How ADHD Care Coordination: What Does an Effective, Efficient Treatment Team Look Like?
Beyond medication and behavioral therapy, children with ADHD need a well-coordinated treatment team comprising parents, clinicians, teachers, and more. Here’s what a strong, effective team looks like, and how care coordination benefits more than just the patient.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a chronic, lifelong condition that calls for ongoing monitoring and management of symptoms — at the minimum. Especially for children, effective ADHD treatment means forging common goals and true partnerships shared by key members of the child’s treatment team — an essential body emphasized in the American Academy of Pediatrics’ latest guidelines for ADHD.
But what does powerful care coordination look like? And who should be included in a child’s ADHD treatment team? Apart from the primary clinician, a robust care team includes parents, teachers, school staff, behavioral health practitioners, and other treatment professionals.
Psychologists. These are specialists who are trained to diagnose and treat mental health conditions like ADHD. They can give expert assessments and offer therapy. But they can’t prescribe medication.
Psychiatrists. They can also diagnose and treat mental health disorders. They’re medical doctors, so they can prescribe drugs.
Nurse practitioners or physician assistants (PAs). They work under a doctor’s supervision and can diagnose and treat ADHD. They can also write prescriptions.
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Nurses. These are often the professionals who will answer questions about your child’s care and help you coordinate with the care team.
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Social workers. They can assist people with ADHD and their loved ones through the entire journey, from referral through diagnosis and treatment. They offer education, support, and tips for living with it.
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Occupational or speech therapists. These specialists help with specific areas that are affected by ADHD, such as work skills or language problems.
Other therapists such as counselors and family therapists. They can work with people who have ADHD, their families, and school staff members on responding to problems, improving behavior, and building life skills.
If your child needs medication, the doctor, PA, or nurse practitioner will decide on the medication and monitor symptoms and side effects until the right dose is found. The diagnostic process also should rule out any other disorders that may look like ADHD.
Adult Health Care Team
ADHD in adults is often diagnosed by the primary care doctor, a psychiatrist, or a psychologist,
To diagnose ADHD in adults:
The doctor will need a history of the adult's behavior as a child. The doctor may also interview the patient's spouse, partner, parents, and friends, as well as look at the person's records, including report cards and transcripts, to determine if a patient's difficulties have lasted a while. The doctor may also use psychological testing.
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