Question | ADHD Information
I have been reading and reading on this site, I know my child, 7 yo boy, 1st grade, has ADHD but I have not had him diagnosed. His pediatrician said it sounds like he is by what I explained to him, but would have to refer him to someone to get evaluated and it problably would not be covered by insurance. I am confused on WHO should evaluate him? And ADHD specialist, a neorosych (is that what it's called)? Where do I start? Can I just cal the local hospital and see if there is one there? Should I get a referal from the ped doc? What will all this cost? How long does the testing go on? I work full time and it is hard to even get him to the doctor when he is sick! (I do what I have to do though) Should I just wait one more year, see how this year goes?
He just got a 1st look progress report today. Out of 8 classes in conduct he got 5 N's and 2 S's and 1 E (in art) Still behind in math and doing OK in everything else (N in music too, go figure).
I am trying everything I know, I started with the natural suppliments last year and just started the reward system recently. Should I just wait another year? Or maybe wait half this year? I don't want him to fail 1st grade again! HELP
A neuropsych or psychiatrist, preferable a child psychiatrist. A psychiatrist can prescribe meds and a psychologist cannot. Neither can a social worker. Some people swear by neuropsychs and others do not care for them. I have never seen one, so I cannot help much with that. My insurance covered 2 evals for my son, but I had to pay a 300 and some odd dollar deposit, which I was refunded when my insurance paid.I personally would not wait any longer. He has already been held back one year, so the sooner he gets a diagnosis and you can get a plan of action in order with the schools, the better. If he is having trouble with behavior, academics, anything like that, it can lead to frustration & low self esteem, which in turn can lead to more problems, lower self esteem, etc.
Good luck.
Mamabear
My experience ( hope it helps) was to first start with my sons ped, she recommended a behavioral/developmental ped to me (who was covered by my insurance), she had my sons teacher and I fill out some forms, met with dh me and ds then ds alone, then did a 4th appt with dh and I to explain what her dx. it took us about 4 (40-50min) appts with this behavioral/developmental ped before we got our dx. We did do the neuropsych after my son went violent on his meds ( i was scared he was bp - he is not) but I do have that evaluation to fall back on in case i ever need an IEP - note my neuropsych was only partially covered by insurance. I know some have gotten a dx through their peds and some through pyschologists or psychiatrists - the only thing I can recommend is a thoorough evaluation - it shouldnt be based on one appt IMHO.
Hope somewehere in there is something to help - best of luck and keep us posted!
I would totally skip anyone called an ADHD Specialist. There is actually no such thing. Any type of specialist in a particular disorder tends to see that disorder in every child, and often misses other ones. I think a Neuropsych is a great idea. If not, a multidisciplinary exam is also excellent. If you go to the site below, a multidisciplanary exame can be explained to you in more detail than I can explain, and I don't think most mothers here know what one is. They also have a forum for kids under five. You can also leaarn about Neuropsychs and Developmental Pediatricians, another type of professionals I don't believe moms here know much about, but they do on that site. Good luck.
pammar38972.8621527778
DillonsMom wrote:
His pediatrician said it sounds like he is by what I explained to him, but would have to refer him to someone to get evaluated and it problably would not be covered by insurance
Check with your insurance company and if it's not covered, check in your area for community mental health clinics as they charge fees based on a sliding scale. Check university hospitals as well. You will only pay what you can afford based on your income.
I would recommend an evaluation by a neuropsychologist, who can evaluate for ADHD and beyond (including learning disabilities, which should be assessed in a child struggling in school). Neuropyschologists can be found at children's and university hospitals. You may have to drive a distance and you may have to take a day off from work, but it is well worth the time spent to get this evaluation completed. I believe it's the only way you will get a full picture of what's going on with your child. We went to a neuropsych for the evaluation. Insurance only covered a little bit, but we were able to make payments. The neuropsych couldn't prescribe, but sent a recommendation to the pdoc, who did. I am glad we went this route, because dh was very leery of someone issuing a dx after only spending 15 min w/ds. The neuropsych spent 6 hrs with my son and she said she would have done more but he wasn't focusing at all anymore (we started the testing at 88am, it ended at 3pm) and that he wasn't going back to the problems even when she re-directed him. ADHD usually appears with co-morbid disorders (not always) and my ds has dysgraphia as well as ADD. The university near us could have done the dx, but there was a 6month wait.I think that if I had not gotten a dx from a neuropsych and had just accepted the pdocs dx, I would have spent a lot of time away from work trying to deal with various school and behavior problems. Because we have a correct dx, we've been able to get ds on the right track. He's on the right meds right now and we're using behavioral and study stratagies that work well. And ds is HAPPY. He's not encountering the frustration that he was before the dx. I hope this helps.
The neuropsych that we went to was NOT a MD but rather a PhD and coud not prescribe meds. Your peditrician can diagnose and unless you child has autistic like behaviors this is a good place to start ( a while ago there was a PDD--screening test that was posted on line---you may want to take it and if you get a high number than you should probably go to a specialist), we went to a neurologist who along with a psychologist gave us the diagnosis. We like the neurologist and have been seeing her for almost 2years now...we visit every
2 months
Our neurologist and ped are both covered by insurance but the neuropsych was not and cost us more than 1700dollars
I appreciate the input......I think I will wait till next quarter though, academically, he's not bad, and behavior is, well, getting better at this point.
This progress report, is not too bad, and we are just starting to work with the teacher and a reward systen in class, so we will see.
Here is the 1st one, what do you think.
Art grade E conduct E
LA E grade E conduct N
Math Grade N conduct N
Music Grade N conduct S
Phy Ed Grade S conduct S
Reading Grade E conduct N
science Grade S conduct N
social studies grade E conduct N
Well he is a smartie pants :-) but probaby not gonna be citizen of the month
.
( at least not this month).
What is going on in math? It seems odd for this grade to be a N while all other academic subjects are E or S.
LOL, your funny!
I don't know about math.....I have been doing flash cards with him, he is slow, counts on fingers, but he gets them right......better than last year! I am horrible in math, maybe it's genetic. I was in basic math, a 10th grade class in 12th grade..
I don't understand music either, why he got an N in it.
joemom wrote: What is going on in math? It seems odd for this grade to be a N while all other academic subjects are E or S
For many ADHD'ers math is a problem. Math requires problem solving skills which requires absoring information into short term memory and unless the information is meaningful or interesting to the child, the information is lost. Also, a high level of distractability contributes to the short term memory problems those that ADHD encounter as well. One on one tutoring is very helpful as through repetition and the elimination of so many distractions, the child is able to transfer the information into the long term memory bank.