If you suspect that you might have ADHD, and want to get tested for it, you might be asking yourself…how? To find out how to get tested for ADHD UAE, we will go through what you need to know, including what ADHD actually is and what you can expect from an assessment.
At the Brain Workshop, we aim to give everyone the tools they need to thrive in their life. From helping parents with dos and don’ts and strategies for their ADHD children to boosting memory power and improving studying.
Understanding ADHD
There are plenty of successful people with ADHD, including Michael Phelps, Adam Levine, Simone Biles, Margot Robbie, and many more. So, if you ever thought that having ADHD means that you wouldn’t be able to achieve what you want in life, you would be wrong.
When it comes to ADHD, there are two single types to be aware of – inattentive and hyperactive. However, these can also exist alongside each other to form the combined type of ADHD.
ADHD is measured with three severity levels – mild, moderate, and severe. Here’s a quick breakdown:
- Mild – minimal ADHD-related impairment, and there are few other symptoms present besides those required to meet the ADHD diagnostic criteria.
- Moderate – there is more notable ADHD-related impairment, and there are a number of more dominant symptoms
- Severe – there is severe ADHD-related impairment, and it heavily impacts your life (school, work, etc), and there are either a lot of symptoms present, or some of them are very severe.
How to Get Tested for ADHD UAE
If you want to know how to get tested for ADHD UAE, it’s much easier than you might think! Assessments can happen either in-person or via a video call like Zoom. This means that you can go through your assessment and get your diagnosis from another country without any trouble.
Provided your diagnosis is made my a registered psychiatrist, your diagnosis should be recognised in your home country, too. This is a popular route to go down because of waiting times in other countries. For example, in the UK, the waiting list to have an ADHD assessment varies from anywhere from a few weeks to two or more years in some areas.
It isn’t difficult to understand the appeal of turning to other routes if you want to pursue a diagnosis – whether for yourself or someone else. However, what exactly is the process, and what should you expect from the assessment?
Let’s go through it.
Contact The Brain Workshop
If you would like to get your ADHD assessment done through the Brain Workshop, you can click on this link, and it will take you to our assessment page. Here, we go through the details of the Gibson Test and you can fill out a form in the contact us section on the right-hand side to either book an assessment or get more information.
One of our team will get back to you as soon as possible, and we can decide on the next steps together.
What Happens During an Assessment?
Before the assessment, you will likely need to fill out a number of different forms as part of the pre-assessment task. Be aware that this might contain some questions that could be upsetting, but you have the choice not to answer if you don’t feel comfortable with the psychiatrist knowing.
In a typical ADHD assessment, you can expect to talk to a psychiatrist for anywhere between 45–90 minutes. So, you need to make sure that you have carved enough time out of your day for this.
You will go through a structured medical assessment to explore your mental health and psychiatric history. This does mean that alternatives will be explored, as well as comorbid conditions (conditions that you can have alongside ADHD, such as depression or anxiety).
Because of limited time, you might not get the chance to ask all the questions you may have had running through your head. If there is anything urgent you would like answered, be sure to add it to your case note so that it can be answered.
Once the assessment is over, more time might be needed to come to a conclusion on your diagnosis. Don’t expect an answer then and there, as it takes time to thoroughly and effectively review all the information in order to come to a diagnosis.
ADHD Diagnosis According to the DSM-V
Anyone below the age of 17 must experience at least six symptoms, and those older than 17 must experience at least five. In both cases, patients must have these symptoms for a minimum of six months, and they must interfere with daily life – whether that is work, school, playing, or even their social life.
A number of the symptoms should have emerged before the age of 12 and should be present in two or more situations (e.g. at home and at school) rather than one. Additionally, the symptoms that the person experiences must not be from any other kind of mental health condition.
For this reason, it’s important to have full documentation of your mental health records and be aware of any other diagnoses you may have.
Potential Symptoms of Inattentive ADHD
These are the primary symptoms and signs to look for in children to may have inattentive ADHD:
- Forgets about daily activities
- Easily distracted by their surroundings and stimuli
- Frequently loses important things (e.g. phone, car keys, etc)
- Dislikes, avoids, or is reluctant to do tasks that take a lot of mental effort
- Difficulty organising activities or tasks
- Has trouble following through with instructions
- Has difficulty following through work, duties, chores, homework etc
- Appears to not listen when directly spoken to
- Has difficulty keeping focus on activities and tasks
- Prone to making careless mistakes in different activities (e.g. work, homework, school work, etc)
- Difficulty paying close attention to details
Potential Symptoms of Hyperactive ADHD
Below are the primary symptoms or signs to look out in children to may have hyperactive ADHD:
- Easily distracted by their surroundings and stimuli
- Frequently loses important things (e.g. phone, car keys, etc)
- Has difficulty following through work, duties, chores, homework etc
- Appears to not listen when directly spoken to
- Has difficulty keeping focus on activities and tasks
- Prone to making careless mistakes in different activities (e.g. work, homework, school work, etc)
- Excessive talking
- Reduced or no sense of danger
- Inability to sit still (and especially struggles in quiet or calm environments)
- Continuously fidgeting
- Difficulty waiting their turn
- Acting without first thinking about it
- Consistently interrupting conversations
- Always feeling restless
Potential Symptoms of Combined Type ADHD
As the name suggests, combined type ADHD is a combination of both inattentive and hyperactive ADHD. So, the symptoms you can look out for will be a combination of the above.
Having combined type ADHD doesn’t mean that you have ‘worse’ ADHD, as the severity is measured in levels: mild, moderate, and severe.
Get in Touch With the Brain Workshop
ADHD can be make your life difficult for many reasons. However, getting a formal diagnosis will allow you to manage your symptoms and get medication if you feel like you need it. If ADHD is something that you really struggle with, we would encourage you to book an assessment when you are able to, and get control of your life again.
Learn more about ADHD in our blogs about food you should avoid if you have ADHD, the truth about caffeine, and the impact of creative play on the brain. If you want to find out more about us, we would love to hear from you. In the meantime, you can check out our FAQ and media sections.
Now that you know how to get tested for ADHD UAE, are you going to pursue an ADHD assessment?
