My daughters doctor/teacher can't agree on if she has ADHD...advice?

My daughters teachers seem to think she has ADHD…My daughters doctor does not…what would you do in this situation?

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If my doctor you mean PCP I would suggest psychological evaluation and testing to determine. This also typically includes paperwork completed by the parent, teacher, and PCP as well as a very thorough evaluation by a psych with lots of different questions but also different tasks and tests.

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Our pediatrician gave us a packet - one for the teacher, one for someone else and one for the parents. And then they score it and see if they have the traits for ADHD.

Your teacher spends all week with your child the Dr doesn’t, I would definitely be listening to the teacher and your own intuition :raised_hands:

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Consider an evaluation by a developmental pediatrician, they are more qualified than a regular pediatrician to diagnose adhd

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She doesn’t have ADHD she just needs lots of outdoor playtime every single day. If not outdoor “play” then be doing a sport or just some type of physical activity everyday

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Have an evaluation done by a child mental health specialist

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Definitely don’t listen to the teachers. They like to blame anything they can. Get a thrid opinion from another source. People like to label kids to they don’t have to try as hard. You could also try to change her diet, and add in more physical activity.

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Give a natural stimulant like green tea or raspberry tea that has no sugar and see if her adhd symptoms lessen. If they do then she has ADHD if they don’t then she needs an outlet for her energy

Personally, I’d take her to another doctor for a second opinion just in case since doctors can get things wrong too. If the second doctor agrees with the first then that would reassure me completely, and I would trust the doctors’ opinions over a random teacher.

Ask Doctor to send her for testing.

Ummm. How is this even a question??? What quality’s a teacher to diagnose a medical condition over a doctor :roll_eyes:

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Teachers just want truly children that follow every single direction of it was up to them all kids would be drugged in order to be complacent

2nd opinion from a different dr…

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Teachers aren’t medical professionals and can’t diagnose anything. What doctor did you take your child to? I would take them to a psychologist as pediatricians are not trained in psychology.

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Go with what your Dr says
Not what some teacher says

Doctor trumps teacher in education and authority he has a medical license

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Get a phyc evaluation n get a second Drs opinion

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The teacher is not a Dr. Is she bored in school? If she’s relatively doing well but can’t sit still bc she gets bored, that’s not ADHD. That’s her needing something more to fill her brain. Ask the dr about a child therapist. They can help her.

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Umm a second option from another dr and sent it to the BOE by email paper trail paper trail paper trail always important

Don’t listen to either of them and have a full evaluation done by a specialist who actually knows and can diagnose appropriately.

I would tell the teacher not all kids are cut from the same cookie cutter and he needs to suck it up. Even if she does it’s obviously not to the point the doctor believes she needs medication so.

So do my sons teachers and they even recommended for him to see a Dr. Who could prescribe possibly meds… He’s THREE :roll_eyes: I pay them no mind. My daughter was hyperactive at his age she’s six now and completely chill.

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I had this situation with my son. I do admit he has traits of ADHD. I got him evaluated twice by different psychiatrists. Both said he doesn’t have ADHD. I had to pull him out of that school because the principal was pressuring me almost daily to put him on meds & making school miserable for him when I refused. This guy had a habit of trying to force single moms to see the Dr he chose & put them on meds.

A teacher cannot diagnose ADHD. The school’s CSE can diagnose other “disorders” so they should be doing assessments and working with the pediatrician to see what’s going on. If it’s not ADHD, she could have some other things going on that mimic it and that is why the teacher has concerns, but a teacher is not qualified to make that diagnosis. Only a physician can. If you feel that the pediatrician is not correct in their diagnosis, there are places that specialize in neurodivergence and could help assess, but they likely have a waiting list!

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Maybe its an impulse disordered. Always go with the doctor that is trained in that area. Went through something similar with son. It was the impulse disorder

Doctors know more then teachers.
Teachers seem to throw diagnoses out. It takes a lot to get a formal diagnose :blush:

My daughter’s kindergarten teacher said that too. I set up all these appointments, never took my daughter. We switched schools and the teachers said she is very well behaved and must have been bored.

We fought this for 10 yrs. Teacher and us both thought she had it. Pcp and psych dr would never do anything. Changed phsych drs and she was appalled and put her on meds at 16. Huge change. And now excelling school,work, sports and just life in general. Makes me wonder if we would have had a dr that listened when my daughter was little how different life would have been.

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Most teachers don’t like kids that aren’t little robots & don’t do exactly as they’re told. They like to say stuff like this so the kid gets drugged up & easier to deal with.

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There are 3 variants of ADHD. My 7yo is inattentive. Not disruptive in class, just struggles to pay attention.

Listen to the doctor. The teacher is not an expert and a lot are quick to say it’s adhd when it isn’t.

The teacher is not a medical professional. They have no business trying to diagnose anyone.

Was the kid even evaluated? Get a proper evaluation by someone who is qualified

Teachers are far more in tune with things like ADHD because they see it every day. I’ve met medical professionals who don’t believe girls can have ASD or ADHD. It could be that it’s actually ASD as there is some overlap in the way it manifests. If your DD is struggling to focus or getting stressed about not being able to finish work, is disruptive in class or can’t sit still and is fidgeting/doodling or stimming then those would be things that would make me mention it to a parent. You need to see an Educational Psychologist for an Evaluation and Assessment. There are also forms you can probably find online which can be an indicator but are often aimed at boys. How is your daughter at tidying her room, doing simple chores, following complex instructions etc? Does she lose track of time? Does she sometimes seem “away with the fairies”? How does she cope with word problems in math? Does she start wondering why Ben has bought four pizzas yet only eaten one and a half of them rather than working out there are 2 1/2 pizzas left? All these would be making me wonder about ADHD or ADD. ASD is more things like sensory issues, fussy eating, social exhaustion, misunderstanding idioms etc.

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Honestly I would get a third opinion, from a psychiatrist.