if this is a nueropsychologist evaluation, like edbson says it will probably be a couple of long visits with lots of testing for LD's and IQ....etc., etc. Also as she says at 5 this is is a little tough, I would halfheartedly worry about an LD at this age. Over 6 is best for learning disabilities.
If this is the person who will be doing therpay, get a good feel for exactly what kinds of things they will be doing, they'll be getting a feel from you on what you are looking for also. Let them know what you are hoping to achieve. I assume you want help with discipline tactics and them to help him with transitions and how to handle frustration and anxiety. So ask how they will do this. See how they interact with your son and how interacts with them. If they dont click, you'll know. Good luck, I'm sure it'll be great! Good luck.
We have our first appt w/our 5 yr old son on Wed with a child psychologist and am wondering what to expect or what to be prepared for? He is already on meds prescribed from a ped Doc (with whom we were/are not happy w/at all and will not be going back to him), currently taking 10mg Daytrana and 10mg Methylin in the morning. The receptionist advised not to do anything different w/his meds for this first appt, although I'm not sure how an accurate diagnosis will be made if he's on meds?? Although at this point I'm pretty sure they are not accurate for him. We've had a few good weeks since we added the Methylin in the morning but now today I got a call from his teacher asking if there was anything different about today cause it was like he wasn't on any meds again! He was up at 5:30, which is early for him, that's the only thing I can think of.
I've been keeping a journal for him since we started the Methylin about 3 weeks ago and plan to bring that along. Are there any questions related to dealing w/a child psych that I should be asking that I may not know about, having never dealt w/a child psych? I do have some questions prepared but overall this has been such a learning experience for myself & my husband that I'm coming up w/questions all the time, so I don't want to overwhelm her! Any suggestions will be graciously accepted, this board is such a great source of support & info!
As far as an evaluation ?
My DD saw a Neuropsych, and we did several visits, bloodwork, EKG's, EEG's and testing for LD's. I will caution you, at 5, an accurate diagnosis is going to be hard to get, and you will have to reevaluate in a few years. It never hurts to re evaluate, DD has had 3 evals in 3 years.
Psychologists cannot prescribe meds, you will need a Psychiatrist for that.
epokey I have the same question, is this a psychiatrist to manage meds for you, second opinion on the diagnosis? Or whole start over evaluation? Or is this for therapy?now we found any of the long acting meds, Concerta, Ritalin LA took a long time to kick in. We did use a booster of generic methylphedinate in the am and as needed in the pm on Ritalin LA.We plan to call the ped tomorrow and ask about both and see which he suggests. We have about 6 pills of Methylin 10mg left, so we'll keep them on hand in case the "booster" in the morning is needed.
It's so frustrating that it is all trial & error with meds. I'm actually a little aprehensive about changing, since the combo we're on is helping some, I'm scared to change & have it go completely the wrong direction. I suppose at least we know that we have something to come back to if that happens. Hopefully it will get easier once we're dealing with both the psychologist AND psychiatrist, rather than going at it on our own. Thanks for the input, we definately need all the advice we can get!
UPDATE: We saw the child psychologist this morning (forgive me for not knowing the difference between a neuropsychologist & a regular child psychologist but I'm pretty sure just a regular child psychologist as we did not have a bunch of testing, more just play/visiting session). I'm a little more upbeat about the whole thing but at the same time a little disappointed cause I had to make an appt w/the child psych while we were there, which isn't until Feb 4, and I was not told originally when I made the appt to make that appt also (even thought I told the receptionist that our son was already on meds and would need help w/that!!). That said, she was very nice and will be helping us with behavior therapy and basically just got a feel for our son & how we are currently handling things and what our issues are. My husband & I have an appt to go back in 2 wks w/o our son to discuss further & in more detail.
Now--because we still don't feel that our dosing & precriptions are quite right (Daytrana 10mg and Methylin 10mg AM) she did talk a little bit about that with us as she is at least knowledgeable about what's available. We have been doing some of our own research about other meds that may help more & have a longer lasting effect and after talking about them w/her, she suggested calling our ped & asking for one of them to try before our Psychiatrist appt, just because we don't feel right about where we're at now and we have some time to play w/it before we see him. I've been looking at Concerta or Medadate and have read some other threads about them, they seem to be a longer lasting med: we need relief in our evenings too. Being in the same med family as what we're currently using, I am thinking we'd be safe in trying them?? Any info on either or both would be helpful. Also, would these meds be in need of a "booster" in the morning since they are longer acting, do they take longer to kick in? Would his current 10mg Methylin work? Sorry for all the questions, at this point until we see the child psychiatrist, we are sort of our own Doc's and monitoring all of this on our own and our ped is just the pill pusher, he hasn't been real helpful as far as giving us much knowledge or offering different things to try.
epokey39463.6109837963Using either Medadate CD or Concerta, I wouldn't think you would need a morning dose. They kick in pretty quickly - usually within 30 minutes.Hi,
This is our experience:
1. Tried Adderall, too much rebound and difficulty sleeping
2. Tried Concerta 36mg too much rebound and difficulty sleeping
3. Tried Ritalin LA 20mg, then 30mg after about 8 weeks, then this year 40mg. Ritalin LA works very well BUT does not last long enough. We tried a 3:00 p.m. booster of 10mg that did not help.
4. Recently we asked to try Concerta again since it lasts the longest. I asked the doc if the rebound might not be a problem because his body is now adjusted to stimulants. We have given it a try and so far it has worked beautifully. He is on 54mg and seems to sleep fine.
He has been on stimulants about a year. Good luck
(My son is almost 11 about 76 pounds and 4ft 11inches (tall)
Hi,