If your child was dx by a neurpsych | ADHD Information

For those of you that took your kids to neuropsychiatrists.... did they do a brain scan (the S.P.E.C.T. one)? or MRI's or any other physical testing? I know I've read some posts from parents whose kids had these, but I'm wondering if all neurpsych's routinely do them.[QUOTE=janna]

What is your son's current dx? What are you looking for - do you have an idea what his dx may be?

He was dx ADHD at 7. Last fall he was put on Adderall and had a reaction and dx with Bipolar/ADHD based on that reaction. The dx did not come from our psychiatrist because he was out of the country at the time, it came from the psychiatrist who was covering for him. Surprise, surprise....he specializes in bipolar (You do not know how much I wish I had found this board a year ago). Due to what's been going on since he's been on mood stabilizers the bipolar dx is being reconsidered, and right now he is being treated for Depression. So as of right now no official DX except for the ADHD, and according to the psychiatrist I have taken him to for a second opinion, he may not even have that it may just be years of depression.

It's a neuroPSYCHOLOGIST, not psychiatrist. A psychiatrist can dx and prescribe meds. A psychologist usually takes the family history and environment, comes up with a dx and refers to a psychiatrist (a psychologist cannot prescribe meds).[/QUOTE]

WEll, I have to say that I feel like a total idiot. I thought neuropsych referred to a psychiatrist, I did not realize it was psychologist. I have been so confused this last month while I've been searching and searching for a neuropsychiatrist in Florida. And most people have looked at me weird and told me they dont' exist. My sons psychiatrist informed me that he was trained in neurology and that was as close as I was going to get to finding a neuropsychiatrist Man, I feel stupid I even argued with the people at Shands and insisted that there HAD to be a neuropsychiatrist there because they are a children's hospital and my on-line contacts said they should have one Now that I know better I guess we will wait to see what the new psychiatrist says on our next visit and what he wants to do next. Thanks everybody for clarifying that for me

Ahh, Julie, don't feel stupid. You know what? I didn't even know what a neuropsych WAS until I met oldermom. And, I too, thought it was a neuropsychiatrist LOL - I had to have her clarify....*ahem*

So, we've all been there

Your son is on a mood stabilizer now? What's he on? Dylan has been EXCEPTIONAL on Lithium Carbonate. His BP was sooooooo clear once we got him on it. He goes manic/normal - no depression (smallmom could give you some insight on the depression thing, I think, but don't quote me ). His cycles are much different now, and no rages. Whew, never thought they'd go away.

Hugs,

Janna

No, no mood stabilizers now...he has been off of them for over a month now. The difference in him is amazing. He is now only on Zoloft for depression and they are watching him to see what happens. So far, so good. We have had a few rough patches but it was nothing like it was when he was on the mood stabilizers.

Of course, he can't focus to save his life but he's out of school right now and receiving his schooling through our county's Hospital/Homebound program so the demands on him aren't as high...if it takes 2 hours to complete one math worksheet then that's fine

I started him on the fish oils and magnesium but it's only been a month so I'm still waiting to see signs that those will help.

I wanted neurological testing done for Dylan to check the possibility of seizures. No, our neuropsychologist does not do them, however, can refer me (and include in the "treatment plan") to a pediatric NEUROLOGIST.

I'm almost sure that's what you want for the SPECT, MRI and EEG stuff.

Janna

No doctor routinely does Spects since they are unproven. Dr. Amen does them and claims he can diagnose ADHD, but the medical community doesn't agree and insurance won't cover it. That's up to you to pick up the cost. A Neurologist can do an MRI, but that's not part of the NeuroPsych exam. Sometimes Neurologists work with NeuroPsychs. Almost all Nerologists know NeuroPsychs. The NeuroPsychs do intensive performance testing on the kids. My son had twelve hours of it, total. OlderMom38859.6178356481

I am SO confused. Apparantly we are already currently seeing neuropsychiatrists...... neither one of them has done an extensive amount of testing on my son and both of them scoff at the idea of brain scans and whatnot. One of them we just started seeing basically for a second opinion. I filled out a bunch of questionaires, as did my sons teachers at school and my son. We saw him today and he said that the psychologist has been on vacation and so has not been able to complete the evaluation. Soooo, we have to wait another two weeks and go back again and then he said we would see what the tests show and go from there.

SO, can somebody please spell it out for me? I don't understand what I'm doing wrong!! I went in to see this man, told him the history and all of the conflicting dx's, told him I want a second opinion and testing done to determine exactly what is wrong with my child. Apparantly I asked for the wrong thing..... how am I supposed to go about this? Do I need to tell him that my son is threatening to kill somebody before they will do more extensive tests? What exactly do I need to say to get the extensive testing done? What do I need to ask for?

What is your son's current dx? What are you looking for - do you have an idea what his dx may be?

A neuropsychologist is typically a psychologist who has additional training and experience in understanding brain-behavior relationships. A neuropsychologist has an advanced degree in psychology, known as a Ph.D. or Psy.D. A neuropsychologist usually works with psychiatrists, neurologists, neurosurgeons, physiatrists and other medical specialists as a team to coordinate a child's care.

Dylan is currently going through neuropsychological testing to confirm or outrule his PDD diagnosis, and get whatever other insight he can give us into his current diagnosis. The psychiatrist has given us a very good set of dx'es, that I am happy with (Bipolar, PDD, ADHD), however, for autism spectrum disorders, a neuropsych is the best doctor to see.

