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If you have a children's hospital or university with a pediatric developemental team, they may offer social skills training, coaching and other services, as well as docs.

In my experience alot of Psych's will want to re-evaluate if they did not make the diagnosis, make sure your insurance wil pay for it. It wouldn't be a bad idea to have an eval though, if he was diagnosed by a pediatrician. It may not be ADHD after all.

I recently found that my DD was mis diagnosed by TX children's hospital Psych team.You just never know...

One problem with social skills training is that it doesn't work unless it is at the "point of performance" I was involved with a program for at risk adolescents age 10-14. They went to school half a day and at the program half a day. We had about one floor staff to every 4 kids. The kids were caught when they did and did not show social skills and worked with right then. The program was considered to be very successful.

The problem with social skill training is that this is not a skill issue. It is an application of knowledge issue. The kids know what to do but do not know how to do what they know. This is why all work of this kind needs to be at the point of performance. You cannot teach it in an office and group work has not proven out in studies. Worse, if you put your kid in a group of oppositional kids they feed on each other and you often get More inappropriate behaviors.

I hope you can find a program for your child. When they are set up correctly, they do work.

Diz

Look around, these should be available but I do not know where they may be.

My daughter has done very well in hers. It is 45 minutes a week and they focus on things like making eye contact when talking. Taking your turn in the conversation. Not interrupting or always changing the subject to be about her. These are skills that are for sure transferred to her every day performance. It has helped her try to understand some "cues" she may not be able to pick up on. She still needs help with all of these things, which is why I am searching for one that is outside our school district with new kids, but it has helped. Impulsive, inattentive kids have a hard time in a group, these skills help with that .Diane V39282.5815277778

Diane V

Your child's group seems to be doing what I was talking about. The social interactions are caught at the point of performance (when they happen) and are worked with at that point. This is what works. It sounds like you may have a found a good program.

To elaborate a little. If you teach kids in a class like setting that they are supposed to make eye contact (teaching them skills) you are not going to have a lot of results. If you catch the child not making eye contact and work to help her do so (teaching them to apply these skills), you can see some dramatic changes over time. This is often best done in a group setting where there are a number of interactions to use to help them learn. Main thing is to have enough staff to do what is needed.

Keep plugging you seem to be on the right track.

Diz

I had a very hard time finding some one too. A couple of things. You can try getting a list from your insurance if that is a requirement (meaning insurance paying), then just start calling and asking if they have a social skills group. I got 2 different referrals for my daughter, but neither accepted insurance so we are waiting it out. She does do a social skills group through her school so I was looking for an additional one. The two that were recommneded were actually places that work on just social skills and there are kids with autism/PDD, non verbal learning disability and ADHD. Maybe if you search using PDD as the search you might find more. Try your pediatrician or school also.

...my ds is on concerta from his ped. I didn't think I needed to take him to a psychiatrist since the concerta has helped alot. However, now he is having major social problems. Maybe now that he can slow down a bit he notices the problems. At his day camp this summer he says no one likes him and he has gotten into a couple of scrapes with other boys.

Anyway, I am trying to find out how to find a good therapist for social concerns. I am not turning up much on the web and I will just start calling ones in my insurence book but just was hoping there was somewhere else to look.

thanks,

Well, we did talk to the counselors and things have gotten better. Partly because my ds figured out that the older boys really didn't want anything to do with him so he should just play with the other boys his age. He came home the day after these two problem days and said he had 2 new friends! That said, I think he will need a med increase because the 18 mg is not working as well. My ped will not give him tenex until it is approved for Adhd by the FDA. One of the reasons I am looking into getting a psych. Our ped is changing practices and the new one is part of Children's hospital in DC so I am thinking I will ask for a referal to the hositals ADHD department. They are far away but at least we could get an occational appointment.

thanks for your support,

Great news for your son! Smart boy to realize the older kids are older and don't want to hang out with someone younger, at least not yet.

I just wanted to mention that 18mgs is really, really a low dose. My son lasted 1 day at school on that and was increased so that he went back to school on the highter dose, i think is 27mgs, which lasted a short time before 36, then 54 and finally leveled at 72mgs for 2 1/2 years. Keep an eye on him. You will find the "just right dose" for him, but it takes a few tries.

I am amazed at your doctor not wanting to even try guanfacine/tenex. We use a psychopharmacologist for our meds and that is who prescribes it. There are so many here talking about there children taking it and how successful it has been, I am suprised?! Good idea to ask again from a new doctor. Our pediatrician is NOT our prescribing doctor because he is specializes in pediatrics not adhd, He told me that! That is a quote from our awesome pediatrician and he is right if your think about it!!

I am so glad for your son. Social is so tough for our little ones and has a real tug on my heart at how hard they try but are treated so lousy!

Yeah I am so happy for you both!

Thanks everyone. I am thinking about it but may wait and see what the ped says at the next appointment.

Hi Isaniga,

I think all adhd'ers have social problems. I think because of my son's past, it has made him become quiet in social settings because he was always the one "caught" and being watched. He was labeled at school by ALL - both kids and adults.

My son is adhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhd, way over the top with hyperactivity and easily overstimulated.

His doctor added guanfacine when we started the concerta. And because of my son's metabolism, we increased the concerta dose quickly. He was at 72 mg at age 7 1/2. He stayed there until he turned 10, last month. He has just been increased to 86mgs.

I wonder if you son's meds may need an increase AND if he would benefit with guanfacine/tenex-same thing, in addition to the concerta.

ALSO, have you talked with the camp counselors? I just did this last week!

Kids are mean, whether they have adhd or not. The parents aren't so great either out there. It is never their kid, always ours

I would go talk to the counselors, they should be aware of what your son is telling them AND the counselors need to get involved and find out just what is going on!! It is their job!

Let us know what happens!