Affordable Adult ADD Testing
My husband needs to be tested for ADD. In fact, our marriage might depend on it. He sought out an expert who quoted him thousands of dollars just to be tested then referred. We cannot afford that. I'm sure testing is not exclusive to those who can afford that much out of pocket. Any recommendations on where he can go that is more affordable? We live in the Pleasanton area but can drive if it's within reasonable (< 1 hour) driving distance.
Nov 1, 2016
Parent Replies
The cheapest and most foolproof way to find out if he has ADHD is to get your GP to prescribe him one Ritalin. If he calms down, he has ADHD, if he feels "speeded up," he doesn't.
ADHD is brain chemistry related, not behavioral. I bitterly resent the thousands of dollars people have to spend for an evaluation, when this simple medical test can answer all questions.
If you have an understanding doctor, this is the way to go.
There is absolutely no reason to spend thousands of dollars to "test" for ADHD. Do this instead : Make an appointment with a psychiatrist who will talk with your husband for an hour. If your husband's problems seem likely to be caused by ADHD the psychiatrist will give you a prescription, probably for ritalin. This drug takes effect within half an hour (rather than the weeks or months that some drugs like anti-depressants can take). If your husband reports feeling calm and focused, he probably has ADHD and the drug will make a huge improvement in your lives. If he reports feeling jittery and buzzy, like he just drank 10 cups of coffee, he most likely does not have ADHD. It's really that simple and will cost a much cheaper $250 or so for the psych. appointment plus the cost of an rx.
I'm usually skeptical of skeptics, if you know what I mean, but there's a great new book out by Pulitzer prize winning New York Times writer Alan Schwartz called ADHD Nation -- it's about the overdiagnosis of ADHD in children and adults, and the collusion of pharmacy companies and ADHD specialists in publicizing the condition and treatments. I'm not saying that ADHD isn't real or that your husband might not have it, just wanting to point out that there's a lot of misinformation and over diagnosis that you might want to be aware of.