ADHD symptoms display themselves in multiple environments. The DSM criteria state innattentive/disorganized/impulsive/hyperactive (or the first two only for innattentive type) must be present in at least three settings. These behaviors must also have surfaced before age 5.
I want to second what Evemomma pointed out (above). When our ds was initially diagnosed with ADHD during his first neuropsych eval at the end of 2nd grade, he had symptoms commonly associated with ADHD but they were *only* present in the classroom or when he was faced with a task he couldn't perform at home. The home behaviors took awhile to understand, simply because we hadn't realized until that time that he had dyspraxia and dysgraphia. The other clue for us to was that ds had none of these behaviors present until he was in school, which is the first time he was in a situation where he was expected to be able to write.
It's great to get the perspectives of folks who have already been down this road.
Interestingly, my DH--who was not keen on getting an evaluation, and who I suspect has undiagnosed ADHD-I--is now of the opinion that we must follow all recommendations in the report (including talking to the doc about a meds trial). When we shared the results of the evaluation with his parents, his dad (former child psych) pooh-poohed ADHD.
I'm of the opinion that he may or may not have ADHD, but he definitely has focus and attention issues that need to be addressed. I have a much higher tolerance for the stuff that drives his dad and teachers nuts, I suppose. His violin teacher really gets him and knows how to work with him--she is dx ADHD.
Looking at the big picture, I see a kid who's matured so much in the past few years, seems well-liked by his peers--and takes absolutely FOREVER to transition into a less-desirable activity, always has. If he's reading a book, building with Legos, or watching a screen, it's a struggle to pull him back into the boring world of teeth that need brushing, school that starts when it starts..."blah blah blah" as he'd say.
Mo
