Our Services

Evaluation Services

To be most useful, evaluations must lead to the development of comprehensive and individually tailored treatment plans that will address the needs of the person and family in a variety of contexts. To date, there is no single test or uniformly accepted standard for evaluating attention disorders. The most common practice has been an office visit with a community physician. This approach is not enough to obtain the level of understanding needed to develop an effective treatment plan. More is necessary.

An initial consultation with parents or adults allows us to begin to explore current concerns and obtain a thorough developmental, academic, psychological, medical and family history. To truly understand an individual with an attention disorder, an appreciation of behavior in different contexts - at home, in school or work, with peers, or in the community - is essential, so we obtain information from family members, teachers, school personnel or other involved professionals. We need the range and richness of the information obtained from personal contact in addition to that provided by specialized behavior rating scales. But even this is not enough. Some information, especially that which relates to vital learning skills and cognitive functioning, can only be obtained through targeted, individualized psychoeducational testing.

Is all this evaluation really necessary? Yes. Without a doubt. Research shows that successful treatment of an attention disorder depends on five key components: thorough and careful evaluation, family and teacher education, a comprehensive treatment plan, designation of a case manager and ongoing coordinated monitoring. When this is lacking, when an office consultation and rating scales are the only diagnostic procedures used, a very concerning 25% to 50% of parents either do not initiate or discontinue treatment within three months of an initial diagnosis of an attention disorder. Why? A lack of faith in what they perceive as a too brief and subjective diagnostic process, an insufficient understanding of attention disorders, and concerns about using medication are the top three reasons given. Providing more thorough evaluations and education significantly raises compliance rates and improves treatment outcomes. The importance of a careful and thorough evaluation cannot be over-stated.

Treatment

Treatment for attention disorders need to be based on demonstrated efficacy, not unproven claims or personal testimonials of amazing changes. Many popularized treatments have been shown to be quite ineffective, causing setbacks and heartbreak, sometimes at great financial expense. We recommend and provide only treatments that have a track record of research support. So we constantly and thoroughly review the research to be aware of the latest findings and recommendations. Our goal is always to provide the best information possible so informed treatment choices may be made by an individual or family. Medication is likely to be one component of a treatment plan for an attention disorder because to date it is the only validated intervention that can correct the underlying neurological under-activation. Yet no treatment plan for attention disorders should be considered complete by only using medication without consideration of the learning, emotional, family, and social impact of the attention disorder.