ADHD Diagnosis: What To Do Next?

Receiving an ADHD diagnosis, whether for yourself, your child, or a teenager, can bring clarity, but figuring out what to do next can quickly feel overwhelming. In this introductory video, Dr. Carey Heller, a clinical psychologist specializing in ADHD and executive function issues, breaks down actionable next steps and the core professional interventions available to help you build an effective support system.
Disclaimer: This video is intended for educational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider regarding individual medical or mental health needs.

Transcript

Hi, Welcome. I'm Dr. Kerry Heller. I'm a clinical psychologist based in Bethesda, Maryland, And specialize in ADHD and executive function issues. Welcome to this course. OK, So if you're here, Probably that means that either you have a child or teen who is newly diagnosed with ADHD, Or perhaps you're an adult that was newly diagnosed. So the idea here is we're going to talk in very concrete terms how to approach things, Because for a lot of people can be very overwhelming. So you get this diagnosis. On the one hand, It gives you a clear sense of, You know, Here's why all these issues are occurring. But the question then becomes, I have this information, What do I do now? And that piece can be very overwhelming. So we're going to look briefly at how to approach this. I will preface this with, You know, This video is really intended for educational purposes. Each person's unique needs, You know, Mean that there's going to be some variability in what interventions make sense. And so it's always best to consult a professional that you have an established relationship with and to set that up. And, You know, We're going to talk about sort of how to do that as well. But I'm just putting that out there, Obviously, Important to sort of recognize that one size does not fit all with ADHD treatment or treatment for most things in general. All right. So in terms of where to go from here, So you have the diagnosis, You want to think about what are the specific issues that you're trying to target. So, For example, Issues with attention, Hyperactivity, Impulsivity. So probably the two main areas of direct professional interventions for those would be some sort of psychotherapy to work on better self-regulation, Emotion regulation. And again, You can address impulsivity and some of their stuff behaviorally to some degree as well. And so basically, You look at two things, This sort of behavioral treatment like psychotherapy, As well as if you want to look at medication, Medication. So those are sort of the two big things. So for psychotherapy, You would look for potentially a psychologist, A licensed clinical social worker, Some sort of other licensed mental health professional, You know, Someone that clearly knows a lot about ADHD, And really knows what they're doing with it and can work with you. Because with ADHD, A lot of times, You know, Certainly there may be professionals that specialize in it, But But there are also some, Like if they're very general, Like mental health professional, They may work with it, But not really have a very clear understanding. And sometimes, You know, If someone has a hard time focusing, That could be due to anxiety, Due to ADHD. But the way you would approach actually helping someone with the focus, As an example, Is really going to vary based on what the actual cause of that is. So that's why working with someone that really specializes and really gets it with ADHD is important. The other big thing that you would look at, So in addition to therapy, Would be medication. And so for that, You know, For kids, I mean, Certainly you can go to a pediatrician as a starting point. Some pediatricians will prescribe similar medications or other medications for ADHD. Others will refer out. And again, If there's, I mean, You can, A psychiatrist is probably a good starting point though, Because psychiatrists, That's what they do. They focus on the medication. I mean, Some do therapy also, But the idea is that they specialize in the medication piece. And so they're going to be able to look at things, You know, And have more experience than a pediatrician would. If things are very straightforward, You know, Certainly you can talk to a pediatrician and see if they'll prescribe. But my recommendation is, You know, There's a lot of complex stuff going on. A psychiatrist is going to definitely have far more expertise to be able to look at things and problem solve than a pediatrician would as far as medication goes. But again, You can always start with a pediatrician and see what they think. So you have therapy and medications are two big things. The other professional intervention type thing would be what's called ADHD or executive function coaching. So this often involves, For kids and teens, Helping with time management, Organization, So planning out homework assignments, Looking at how to keep better organized with papers. In terms of school stuff and things at home, Looking at how to keep your desk organized, How to set up routines that could work well as far as getting your laundry in the hamper. For adults, This could look at things like planning out work tasks, Being able to you know, Keep track of your kids' schedules. There's a lot of different things that can be done. And so you basically have, You have therapy, You have medication, And you have coaching. So those are kind of the three big picture things as far as professional interventions for getting started with the ADHD diagnosis. And again, Some people will highly benefit from all three together. Sometimes, You know, Not everyone needs all three, But the point is that these are probably the three biggest interventions in terms of professional ones that I'd recommend as far as, You know, Being able to help you get started with the ADHD diagnosis. And again, Once you get connected with someone, Then you can also talk to them and they can figure out what else might you need and guide you. Because once you have that relationship, Then you have somebody you can go to. Instead of looking at a YouTube video, You can talk to that person directly and say, This is what's going on. What other professionals should I be including in my treatment team?