ADHD Diagnosis and Treatment for Children

Qb Test

The QbTest is the industry standard screening test for ADHD. It is a 20-minute computer test that measures the three core symptoms of ADHD: hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity. The QbTest reduces delays in the diagnostic process, lowers the chances of an over or under diagnosis, and minimises the possibility of age or gender bias, so you can access better treatment faster.

This alone isn't enough to diagnose or rule out ADHD; a full assessment by an experienced clinician like Dr. Nawaz is necessary. However, the test can strongly suggest whether ADHD is likely. You may opt for a QbTest for personal use or to seek referral to a local specialist through your NHS GP. While Dr. Nawaz doesn't treat adults, his expertise is invaluable for children, ensuring thorough care and reducing the risk of misdiagnosis or inappropriate treatment.

ADHD Assessment Package

This includes a full neurodeevelopmental history, physical examination, a review of all relvant reports, scoring on an ADHD rating scale, and Qb Test interpretation.

ADHD (diagnosed elsewhere) First Appointment

This is for those who have an established diagnosis, and are now in the process of seeking advice regarding treatment. However, our clinician will initially need to assess whether they agree with the original diagnosis by interviewing both parent and child and reviewing reports, which will need to be shared prior to appoinment.

ADHD Medication Titration Appointment

Usually within the first three months, during the initial stabilisation period. Once medication has been stabilised and share care agreed, any further reviews will need to be booked as a General Review Appointment (see below).

ADHD General Review Appointment

To review the effectiveness of medications, for ADHD this is usually every four to six months. We will also use this time to monitor your child's development, behaviour, or functioning following initial assessment.

An ADHD journey often begins with a lightbulb moment. For some families, this may be when a teacher explains the difficulties a child may be having in class. For others, it may be when you become aware that your child may struggle and need assistance in ways that their peers don’t, especially in school. For others, it may be watching something on television, reading an article, a social media post or becoming aware of someone you know being diagnosed with ADHD, that prompts your lightbulb moment.

Whatever your journey, when you have decided to know whether your child has ADHD or not, due to its complexity an ADHD assessment requires expertise in child neurodevelopment.

Regarding costs, please note that assessments for ADHD and other neurodevelopmental conditions are very time and resource intensive. These conditions overlap in many cases and require significant expertise in assessment. 

We are keen to work with parents and professionals to provide the right evidence-based support and strategies, and occasionally medication, to help children learn how to navigate their own unique and powerful minds, transforming potential chaos into a symphony of productivity and innovation.

Our assessments and reports are comprehensive, holistic, and fully compliant with standards set by NICE and expected by local NHS services.

The age referral criteria is between 6 to 18 years.

• If you want to go ahead with a formal ADHD assessment, then this will require gathering as much information as possible about your child before seeing Dr Nawaz in clinic. This will include detailed health, development and learning need questionnaires to be completed by parent and teacher and a QbTest. These will be shared and booked when you call.
• The assessment will consider and evaluate factors such as family / schooling / lifestyle/ health and co-existing conditions on your child. This holistic and detailed neurodevelopmental assessment is vitally important because, although getting a timely diagnosis of ADHD is important, it is also crucial that a child or young person isn’t wrongly diagnosed with ADHD. As such, an ADHD assessment is not a simple or tick box exercise and should never be diagnosed on the basis of just a behavioural checklist.
• Depending on evidence gathered and complexity, Dr Nawaz will then aim to give his opinion on diagnosis at that first appointment. However, in some cases, a second or third appointment may be required if Dr Nawaz requires additional information or assessments, for example psychology, psychiatry, speech/language therapist and occupational therapist.
• If diagnosed with ADHD, Dr Nawaz will then tailor a treatment plan to your child's specific needs. Not all children with ADHD require medication but if indicated and agreed, Dr Nawaz will then issue a personalised prescription for your child's medication.
• If, however, you just wanted to discuss the possibility of ADHD and any other concerns, then the first step will be booking an appointment with Dr Nawaz. At this point there is no commitment to further assessments or tests.
• Dr Nawaz and the team understand that there is no 'one size fits all' solution for supporting children with ADHD, and that's why we are committed to making sure every step of the process puts your child and their needs front and centre, with a unique, tailored patient led approach.
• Dr Nawaz is also happy to see young people with an established diagnosis of ADHD that now wish to considermedication. However, please note that Dr Nawaz will need to ensure the diagnosis is valid first by interviewing you and your child in clinic and reviewing all the primary assessment reports.
• Dr Nawaz is also happy to see children for screening assessments for autism, dyspraxia as well as other concerns regarding development and behaviour.