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What to Do if You Suspect Your Child Has ADHD

October 18, 2016 by

If your child is showing signs of hyperactive behavior and you have noticed that they have a difficult time staying focused or paying attention to certain things, you may be wondering whether or not it is worth having them screened for ADHD. Most experts will agree that it’s usually quite difficult to determine whether or not a child has ADHD until they are around six or seven years old, so if your child is younger, it may be worth waiting until they are this age in order to see whether or not they are still showing ADHD-like symptoms. Many younger children are often a little bit hyperactive, and will grow out of this trait over time. However, if you are worried and still want to have your child evaluated, here’s how to go about it.

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Finding a Professional

If you are concerned that your child may be suffering from ADHD, it’s important to make sure that they are evaluated by a qualified professional. It’s a good idea to start off by visiting your pediatrician or family doctor when you go see someone for help, as they will be able to refer you to specialists and other health professionals who work with children who have ADHD. Your family doctor or pediatrician will also be able to run some preliminary screenings in order to ensure that any other potential health conditions or causes are ruled out.

What to Expect

If you have never been to an ADHD evaluation before, it might be a little daunting for both you and your child if you are unsure what to expect. Usually, an ADHD evaluation or screening will consist of a thorough screening of your child’s family, personal and medical history, along with interviews with your child, yourself, and perhaps a teacher from their school. Along with this, there is usually a physical examination of your child carried out in order to ensure that any other physical causes of ADHD-like symptoms are ruled out. Once the evaluation is complete, you will be asked to return for a follow-up meeting.

Ongoing Treatment and Support

When it comes to managing ADHD, it’s important to ensure that your child is given the right ongoing treatment and support. Many children who are diagnosed with ADHD will be able to recover from the disorder before they reach adulthood with the right therapy, treatment and support. Your doctor or pediatrician may be able to refer your child to regular counselling and other talking therapies such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or Psychotherapy, which can often be very useful when managing and learning to live with the symptoms of ADHD. Along with this, it’s important that you support your child as well as possible by taking part in their treatment and asking advice about how to change your home life and environment to make things easier for them.

If you think that your child may be suffering from ADHD, it’s important to take them to a professional in order to find out for certain.




Minute Clinic Saves You Time

August 14, 2012 by

Shaun started football August 1st and so far he is doing awesome but before he was able to start we needed to get him a sports physical which is required by the league. I can totally understand since football is a contact sport the league wants to make sure that all of the kids are in good physical condition to play the game.

You may have read in the past that we DON’T have medical insurance which totally sucks but we make do and make sure the kids are healthy and see the doctor when necessary. Recently I was approached by Minute Clinic and asked if I wanted to take Shaun in for a free physical. Considering we have no health insurance and his physical was going to be paid out of my pocket I jumped at the opportunity and I am glad I did. MinuteClinic made the whole physical process very easy and stress free.

Minute Clinic makes it easy for people on the go because they do not require an appointment and they have evening and weekend hours which was perfect for us because our primary doctor couldn’t see Shaun for a few weeks and the only time I was able to take Shaun was first thing on a Saturday morning.

MinuteClinic is a division of CVS Caremark Corporation which launched the first retail health care centers in the United States in 2000 and is the first provider to establish a national presence, with approximately 600 locations across 25 states. MinuteClinic makes health care easier for people with a lot going on. Our family of nurse practitioners and physician assistants provide quality care every day, with convenient evening and weekend hours. We accept insurance and you don’t need an appointment. Just stop in when you need us.

The Minute Clinic we visited was in Springfield PA and we went first thing on a Saturday morning and when we arrived there was no wait. Like all doctor’s visits there were a few forms to fill out but we got right in and the physical went really smooth. The physician did a battery of tests on Shaun to determine that he was ok and healthy enough the play football and we were on our way. I would say the total visit took less than an hour.

Minute Clinic’s are located within CVS locations but don’t think they aren’t a real doctor’s office since they are inside a CVS because that isn’t true for a second. I feel Shaun got exception service and the service was no different than he would have gotten at his primary care physician but it was a lot cheaper. Sports physicals for a limited time are only $49. How can you bet that?

Minute Clinic does everything from minor illness exams to vaccinations to labs and tests. For a full list of services they offer click HERE!

Before this visit I didn’t know that Minute Clinic existed but now that I do I will be using them in the future for sure.

I Disclose




We are headed in the right direction

February 7, 2011 by

We finally had our meeting with Shaun’s teachers, filled out some evaluation papers and met with the doctor.

Shaun indeed has ADD(no surprise). Thankfully there are no other issues to deal with such as violent or aggressive tendencies or an inability to learn. His teachers sung his praises about his intelligence and eagerness to participate and how sweet he is. The problems are his lack of focus, careless mistakes and following through on tasks. We have those same challenges at home along with emotional outbursts; crying.

We’ve started him on medication on Sunday. I hope to see some improvements by week’s end.   Along with his medications we need to work on some behavior management. Unfortunately we are a yelling family; we know we need to change this but especially more now. A month ago we just thought he was being a pain in the ass but now that we understand better what is going on we can handle it much better. I’m just happy to  know my boy isn’t broken.

Thank you everyone for your kind words, support and well wishes. We will keep you all updated with the progress, challenges and changes going on.