Should Patients Be Evaluated for ADHD While Using ADHD Medication?

Psychologists often perform evaluations on patients who are already being prescribed stimulant medication for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The evaluation may be sought to confirm the diagnosis or to determine specific treatment or accommodation needs. In these cases, psychologists are often asked whether the patient should take their medication as prescribed on the day of the evaluation. There does not appear to be any existing authoritative guidance on this question, and different clinics and clinicians have different policies. In the present article, relevant research on stimulant effects and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder assessment tools is reviewed, to develop empirically informed guidance for determining when patients should take their medication on evaluation day and when they should not. The article concludes with several proposed guidelines for practice, synthesizing findings from the available research with consideration of psychologists' ethical responsibilities.