Back book cover

“Dr. Carroccia has mastered a vast and complex field and translated it into language and steps we can all use immediately. Practical, authoritative, and immensely helpful, this book is a godsend for clinicians and anyone else interested in ADHD.”- Edward Hallowell, M.D., ADHD Authority, Bestselling Author of Driven to Distraction and Delivered from Distraction

“Evaluating ADHD is a comprehensive and highly practical guide to an evidence-based system for assessing ADHD. I highly recommend this excellent ADHD assessment resource.”- George J. DuPaul, Ph.D., Professor of School Psychology at Lehigh University, Prolific ADHD Author

“In this wonderful book, Dr. Gene Carroccia gives clinicians an immensely thorough and helpful system for effectively assessing and helping those with ADHD. A must-read!”- Sharon Saline, Psy.D., Clinical Psychologist, Author of What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew

“If you evaluate ADHD, this book will tell you everything you need to know.”- Ari Tuckman, Psy.D., MBA, Clinical Psychologist, ADHD Author, International Speaker

Three primary goals of the book

1. Assist clinicians to be more effective in the ADHD evaluation process by following the ADHDology Evaluation Model’s approaches.
2. Improve the accuracy of the diagnostic process by using the Comprehensive Diagnostic ADHD Screening System (CDASS) checklists. These should help to determine true ADHD, other conditions which may be causing ADHD-like symptoms, or both.
3. Inform readers about these other conditions, and which specialists may be needed for the next step of appropriate care.

What makes this ADHD book different?

• Simply, there are no other books of which I am aware that provides evaluation steps in a clear, comprehensive manner with user-friendly checklists to guide the ADHD diagnostic process for children and adolescents.
• Clinicians often inquire about how to properly evaluate ADHD. Since one in ten children and teens have ADHD, there is a tremendous need for accurate diagnostic services.  Part I of this book presents the 10-step ADHDology Evaluation Model to provide clear and specific instructions to help clinicians provide these effective evaluations.
• An important part of complete ADHD evaluations is to determine if other conditions coexist with ADHD, or may be causing ADHD-like presentations when it is not actually present. Many professionals are not aware of and struggle with correctly identifying these other conditions.  Part III of this book presents the numerous CDASS checklists to accomplish this.  The purchaser of this book is able to photocopy the checklists without cost for repeated use in their clinical work.
• If other conditions are identified, clinicians often do not know where to refer clients for further assessment and treatment. Part II of this book describes the specialists for these referrals.
• After evaluations are completed, clinicians frequently may not achieve the best practice of sharing their findings with professionals to coordinate care. This book assists clinicians with this aspect of care.

The author’s “why” 

As a licensed clinical psychologist, I have evaluated and treated hundreds of children, teens, adults and families with ADHD and other coexisting conditions.  As the director of an accredited doctoral clinical psychology internship program, I trained many doctoral interns to evaluate and treat ADHD.  Over the years I realized that many clinicians do not fully understand how to evaluate and treat ADHD in children and adolescents.  Without the proper foundation of accurate diagnostics to help families understand the challenges and needs of children and teens, families often cannot obtain the right treatment.  But while there are many with true ADHD, there are also many inaccurately diagnosed and improperly treated.  Thus, those with untreated ADHD, and other conditions, often continue to struggle with hardships and confusion.

True ADHD is a neurobiological condition that can significantly impair multiple areas of life.  It is a massive societal problem and all touched by it since about 1 in 10 children and teens and 1 in 20 adults have ADHD.  It is estimated that there are over six million children and teens in the United States with this condition.  ADHD is not easily determined, and accurately diagnosing it can be difficult.  For most, ADHD is not diagnosed with blood tests or brain scans, and relies on the clinician’s skills for identification.

Each person is unique.  Some have more straightforward and obvious presentations, while others are complex and confusing.  To make things more complicated, inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity can be caused by a number of medical, sleep, psychological, neurodevelopmental, and sensory processing conditions that can coexist with true ADHD, or cause ADHD-like presentations when ADHD does not exist.  Research has found that up to 80 percent of clinic-referred children and adults with ADHD also have at least one other psychological disorder.  Unfortunately, these other conditions are often not detected at all or until much later in life.  When they are not discovered and remain untreated, children and teens may only partially improve and entire families can continue to suffer.

I know there is a way out by replacing struggles with successes.  I have witnessed the progress and growth from my approaches.  I’m passionate about helping clinicians obtain a better understanding of the ADHD diagnostic process and treatment to transform the lives of entire families.  With the proper foundation of effective diagnostics, children and adolescents can receive the right treatments to change their lives.  Evaluating ADHD helps clinicians to better understand the ADHD evaluation process, provide more effective evaluations, and identify the other possible conditions that may coexist with or cause ADHD-like presentations.  This book provides professionals with these tools for results.