Professionals Who Diagnose and Treat AD/HD

Topics in this section:

• Hospital and University AD/HD Centers

When seeking an evaluation or treatment for AD/HD, it is important to see a qualified, licensed healthcare professional. In addition to ensuring that a particular professional has the required training, it is also important to work with a professional who has experience in dealing with this disorder.

There are several types of professionals who typically diagnose AD/HD.  These include: physicians (especially psychiatrists, pediatricians, neurologists), psychologists, social workers, nurse practitioners, and other licensed counselors or therapists (e.g. professional counselors, marriage and family therapists, etc.).

In addition to those who may diagnose AD/HD, there are numerous other professionals who may have a role in providing treatment and other services for individuals with AD/HD and related disorders. These may include various types oftherapists or specialists (such as occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, behavior therapists, educational specialists, etc.).

While all of the above professionals can provide treatment for AD/HD, only certain medical professionals can prescribe medication and perform thorough physical evaluations to rule out other possible causes of symptoms. These professionals are physicians (M.D. or D.O.), nurse practitioners, and physician assistants (P.A.) under the supervision of a physician.  All professionals -- including medical/health professionals and educational professionals -- should work only within their scope of experience and expertise.

Because multimodal treatment is the cornerstone of treatment, it is important that all of the members of your treatment team communicate with each other on a regular basis.

Other Web Sites:

• How to Choose a Quality Behavioral Health Care Provider
  This resource provides questions to ask before choosing behavioral health care treatment, care or services.
• How to Choose a Quality Behavioral Health Care Provider of Services to Youth and Children
  This resource provides questions to ask before choosing behavioral health care treatment, care or services for children and adolescents.