There are no tests to accurately give a diagnosis. If you're thinking along the lines of seizure activity, that is when you want to see a neurologist to have the SPECT, MRI, etc. done. None of those tests can tell you if your child has Bipolar or ADHD or what not.

The testing we have done sounds similar to yours. Our first visit was an hour and a half, going over previous evals, family history, etc. Then I filled out the forms with behavioral questions on them. He had tested Dylan in 2 hour increments, IQ, intellectual testing, verbal tests geared toward autism, etc.

Hope that helps. Oldermom has good experience with a neuropsych too, I'm sure she'll be along

Janna

Psychiatrists (with an MD) and psychologists (generally with a PhD) are two different animals. Psychiatrists can perscribe meds, give psychiatric diagnoses (like mood issues) and do therapy. Neuropsychologists (not neuropsychiatrists) are psychologists who have extra training in how the brain functions. Neuropsychologists are the ones who do the extensive testing but not MRIs (8 hours over 2 days for my 2 children). Neurologists are medical doctors who specialize in disorders of the brain and central nervous system (like migraines and cerebral palsy). Neurologists can order MRIs and EEGs.

BTW, my kids have seen psychiatrists, neurologists and neuropsychologists. Their psychiatrists are the primary doctors treating their mood issues. Hope that helps.

There are no tests that can physically pinpoint any disorder, be it ADHD or beyond. Diagnosis is based on family history and performance and psycological testing (if you're lucky enough to have a thorough NeuroPsych or Psychiatrist) who will do the hours of testing for kids. Most bipolar and autistic kids meet the criteria for ADHD so things like Connors don't tell much other than something is wrong. Unfortunately, because of this, misdiagnoses abound. As a parent, it is always smart to self-educate so you have an idea what you feel is wrong with your child. You live with the child and the professional only sees him/her under certain conditions. I think it's good to educate yourself, if you think your child has ADHD, on ADHD, early onset bipolar disorder, and any sort of autistic spectrum disorder (especially PDD-NOS and Aspergers). They mimic one another and are often mistaken for one another. I also recommend forgetting a regular Psycologist for diagnosing, and using either a NeuroPsych or an MD Psychiatrist. Here's the kicker. A NeuroPsych may miss bipolar disorder because ti's a psychiatric condtion and, even more commonly, a Psychiatrist could easily miss Austitic Spectrum Disorder since it is a Neurological disorder. My son's excellent psychiatrist didn't think he had autism, even though we saw it and kept asking about it. He was wrong. The more you know, the closer you can get to the core issues with your child. And I recommend seeing both a NeuroPsych and a Psychiatrist and let them put their heads together. OlderMom38859.652349537

Okay, you lost me a little bit

He was on mood stabilizers and they were disasterous? Which ones has he been on, Julie?

Dylan tried Depakote in 2003, and it was very bad for him. Oddly enough, the Lithium was a miracle. Go figure

Janna

[QUOTE=janna]

Okay, you lost me a little bit

He was on mood stabilizers and they were disasterous? Which ones has he been on, Julie?

Dylan tried Depakote in 2003, and it was very bad for him. Oddly enough, the Lithium was a miracle. Go figure

Janna

[/QUOTE]

In late August last year he was started on Adderall 20mg. After a couple weeks at his request they upped that to Adderall 25mg. After two weeks of that he went nuts. That's when the substitute psychiatrist dx him with bipolar based on his reaction to the Adderall and he started him on mood stabilizers. Keep in mind that we had never, ever had issues with him before beyond normal ADHD school stuff and I had thought that he was depressed due to some life changes we were dealing with as a family.

He was on 1000mg Depakote along with 50mg Seroquel and 25mg Focalin from early October to late March. During this time period, he became angry, sullen, argumentative, lazy and downright miserable. He cried almost daily. He gained 25 lbs. Didn't want to participate in any activities at all. People I had never met before but that dealt with him daily (school officials, swim coaches, etc.) started contacting me to ask what was wrong with him since the fall. His head swim coach told me every time he would see him he would be standing off by himself, shoulders hunched, hands clenched looking like he wanted to kill the first person that spoke to him. Before he started the mood stabilizers he was sociable, in a good mood and generally cooperative. In March he went to Abilify 10mg, continued with the Seroquel and switched to Adderall. He almost immediately blew up again on the Adderall. Our psychiatrist (who had returned from leave) decided that since he reacted to the Adderall but not to the Focalin that bipolar could possibly not be the problem. He wants to refocus on his initial impression of depression. So, he took him off of the Abilify and Seroquel and started him on Zoloft and Concerta. He took the Concerta for 4 days, didnt' sleep for over two of them due to the insomnia side effects and now his ADHD is unmedicated until we figure out what else is going on. Since we quit the Concerta and he is on Zoloft only he seems to be doing fine. It is very clear that he is depressed. He is not having any problems sleeping, in fact he sleeps too much! Since he's come off the mood stabilizers he is generally easy going and pretty passive. He does occasionally get upset with us and "blow up" but it usually just regular arguing and not agreeing with whatever rules we're enforcing. All in all, I am vastly relieved at the difference in him. I can't wait...I am literally chomping at the bit....to find out the results of the tests we filled out from the psychologist and move on from here. I just want my boy to be happy. On the meds they had him on he definitely wasn't.