I have a child that has ADHD-inattentive type. After 2 years of denial and trying to rule out other issues, we finally decided to try stimulant medication. DS showed remarkable improvement immediately. We chose not to inform the school, but the very first week we got a call from both his teachers telling us how great he was doing.
It has been 5 years and we have increased his dosage twice and are on the verge of increasing again as he has hit puberty and it seems to be metabolizing too fast.
It was very uncomfortable for me to agree to medication and even consider the possibility of ADHD for my very calm and well behaved child. More uncomfortable since it is a clinical diagnosis with so much gray area. That said, there were significant indicators that we finally captured on the ADHD rating scales once I was willing to be honest and within his psycho-educational testing. (For him, very low processing speed relative to other index scores).
Medication does not change him, yet he tells us he is better able to cope and follow what is going on. I notice that he stays more on topic during conversations, gets his homework done more efficiently and is able to complete tasks and remember what he is doing. He still has reading disabilities and difficulty planning his approach to new tasks. But, medication allows him to attend better and to remember the strategies he has been taught.
Finding the right the medication and dosage is a trial and error thing. Sometimes it is hard to know if you have the right dose or if a bit more would be better. Sometimes different brands within the same class work differently from child to child. For these reasons, it is important to consult with a physician that is an expert in ADHD: a psychiatrist, neurologist, developmental pediatrician.
And, there is always the possibility that medication does not work for your child. This happens more frequently with the inattentive type. Again, an expert can guide you and recommend alternative therapies and supports if needed.
So, to answer your question - is there another way to diagnose? It is a clinical diagnosis based usually on rating scales, cognitive test results, perhaps observation and interview. Unfortunately, no simple blood test or x-ray that gives a definitive yes or no! You can rule out certain "look alikes" such as sleep disorders, Lyme decease, thyroid problems, learning disabilities. But the diagnosis is primarily based on the physician's judgement of the data. Again - this is why using and expert is so helpful. ( I do think that testing that is only one year old should be sufficient - perhaps they could take a look at some specific new testing, but it seems crazy to retest the entire battery. In fact, many tests cannot be used more than once a year and most experts suggest that the WISC should be given no more than every 3 years if possible).
