Working With Doctors

Your child's diagnosis, treatment, and progress depend on clear communication with your child's doctor. So, be sure you are both on the same page throughout the process of evaluation, treatment plan development, and tracking progress. You can make sure your child's doctor is aware of your child's most troublesome ADHD symptoms by filling out the Behavior Assessment and taking it with you to your child's next appointment.

Below are more tips on how to work with your child's doctor.

Discussing Treatment Options

There are a variety of treatment options for ADHD that your child's doctor may suggest including medication and behavioral therapy. It can be helpful to learn about treatment options before going to your appointment so that you can understand your child's doctor better and be prepared with any questions you may have. If you need time to think about your options, tell your child's doctor. Don't be pressured to decide anything on the spot if you aren't ready and don't hesitate to ask all of your questions.

Download a Doctor Discussion Guide to help you plan what to say and what to ask the next time you visit the doctor.

Setting Realistic Goals

It is often helpful to set small goals that are based on your child's specific behavior. For example, if your child fights every day with siblings, you may start out with the goal of reducing the number of arguments per week. After a period of time, you can use specific goals to assess how well your child's treatment plan is working. You and your child's doctor will need to set these goals together, since you have a much better knowledge of your child's behavior and personality than the doctor. If the treatment plan is working, you can set new goals. If not, you can reassess the plan and try something new.

Measuring Treatment Success

Once you have a treatment plan in place and established behavior goals, talk to your child's doctor about how to measure progress. You may want to register to use inPROGRESS, which allows you to track symptoms on a weekly basis. Or your child's doctor may want you and your child's teachers to fill out behavior assessment scales, both before treatment begins and for a period of time after, to measure how ratings have changed. Learn more about tracking progress.