Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Feels like 2E...

I don't know if you are open to medication, but if you did a trial and didn't notice a difference,I would guess that means it's probably not ADHD. With the stimulants you can see a difference in 1-2 hpurs. That being said, whether you see a difference would probably depend on what they are doing at the time (cleaning or doing schoolwork vs. playing, etc).

We got a diagnose through the family doctor but it was just invetories, incl. ones for the teachers, and the school psych kindly did an observation to see what percent of the time he was on task. The neuropsych testing showed him to be in the average range for those sorts of tests, but the neuropsych thought he was "acting" like ADHD. So there is no truly reliable method of diagnosing it, IMO.

If there's no other reason for the behavior, and it meets the diagnostic criteria, then yes, he'd get the diagnosis. It's a medical diagnosis which doctor-patient confidentiality. You don't have to tell anyone. A diagnosis gives you closure and direction on how to move forward.

Are you feeling maybe some denial or grief? Why wouldn't you want to know what is wrong so that you can help him overcome?

I can understand your frustration. You would think that the neuropsych evaluation would be the end of the road of this question. To be honest with you, I am a bit surprised by how this neuropsych dismissed ADHD so readily.

I don't think you need to rush into anything here. Wait and see how the new school works. A poor education setting could indeed cause lots of issues.