It is a psychiatrist with the school but she is for the whole district and not easy to get in touch with. The school recomended a therapist who is very nice but not much help with the behavior issues - she is not a psychiatrist but a licensed counselor.
I am in the Philadelphia Area - any recommendations would be appreciated!
I am continuing my search for a child psychiatrist for her and will bring up the med issues with him or her. Thanks so much for your help!If you don't mind, where are you at? Maybe someone here will be able to recommend a child psychiatrist or neuropsychiatrist in your area.
Schools usually employ psychologists, not psychiatrists. You may want to check and make sure that is what your child is seeing, a psychiatrist, not psychologist.
If you're in the Pennsylvania area, PM me, I know of a really great place that does neuropsychs.
The fact that your DD has had suicidal tendencies on meds should encourage you to have her evaluated, and if warranted, have meds managed by a child psychiatrist. Psychiatrists are the only professionals who have cutting-edge knowledge of psychopharmacology. I have two children who see psychiatrists for both med management and weekly therapy. Given what your daughter has been through, in your shoes I wouldn't want it any other way.
All the stimulants were bad for my son, Dylan. One didn't work, they tried another. That didn't work, they tried another. IMHO, was a total waste of time and completely not necessary.
I would definately get a 2nd opinion from a psychiatrist or neuropsychologist. If you've tried 2 different stimulants and are getting bad results, there may be something else going on.
Good luck.
Has anyone ever experienced a child having suicidal tendencies from meds? (Ritalin in particular) ? My daughter was 6 yrs old on Adderall but that made her stoic and sad so they switcher her to low dose Ritalin and after a few weeks she started making comments like "she wishes she was dead" and 'she wishes she was never born" - this is so opposite of her normal sunny disposition the dr advised us to stop meds and we agreed. Now eveyone is telling us we should reconsider using meds (she is now 7) - her dr. the school, etc. She gets in trouble in school for disrupting the class, running around, spitting, etc. and recently got called to the principal for punching a girl who took her toy and wouldn't give it back. I am at my wits end -- any suggestions?How was the child before the meds? If she was always happy, she is reacting to the meds. My advice? Dont' try stimulants again. She may not even have ADHD. Who diagnosed her? Stims can cause an up and down affect, especially in misdiagnosed people, and can cause serious depression (this happened to me, so I've felt it first hand). If she is normally happy, I'd wantt he happy kid. Why was she put on meds? Who diagnosed her?
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OlderMom38804.3894560185Has your daughter been evaluated by a board-certified child psychiatrist? IMHO, she needs that evaluation to rule in or out a mood disorder. You may very well be looking at something beyond ADHD.
What kind of services is the school providing? Have you gotten neuro-psyche testing done? Does she have an IEP or 504? What kind of extra curricular activities is she involved in?
To answer some of your questions:
She was evaluated at Childrens Hospital and diagnosed with ADHD combined subtypes and possible ODD. She has been approved for a IEP under 504 but we are in the final stages of the paperwork so the IEP is not in effect yet but should be in a few weeks. She was diagnosed last year and that was also when she was prescribed the meds She has always been extremely happy and good natured so this extreme change was disturbing to say the least. We have been going the natural route with Omegas and were doing a little better but this past week went downhil. She takes an art class and is in ballet - both of which she is crazy about. We have been using the 'token system' which has been working great until now. I just don't know what else to try . . .
I ask again -- has she seen a child psychiatrist?
Sorry, must have missed that one. She was seeing a child psychiatrist at Childrents for a while and she has also seen the school psychiatrist several times during her IEP evaluation. We are currently looking for a psychaitrist who deals with behavior therapy but are not having much luck.