Teen ADHD & Executive Function Evaluation

Attention and executive-function questions in the demanding middle and high school years, at ADHD, Mood & Behavior Center
Dr. Merritt Hubsher provides psychiatric evaluation for teens with attention, organization, or follow-through concerns. He looks at how those concerns fit with school demands, mood, anxiety, and sleep, so recommendations rest on what is actually driving them.
Teen ADHD evaluation at a glance
  • Format: Psychiatric evaluation with parents and teen
  • Provided by: Merritt Hubsher, MD
  • Ages: Teens
  • Medication: When appropriate, after evaluation

ADHD in Teens: Where Things Start to Slip

No one problem on this list settles the question, but parents and teens usually come in about problems like these:

Long-term assignments

Projects that need planning over weeks, not one night.

Starting without a reminder

Knowing what to do but not getting started.

Following through

Work that’s finished but never turned in, or started and never wrapped up.

Schedules and activities

Keeping track of classes, practices, jobs, and deadlines.

Capable but inconsistent

Finishing one assignment quickly and avoiding another for days.

Frustration and impulsivity

Snapping, interrupting, or acting before thinking when overwhelmed.

When It’s More Than ADHD

Dr. Hubsher looks at these concerns together with ADHD instead of one by one.

Each is weighed against your teen’s full history instead of assumed from a checklist, and sleep gets the same attention. Your teen’s own account counts too: how they see the problem, what they’d like to change, and what they’ve already tried.
Anxiety: worry and avoidance that can pull attention away
Depression and mood disorders: sadness, irritability, and low motivation that affect focus
Behavioral and emotional dysregulation: outbursts and conflict that need careful sorting
Learning, school, and academic concerns: school struggles that may point to a learning difference

Already Diagnosed? A Fresh Look at Teen ADHD

A reassessment doesn’t assume the earlier diagnosis was wrong; it asks whether it still fits. Report cards, earlier testing, and a list of past and current medications help when you have them, though none is required. Dr. Hubsher shares his findings before you leave, including whether more testing or school supports make sense.
Dr. Hubsher reviews
When ADHD was diagnosed and what it was based on
Which medications were tried
How your teen responded and what side effects came up
What is still getting in the way

Medication When It Fits, Coaching When It Helps

Medication and coaching do different jobs. Dr. Hubsher decides whether medication fits, and the Center’s therapists provide the skill-building medication can’t, either alongside psychiatric care or on its own.

Medication, from Dr. Hubsher

Considered only after the evaluation, and only when it fits

Explained up front: what he suggests and why

Followed over time: attention, organization, school performance, mood, sleep, and side effects, with school schedules, sports, and activities in mind

Reviewed with your teen at every visit, since their view of how it’s going counts

Coaching and parent support, from the Center’s therapists

ADHD and executive-function coaching for homework routines and long-term projects

Parent support and parent training

Family therapy

Therapy for anxiety, mood, or stress when they’re part of the picture

Not Sure What’s Behind the Struggle?

You don’t need to know whether it’s ADHD, anxiety, mood, or something else before reaching out. The front desk will confirm the right starting service and explain the new-patient paperwork.