Questions to Ask the Doctor

Finding a doctor who treats adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) could be difficult since the occurrence of this condition in adults is only recently recognized. The following are some helpful questions to ask when looking for medical care:

• Are you familiar with diagnosing ADHD in adults?



• How long have you been diagnosing ADHD in adults?



• How many adults have you diagnosed with ADHD in the past 5 years? (The more the better, but even each few a year is far better than none.) What percent of your practice has a primary diagnosis of ADHD? (Again, the higher the percentage the better, but 5-10% is far better than none.)



• How familiar are you with the day-to-day burden of having ADHD? (How intimate is the doctor's understanding of ADHD on a daily basis?)



• What is your treatment philosophy? (You want to determine if the clinician will work with you and be open to suggestions or if he or she will call all the shots or if the treatment is individually tailored.)



• Do you regularly read materials or attend conferences related to adult ADHD? (Try to learn what the clinician does to maintain current knowledge about adult ADHD and its treatment protocols.)



• How do you make a diagnosis? How many visits will it take and how much will it cost?



• How long will I have to wait for an appointment?



• What medications are you likely to prescribe? (Ask psychologists how they handle the medication part of treatment because psychologists cannot prescribe medications.)



• Keep track of who you called and how they answered these questions.

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