ADHD in Gilbert and East Valley Children: When to See a Pediatric Neurologist

By Dr. Tamara Zach MD — May 10, 2026

ADHD is the most commonly diagnosed neurodevelopmental condition in school-age children, and families in Gilbert, Power Ranch, Agritopia, Layton Lakes, and across the East Valley deal with it every day. A pediatrician or child psychiatrist handles most of these cases. But certain situations call for a pediatric neurologist.

This article from Dr. Tamara Zach MD at Rose Medical Pavilion covers what those situations are, and what East Valley families can expect from a neurology evaluation for attention and behavioral concerns.

what makes a case "complex" ADHD?

A clear ADHD diagnosis in an otherwise healthy child doesn't need a neurologist. A referral to Dr. Zach makes sense when:

• Seizures or staring spells come with attention problems. Absence seizures get mistaken for ADHD inattention all the time. A child who briefly zones out, again and again, then picks up where they left off may be having absence seizures rather than (or alongside) ADHD. An EEG can tell them apart.
• The diagnosis stays uncertain after a standard evaluation. When behavioral assessments come back inconclusive or contradict each other across settings, a neurological exam adds information.
• Other neurological symptoms show up too. Headaches, tics, motor coordination trouble, or sleep disorders alongside ADHD symptoms point to a neurological component worth a specialist's look.
• Medications aren't working or cause bad side effects. Dr. Zach can check whether the effects are neurological and work with your prescribing provider to adjust.
• There's a family history of epilepsy or neurological conditions. Kids with this background may benefit from neurological screening before starting stimulants.
• The child has developmental delays along with ADHD symptoms. This combination usually points to a wider neurological picture that a specialist should assess.

the absence seizure mistake

This gets its own section because it's common and the consequences are real. Absence seizures, sometimes called petit mal seizures, are brief episodes (usually 5 to 30 seconds) where a child stops what they're doing, stares blankly, then resumes as if nothing happened. They can happen dozens or even hundreds of times a day.

Teachers and parents describe these kids as "spacey," "not paying attention," or "daydreaming constantly," which looks exactly like ADHD inattention. Children sometimes spend months on stimulant medications before anyone identifies absence seizures as the real problem. The right treatment is an anti-seizure medication, not a stimulant.

If your East Valley child's inattention is episodic, showing up and disappearing rather than staying steady across every situation, a neurology evaluation to rule out absence seizures is worth doing before settling on an ADHD diagnosis.

what a neurological ADHD evaluation looks like

When Dr. Zach evaluates a child for complex ADHD or attention concerns, she runs a full neurological exam and reviews the complete clinical history. Depending on what she sees, she may order an EEG to rule out seizure activity, and she may ask for prior behavioral and educational assessments. She'll also talk with parents about which behaviors are happening, when they started, and where they appear.

She isn't there to repeat what a psychiatrist or psychologist does. Her job is to assess the neurological side of the picture and find any brain-based factors no one has addressed yet.

for Gilbert and East Valley families

Rose Medical Pavilion sits about 25 to 30 miles from most Gilbert and East Valley communities, usually a 33 to 38 minute drive via the Loop 202 or US-60. If your child's attention challenges feel complex, or if you've already gotten an ADHD diagnosis and something still feels off, call (623) 257-ROSE (7673) to schedule an evaluation. You can read more about our approach on the developmental delays and epilepsy pages, and see our community pages for Gilbert, Power Ranch, and Agritopia.