Presentations of ADHD

Although ADHD is often associated with children, this disorder is diagnosed in clients across the lifespan. While many individuals are properly diagnosed and treated during childhood, some individuals who have ADHD only present with subsyndromal evidence of the disorder. These individuals are often undiagnosed until they reach adulthood and struggle to cope with competing demands of running a household, caring for children, and maintaining employment. For this Discussion, you consider how you might assess and treat individuals presenting with ADHD.

Students will:

• Assess client factors and history to develop personalized therapy plans for clients with ADHD
• Analyze factors that influence pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes in clients requiring therapy for ADHD
• Evaluate efficacy of treatment plans
• Apply knowledge of providing care to adult and geriatric clients presenting for antidepressant therapy

Note: By Day 1 of this week, your Instructor will have assigned you to one of the following case studies to review for this Discussion. To access the following case studies, click on the Case Studies tab on the Stahl Online website and select the appropriate volume and case number.

Case 1: Volume 1, Case #13: The 8-year-old girl who was naughty

Case 2: Volume 1, Case #14: The scatter-brained mother whose daughter has ADHD, like mother, like daughter

Case 3: Volume 2, Case #21: Hindsight is always 20/20, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

• Review this week’s Learning Resources and reflect on the insights they provide.
• Go to the Stahl Online website and examine the case study you were assigned.
• Take the pretest for the case study.
• Review the patient intake documentation, psychiatric history, patient file, medication history, etc. As you progress through each section, formulate a list of questions that you might ask the patient if he or she were in your office.
• Based on the patient’s case history, consider other people in his or her life that you would need to speak to or get feedback from (i.e., family members, teachers, nursing home aides, etc.).
• Consider whether any additional physical exams or diagnostic testing may be necessary for the patient.
• Develop a differential diagnoses for the patient. Refer to the DSM-5 in this week’s Learning Resources for guidance.
• Review the patient’s past and current medications. Refer to Stahl’s Prescriber’s Guide and consider medications you might select for this patient.
• Review the posttest for the case study.
• Post a response to the following:
  • 1. Provide the case number in the subject line of the Discussion.
  • 2. List three questions you might ask the patient if he or she were in your office. Provide a rationale for why you might ask these questions.
  • 3. Identify people in the patient’s life you would need to speak to or get feedback from to further assess the patient’s situation. Include 3. specific questions you might ask these people and why.
  • 4. Explain what physical exams and diagnostic tests would be appropriate for the patient and how the results would be used.
  • 5. List three differential diagnoses for the patient. Identify the one that you think is most likely and explain why.
  • 6. List two pharmacologic agents and their dosing that would be appropriate for the patient’s ADHD therapy based on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. From a mechanism of action perspective, provide a rationale for why you might choose one agent over the other.
  • 7. If your assigned case includes “check points” (i.e., follow-up data at week 4, 8, 12, etc.), indicate any therapeutic changes that you might make based on the data provided.
  • 8. Explain “lessons learned” from this case study, including how you might apply this case to your own practice when providing care to patients with similar clinical presentations.