The Importance of Follow-Up Assessments in Managing ADD and ADHD

Dr. John Chuang, Dr. Sandip Patankar, Board-Certified by the American Board of Family Medicine, and Dr. Michelle Roberts, Dr. Ken Dority, Board-Certified by the American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians, see patients daily at The ADD/ADHD Diagnostic & Treatment Center in Plano, Frisco, McKinney, & Highland Park, TX. They provide ADD and ADHD evaluation and treatment of symptoms.

Our doctors want you to understand how to manage these conditions.

Explaining ADD/ADHD

ADD: Attention Deficit Disorder

ADHD: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder 

Both require a professional assessment, evaluation, and treatment plan for life. 

Parents usually notice specific signs and symptoms of these disorders early in their child's life. Although there is no cure for these conditions that follow the child into adulthood, management can help your child live a nearly normal life.

What Does Management Mean?

The ADD/ADHD Diagnostic & Treatment Center in Plano, Frisco, McKinney, and Highland Park, TX, explains that after they do an ADD and ADHD evaluation and set a treatment plan in place, the approaches in that treatment plan may need to be changed periodically for various reasons. As a child grows and develops, approaches often require reconsideration.

Considerations of ADD/ADHD in the Management of These Conditions

Risk Factors

• It may pose long-term morbidity if untreated.
• Problematic relationships at home, work, and in social settings without treatment.

 Assessment Process

• Evaluation begins when parents see behavior problems, poor school function, and social interaction problems in young children, usually four to five years old.
• We do a comprehensive history and physical examination and consider other conditions possibly mimicking ADHD.
• We involve parents, teachers, family, and friends in establishing a diagnosis.
• Establish psychosocial interventions for ages four to five.
• Establish a medication regime, such as stimulants, to reduce symptoms in elementary children and young adolescents.
• When stimulants are not effective or tolerated, we may consider non-stimulant medications.

 Vital Management Criteria

• Reduce symptoms
• Improve socializations
• Improve cognition
• Monitor readjust medications
• Regular follow-up visits to assess symptoms, adverse effects of treatment, medication, overall function
• Monitoring and changing treatment plans
• Readjusting medications
• Ongoing management vital to successful adulthood
• Ongoing 1:1 and group therapy sessions throughout life to manage anxiety and other problems help maintain the highest quality of life possible (Psychoeducation, Behavior Therapy, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)

Seek Help for ADD and ADHD Now

Call Dr. Chuang, Dr. Patankar, Dr. Roberts, and Dr. Dority at 972-943-0410 at the ADD/ADHD Diagnostic & Treatment Center in Plano, Frisco, McKinney, & Highland Park, TX, for your scheduled ADD and ADHD evaluation.

If you suspect your child has symptoms of ADD or ADHD, your child needs a professional assessment and early treatment plan. Don't let ADD or ADHD go undiagnosed and untreated.