My 7 year old daughter (with dyslexia and APD) needs to have an evaluation done for ADHD because of problems focusing in class. She does have some small behavioral issues at home as well, but for the most part she is well behaved. She attends a large private LD school. The school gave me a large list of doctors which isn’t suppose to be a “recommendation” from them, but contains doctors the school has worked with in the past. On this list are pediatric neurologist, developmental pediatricians, psychologist and psychiatrists. I was surprised that there were no pediatric neuropsychiatrist on the list.
My general pediatrician says she can do it (really insists) but I’m afraid she does not have the experience to take her LD into account. Most professionals who I have talked with (and read about) say that APD can cause focus problems as well. My pedi rolls her eyes at that notion. She’s also very negative about my dd’s dyslexia diagnosis and about her private LD school. So, I’ve scratched her off my list.
I did have the list narrowed a bit to about 5 doctors. I’ve called and made 2 appointments. The pediatric neurologist can see her in November and the developmental pediatrician can see her in march! I’m on a wait list for a cancellation. The pediatric neurology is a 1 hour appt total. The developmental pediatrician is a 3 hour total. Now I’m doubting who I should take her to. I can’t really talk with my pediatrician about it because of the reasons I stated above.
So, now I feel like I’m back to square one. I really need to get her evaluated in the next few months. The drs on the list who are the most popular with the parents at her school are the ones with 6 month + waiting lists. Would you wait until almost the end of this 1st grade school year just to get in with one of these drs?
I’m also curious if anyone knows if each of these specialties takes a different approach to treatment. For example, would a psychiatrist tend to include more behavior modification, counseling, etc while a pediatric neurologist would be more inclined to treat with drugs? I don’t know why I torture myself over all of this, but I just want a thorough exam, an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment. Help!
Suzi
diagnosing ADD/ADHD
It sounds as if you have a host of other parents you could turn to for advice and I’d certainly do that. Talk with the parents who’ve been on that 6 month waiting list to see if they felt it was worth it. Talk with the parents whose children are patients of the pediatric neurologist to see if they like him/her and the approach the neurologist uses.
The truth is there is great overlap between the medical specialities and a lot comes down to what each individual doctor likes to deal with. Around here, some pediatric psychiatrists will work with ADD/ADHD children and others won’t. Some general pediatricians feel comfortable diagnosing and prescribing for it, others don’t. I used a pediatric neurologist for my own sons and he is famous for putting all of his patients on medication. Yet he’s in a partnership with a developmental pediatrician who does the opposite and puts no child on medication. Go figure.
You can drive yourself crazy with it but I’d get the benefit of others’ experience in your area who’ve actually seen these doctors. The one around here with the 6 month waiting list isn’t worth it. And those 6 month waiting list doctors can sometimes get ‘biggety’ heads from the length of their waiting lists.
Ask yourself now - would you put your child on medication? Would you even consider it? If not, perhaps you should aim for the specialist - whoever that it - that advocates a behavioral approach. If you would consider it, perhaps make an appointment with one of each so you can consider their different approaches and give them both fair hearing.
If your child’s school saying something has to be done NOW? How will this school year be for your child? If it’s going fine, do you need to be in a rush?
Good luck.
Re: Overwhelmed with choices for ADHD evaluation....someone help
If there is a universiyt near you, take your daughter/son to them and have a thorough LD/BD evaluation done independent of the school. In our area, a diagnosis of ADHD allows them to write a IEP and get special education $$$ whether the child needs to be classified special education or not. That diagnosis benefits them. CAPD and ADD do sometimes go hand in hand. All 3 of my children have CAPD and my oldest has ADD, not ADHD. There is a difference. We tried to handle it with the CAPD accomodations in the classroom, but finally went on medicine., We are using straterra, by eli lilly which is new in 2003. It is not a narcotic, non stimulant and it is the world of difference. If theire is a university near you that has a speech and communication college, there are some wonderful resources there and a wealth of referral info. Good luck
Suzi,
In my personal experience with one of my children, psychiatrists are mostly medication dispensers. You go to a psychologist for counseling. Psychiatrists really do very little counseling once the diagnosis is determined. They’ll prescribe the meds and refer you to a psychologist.
I think the neurologist or dev. pediatrician would be good. I guess I’d take the Nov. appt. and see what he says. You can always go to the other one, too, if you desire a second opinion.
I would think that the staff at your daughter’s school is fairly experienced in detecting ADD symptoms. The APD should be less of a problem there, so I would certainly follow through with the ADD evaluation as soon as possible. You don’t want her missing valuable instruction since she is in a private LD school.
Janis