The more information your health care professional has, the better able he or she will be to evaluate your child for ADHD.

How to Help in Evaluation

You can help your health care professional help your child. Before the office visit:

1. Collect teacher evaluations. Schools may have standard forms for teachers to report their observations of students. If the teachers have not already delivered a copy of these forms for your health care professional, ask if the school has them. You might also consider scheduling a meeting with your child’s teacher. Be sure to bring along a copy of the Teacher Discussion Guide. The school nurse, social worker, or counselor may be able to provide you with valuable information. You can also include your child’s report cards, progress reports from camps, and comments from coaches. It will be helpful to share these items with the health care professional.
   
   
2. Fill out your own evaluation. The health care professional may have a form for parent evaluations that you can ask for before the first visit. It would also be helpful for you to record your child’s symptoms and bring the results to your first appointment.
   
   
3. Create a family history. Print out this form: Apples on the Family Tree. Fill it in with the help of other family members.
   
   

Now that you know what materials to pull together, learn more about the evaluation process.