important to least important in case time runs out. For ADHD, some basic questions to ask your doctor include:
- Other than ADHD, what are other possible causes for my child's symptoms?
- What kinds of tests does my child need?
- What treatments are available, and which do you recommend for my child?
- What are the alternatives to the primary approach that you're suggesting?
- My child has these other health conditions. How can I best manage these conditions together?
- Should my child see a specialist?
- Is there a generic alternative to the medicine you're prescribing for my child?
- What types of side effects can we expect from the medication?
- Are there any brochures or other printed material that I can take home with me? What websites do you recommend visiting?
In addition to the questions that you've prepared to ask your doctor, don't hesitate to ask questions anytime you don't understand something during your appointment.
What to expect from your doctor
Your doctor is likely to ask you a number of questions, and being ready with answers will leave you more time to spend on other issues of concern to you:
- When did you first notice your child's behavior issues?
- Do the troubling behaviors occur everywhere or only in certain situations?
- How severe are your child's difficulties?
- What, if anything, appears to worsen your child's behavior?
- What, if anything, seems to improve your child's behavior?
- In what settings have you noticed your child having difficulties: at home, at school or in other situations?
- Does your child consume caffeine? How much?
- What are your child's sleep hours and patterns?
- How is your child's current and past academic performance? If you have them, bring any past evaluations and results of formal testing with you.
- Does your child read at home? Does he or she have trouble reading?
- What discipline methods have you used at home? Which ones are effective?
- Describe who lives at home and a typical daily routine.
- Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. National Institute of Mental Health. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder/adhd_booklet.pdf. Accessed Nov. 10, 2010.
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. In: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR. 4th ed. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Association; 2000. http://www.psychiatryonline.com. Accessed Nov. 10, 2010.
- Rucklidge JJ. Gender differences in attention/deficit hyperactivity disorder. Psychiatric Clinics of North America. 2010;33:357.
- Clinical practice guideline: Treatment of the school-aged child with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Elk Grove Village, Ill. American Academy of Pediatrics. Subcommittee on Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Committee on Quality Improvement, et al. Pediatrics. 2001;108:1033.
- Rader R, et al. Current strategies in the diagnosis and treatment of childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. American Family Physician. 2009;79:657.
- Spencer T. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. In: Ebert MH, et al. Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Psychiatry. 2nd ed. New York, N.Y., McGraw Hill Medical; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=3290305. Accessed Nov. 10, 2010.
- Wilms Floet AM, et al. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Pediatrics in Review. 2010;31:56.
- Krisanaprakornkit T, et al. Meditation therapies for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2010:CD006507. http://www.cochrane.org/reviews. Accessed Nov. 10, 2010.
- Larzelere MM, et al. Complementary and alternative medicine usage for behavioral health indications. Primary Care Clinics. 2010;37:213.
- Swintak CC (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Nov. 19, 2010.
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