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How do I get a diagnosis?

Submitted by an LD OnLine user on

My daughter is almost 19. She is unmotivated, acts younger in many ways. Sleeps most of the day. Left school at age 14, was homeschooled. Since she was in preschool she never wanted to leave me. She has a hard time retaining what she reads. Her grades when she was in school were below average. In some ways she is mature but isn’t at her age level. She cares about makeup etc but not her weight. She weighs over 200 pounds but won’t let me even mention the word diet. She likes how she is. I need to know what type of doctor to take her to. A neurologist or someone else? When she was in school the teachers never saw anything wrong. At home she is controlling, mood swings, argues over a lot and cannot hold a job. She went to manicuring school, it lasted 2 months and she quit. It was one place she was doing well. Please tell me how I can get her diagnosed to see what this is. Our health insurance will no longer cover her once she is 19. I want to get her to someone before this. Thanks.

Submitted by dwelling on Thu, 05/06/2004 - 1:04 PM

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I cannot edit above message so am adding rest here.
She also failed her permit test for driving twice. She has a difficult time taking tests. Of course, she does not drive. She is very dependent on me. I am with her 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I take her for walks but most days she doesn’t want to go. She has looked for a job but never calls. I called for a job for her, as her. She went for interview. She didn’t get the job. She worked part-time as a child care aide at a school for two years. They didn’t hire her back and hired someone else for the third year. She won’t talk to adults unless asked a question. Since she was about 4 she hasn’t talked to adults except immediate family. I see girls her age who have jobs, talk freely and she is nowhere like this. When I tell her she should become more independent she says she will always be home. She sleeps most of the day and is up most of the night. She has asthma and when she was 2 she was put on steroids. I stopped it after awhile but it has been since then. Relatives, teachers always said she’d grow out of her temper tantrums and her not talking to adults, she hasn’t.

Submitted by Jan Raper on Thu, 05/06/2004 - 1:12 PM

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Dwelling,
Sounds as if ya’ll need a lot of help. First ,I would have her see an internal medicine doctor to check if there are any physical problems that need to be addressed. Then if all that checks out, I would have her see a psychiatrist to see if she is depressed or what. How long has it been since she was on steroids? Steroids can cause a lot of weight and psychological problems. You are not supposed to just quit taking them. You are supposed to be weaned off. Please get help for her as soon as possible and good luck to you both. Jan

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 05/06/2004 - 1:34 PM

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She was off steroids by age three and was weaned off. I thought it may contribute to her personality from then. She has no real personality. I was thinking of taking her to a neurologist first to see if there was any brain damage. Right now she has no doctor as our insurance just changed and our doctor is not on the list :(
She refuses to go to doctors and getting her there when she was sick was always a problem. I figured a neuroligist would be better. When she was 4 and 5 we saw a psychologist. He told us to sit on her when she had tantrums. I couldn’t. He wanted us to use force with her by holding her hands behind her back and putting full weight on her.
She has no emotions. She won’t cry for any reason. A friend of hers died when she was younger. The girl that died was 6. She didn’t show any emotion. Same when my mother died. Nothing. She talks about her grandma but shows no emotions.

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