Is ADHD Interfering With You or a Loved One’s Life?
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder affecting adults and children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately one in ten children will be diagnosed with ADHD. ADHD can make learning, listening, and socializing more challenging for those who suffer from it and their families. The symptoms of ADHD can vary significantly among individuals, including young boys and girls. The most common symptoms in children are difficulty concentrating, impulsiveness, fidgeting, and excessive talking.
Adults with ADHD may have trouble paying attention to details, starting new tasks before finishing old ones, poor organizational skills, misplacing things, speaking out of turn, and commonly taking risks without considering the consequences of their actions. Individuals struggling with ADHD deserve to know about all available treatment options. If you or your child has been diagnosed with ADHD, and the condition has negatively affected your life, it’s time to consider the most effective ADHD treatment options.
There are other ADHD Treatment Options Besides Medication
ADHD is a complex condition with different subtypes, including anxiety, depression, learning difficulties, and inattentive and hyperactive types. To provide personalized treatment that caters to the distinctive needs of individuals with ADHD, comprehending his or her brain’s functions is crucial. Each person’s brain is unique, like a fingerprint, requiring an individualized care plan.
Studies suggest that ADHD has several types beyond the inattentive and hyperactive types. Therefore, it is crucial to customize your care plan according to your objectives and brain. While medication may be effective for some individuals, non-pharmacological treatment options such as neurofeedback or QEEG-guided biofeedback can be beneficial in treating ADHD without medication.
Genesis Brain Institute Has ADHD Treatment Options
At Genesis Brain Institute, our ADHD assessments are conducted using the Creyos method, with the assistance of experienced doctors who perform one-on-one interviews and examinations. The Creyos ADHD assessment focuses on cognitive testing emphasizing attention, response inhibition, spatial working memory, and spatial planning. We use sustained attention to response tasks and the Vanderbilt ADHD Diagnostic Rating Scale (VADRS) as part of the evaluation.
This initial assessment helps us identify comorbidities, such as oppositional-defiant disorder (ODD), conduct disorder, anxiety, and depression. If further testing is required, we use in-house qEEG brain mapping to evaluate the brain’s electrical activity and identify any dysfunctional regions and brain wavelengths. We can then design non-pharmacological treatments for ADHD and common comorbidities, targeting the areas and wavelengths identified on the QEEG while focusing on the “rest and digest” parasympathetic system. Our approach is tailored to the patient’s short-term and long-term mental health goals, ensuring they receive the most effective treatment possible.
Manage Focus & Learning Development
If you or someone in your family has been diagnosed with ADHD, taking the first step towards improving brain functions and learning skills is crucial. It is important to note that the symptoms of ADHD can vary from severe to mild and differ from person to person. Therefore, our team conducts a comprehensive analysis of your brain to create a customized and effective ADHD treatment plan.
Our regimens have successfully helped many patients with ADHD and their families see a significant improvement in their focus, learning development, and social skills. We are confident that our treatment will enable them to lead fulfilling lives and actively participate in their community.
When you schedule an appointment with our Tampa office, our medical staff will prioritize long-term and short-term goals and is committed to improving your quality of life.
If you, your child, or a loved one has been diagnosed with ADHD and are interested in learning more about our treatment options, don’t hesitate to contact our staff at Genesis Brain Institute today. We are confident that we can help you overcome the challenges of ADHD and improve your quality of life!
ADHD FAQs: What Parents and Adults Need to Know
What Is ADHD?
ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. It is a diagnosis based on a pattern of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, or a mix of these symptoms that affects daily life. These struggles may show up at school, at home, at work, or in relationships. ADHD is not just about being energetic or distracted. It is about how the brain manages focus, behavior, and follow through over time.
What Are the Common Symptoms of ADHD?
ADHD symptoms can look different from person to person. Some people struggle more with inattention. Others struggle more with hyperactivity or impulsivity. Common signs may include trouble staying focused, careless mistakes, forgetfulness, losing things, difficulty finishing tasks, fidgeting, talking too much, blurting things out, or having trouble waiting their turn. In adults, it may look more like disorganization, procrastination, restlessness, poor time management, or feeling overwhelmed by simple tasks.
How Is ADHD Diagnosed?
ADHD is usually diagnosed by a qualified professional, often a psychologist, neuropsychologist, psychiatrist, or other licensed provider, using DSM 5 criteria. That means the diagnosis is based on a pattern of symptoms, how long they have been present, whether they started before age 12, and whether they show up in more than one setting, such as school and home or work and relationships. There is not one single symptom that proves ADHD. The full picture matters.
Is There a Test for ADHD?
There is not one single test that diagnoses ADHD by itself. A formal ADHD diagnosis is usually based on clinical history, symptom patterns, and whether a person meets the criteria in the DSM 5.
At Genesis Brain Institute in Tampa, Dr. Emily Kalambaheti does not diagnose ADHD during our traditional diagnostics. Our process is designed to better understand how the brain may be functioning and what may be contributing to the symptoms someone is experiencing.
