Yes. However, many pediatricians prefer to refer the child to a mental health professional for a psychoeducational evaluation. A thorough evaluation is helpful because it is not always clear what the exact problem is. Behavior and attention problems can be caused by many factors such as family stress (divorce, marital strain, loss of a family member, financial trouble, etc.) as well as be part of other disorders including Bipolar disorder, Oppositional Defiant disorder, Anxiety, PTSD, Depression, etc. In addition, a large percentage of children with ADHD have learning disabilities. Therefore, we recommend a thorough evaluation to make this diagnosis which is supported by the recommendations made by the American Psychological Association and The National Institute of Mental Health.

At FPP we recommend you ask other mental health professionals who do ADHD evaluations the following questions:

1. What tests do you use?
2. Do you have any specific attention tests?
3. Do you look at their emotional functioning?
4. What experience do you have assessing for ADHD?
5. Do you look at possible learning problems as well?
6. Will you observe the child in the classroom if needed?
7. Will I get a copy of the results?