I have to agree with inspiredbymusic.
Some background:
It was felt a number of years ago that the adhd meds only effected kids with adhd and the response could be diagnostic. In other words, "Give the kid Ritalin and if it works he is adhd." Now we know this is not the case. Most kids respond favorably to the medications. If they do not then you may be looking at some other issues-if it makes them more hyperactive then you need to notify your physician.
On SPECT imaging; as mentioned above this is related to the work of Dr Amen. It has not been yet validated for use in diagnosing individual cases of adhd. There is a report from the American Psychiatric Association from 2005 addressing this.
http://archive.psych.org/edu/other_res/lib_archives/archives /200501.pdf
The thing to keep in mind is there has been some very significant work using scans showing differences in brain development in adhd kids. The work is done however looking at groups of subjects not individuals. The results show too much individual variation at this point to be useful in diagnosing individuals. Also there are several parts of the brain involved with varying combinations of differences.
It would be wonderful if there was a definitive diagnostic test for adhd but alas there is not one at the present. Hope abounds however. The imaging techniques give a lot of hope in this but their time is not now.
I hope this is some help on general background information. They more you know about this disorder the more you can help your child.
Dizfriz
< =text/>_popupControl(); From what I remember of the piece on tv, Bright Minds is using the above mentioned tests as a tool to rule out the misdiagnosis of autism. The scans actually showed that in a SMALL number of children diagnosed with autism, what was acutally happening was siezures. Some of the children who had the scans were shown to be having siezures and after starting the anti-siezure meds, made great strides with speech and interaction. They warned that not all people would benefit from the test and that it was not widely medically accepted and that parents have to make the choice on their own.
If my son was having periods of "going away", more than just doing something other than what he's supposed to be paying attention to, I'd definately give it a try. As for their efficacy in diagnosing adhd, the causes of adhd are still up in the air, but I tend to believe the "sleeping lobe" theory. I believe that in this case brain scans will probably one day be one of the accepted diagnostic criteria.
The main purpose of an eeg or an mri is to rule out a medical reason Neither test can diagnose ADHD or any other neuro biological disorder but they are used as a tool to rule out other things. Unfortunately television shows and the media can be a fountain of misinformationI would like to see that SPECT imaging be used in the psychological field to properly and correctly diagnose mental illness's and cognitive disorders.Sherri
To the best of my knowledge, there exists no test as such for diagnosing ADHD. Currently,the gold standard is the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines for diagnosing and evaluation of ADHD. This is accessible on the help4adhd site. I suggest you look there for good information. It is the national, federally funded, information site for ADHD. This is probably the top site for getting valid up to date information on ADHD. You can ask questions and someone knowledgeable will respond. They post an 800 number and have a email site. You can access this from the home page.
There are a lot of people pushing a number of ways to separate anxious parents of ADHD children from their money. This is your kid, you need to check out that which you hear. Sometimes it is good but more often not. It is hard to find good data but this is a good place to start. When raising my ADHD child, it would have been very nice to have this level of information and help. There was not a lot available 30+ years ago and this would have made both his and my life a lot easier.
Anyway keep plugging. My son was a struggle as are many children. He turned out to be a healthy, pleasant and and productive adult. It is a pleasure to know him. He is still ADHD though. There is hope.
Dizfriz
Luvmykids0239589.3321527778 [QUOTE=jaqcl]My understanding is that ADD/ADHD meds only work if you truly have ADD/ADHD. If I gave my dd my ds meds they would not have the same effect as they do on him. If a child is misdiagnosed the meds should not work for them. [/QUOTE] Sorry, I don't mean to be contradictory, but I have heard pretty much the opposite. Most ADHD meds are stimulants, and stimulants can improve focus and performance in many people. Just like many people use caffeine to feel more able to focus and get work done (although it makes some people jittery and nervous and prevents them from sleeping--which might also be the case for many "typical" children). So my understanding is that trying meds to see if they work is not an effective way to diagnose. I guess different doctors have different opinions though.
BPQW
It it is, in my opinion, always a good thing to bring up the possibility of seizures. If the child "goes away" (good description btw) and does not respond to stimulus then you may well be dealing with a seizure situation (absence or the old name petit mal). My youngest had this and fortunately mom picked up on it when he was young and we were able to get him some help.
On diagnosis: I have a Barkley workshop from last year and he is suggesting that within less than a decade we will be able to take a gene scan of a child and make an accurate diagnosis from that. Fascinating
Dizfriz redux
My understanding is that ADD/ADHD meds only work if you truly have ADD/ADHD. If I gave my dd my ds meds they would not have the same effect as they do on him. If a child is misdiagnosed the meds should not work for them.
Thanks for the reply. I don't know how this would work. From what I got from the story some kids are misdiagnosed with ADHD and Autism and there is really something else going on in the brain. Just wanted to get your guys opinion. I have thrown away so much money on things that do not help.
Hi Everyone
I just saw this on Good Morning America. I think they use MRI and EEG to give a more specific dx. I have tried other alternative approaches in the past with no success and was wondering if anyone here has been to Bright Minds Institute. According to there website they are in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Any comment would be great. My son is 5 dx adhd and odd.
Thanks Sherri
I don't know how an mri and an eeg can dx adhd. An eeg only shows electrical current and the area where it is firing. A mri can show the areas of the brain working while one is thinking. Since adhd is a problem with neurotransmitters making the correct connection, how would either test show a tneurotrransmitter? [QUOTE=Yme!]