If a formal ADHD diagnosis is needed, we can work with our Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Fabian Consbruck, who can provide diagnostic evaluation as part of that next step.
Can Anxiety, Trauma, Depression, or Sleep Problems Look Like ADHD?
Yes, and this is one reason proper evaluation matters. Anxiety can look like ADHD. Trauma can look like ADHD. Poor sleep, chronic stress, and depression can also make ADHD symptoms worse or create symptoms that seem very similar. Someone may appear distracted, restless, forgetful, or unable to complete tasks, but the root issue may not be ADHD alone. Looking deeper can help families avoid oversimplifying what is really going on.
Why Can My Child Focus on Video Games but Struggle in School?
This is one of the most common questions parents ask. Video games, phones, and social media are built to hold attention. They are fast paced, visually stimulating, rewarding, and designed to keep the brain engaged. Schoolwork is usually not built that way. So when a child can focus on games but not homework, that does not automatically mean they are choosing not to focus. It also does not automatically mean ADHD is the only explanation. It simply means the brain may respond very differently to high stimulation versus low stimulation environments.
What Is the Difference Between Attention Problems and Filtering Problems?
This is a very important distinction. Some people truly struggle with sustained attention. Others can pay attention, but they have a hard time filtering out distractions around them. At Genesis Brain Institute, we look at both. For example, one child may do much better in a quieter room or when sitting near the front of a classroom. That may point more to a filtering issue than a pure attention issue. Knowing the difference can help guide better next steps and more personalized ADHD Treatment plan.
What Is Response Inhibition?
Response inhibition is part of the brain’s filtering system. It is the ability to stay focused on what matters while tuning out things that do not. A person can have decent attention but still be very distractible if response inhibition is weak. In real life, that might mean hearing the teacher but also getting pulled off task by every sound, movement, or interruption in the room. Understanding response inhibition can be especially helpful when trying to figure out whether a person needs fewer distractions, more breaks, different supports, or a different type of care plan. We will test 12 Cognitive domains during our diagnostic process to determine the patient’s brain filtering system, thus assisting in improved treatment protocol.
Can Adults Have ADHD Even If They Were Never Diagnosed as Children?
Yes. Adults can have ADHD even if they were never formally diagnosed as children. In many cases, the signs were there early on, but no one recognized them or pursued testing. ADHD can continue into adulthood, and in adults it may show up as chronic disorganization, poor follow through, difficulty managing time, forgetfulness, impulsive decisions, or trouble staying mentally present. Even so, the symptoms still generally need to have been present by childhood to meet the formal diagnostic criteria.
What Does qEEG Brain Mapping Show?
qEEG brain mapping is a diagnostic tool, not a treatment. It helps us look at brainwave patterns and how different parts of the brain may be functioning. At Genesis Brain Institute, brain mapping ADHD, can help us better understand whether certain brain regions appear overactive, underactive, dysregulated, or working harder than they should. It is not used by itself to diagnose ADHD, but it can provide helpful insight that supports a more customized view of what may be happening in the brain and when treating ADHD.
How Does Genesis Brain Institute Evaluate ADHD Related Symptoms?
Genesis Brain Institute does not diagnose ADHD during our traditional diagnostics. Our role is to help patients and families better understand how the brain and nervous system may be functioning. That process can include qEEG brain mapping, neuropsychological questionnaires, cognitive testing, and in some cases eye movement testing. We may look at areas such as sustained attention, response inhibition, processing speed, memory, planning, and reasoning. The goal is to understand the person in front of us, not just the label.
If a formal diagnosis is needed, we can work with our Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Fabian Consbruck, as part of that process.
What Kinds of Cognitive Testing Are Used for ADHD Related Concerns?
We use cognitive testing that can look at important areas connected to ADHD, like sustained attention and filtering. Dr. Emily also discussed tools and questionnaires that may be included as part of customized diagnostics, including scales such as the SWAN and ASRS, along with ADHD related cognitive protocols. These tools are not meant to replace a formal diagnosis. Instead, they help us gather more useful information about how a person’s brain is functioning in daily life so we can better treat the brain.
What Happens After Testing?
After testing, the next step is to build a personalized brain treatment plan based on the findings. That matters because two people can have similar symptoms for very different reasons. One may have a true attention weakness. Another may have a filtering problem. Someone else may be dealing with anxiety, poor sleep, or a brain that is stuck in a high alert state. Once a program is completed, Genesis Brain Institute may retest to look for objective change and also ask the patient whether they have noticed real life improvements.
What Are the Next Steps for ADHD Treatment in Tampa?
If you are looking for ADHD treatment in Tampa, the first step is to better understand what may actually be driving the symptoms. That is where a more complete diagnostic process can help. At Genesis Brain Institute, we start by gathering deeper information through qEEG brain mapping and other brain and body assessments so care can be more targeted and more personalized. If a formal diagnosis is also needed, we can work with our Clinical Psychologist as part of that next step. Because when you understand the brain better, you can make better decisions about what support may be worth considering next.
