mommymilkies Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 Our pediatrician has agreed my 10 year old should be seen by a specialist (other than her ped. endo.) about her learning and behavioral issues. We're not sure if it's related to her Hashimoto's which left her without growth and development for 3 years (long story). Has anyone else dealt with similar issues for their child with Hashimoto's? We aren't sure right now if she has just general Developmental Delays from her medical condition, or if it is something like Asperger's and unrelated to her thyroid. Our choices in this rural area are a Dev Ped a few hours away who many families you know were unhappy with, or a Neuropsych with a great record a little further away? Would you recommend seeing a Developmental Pediatrician or Neuropsychologist? TIA! A small sampling of her issues on top of probable Dyslexia, a language processing dx, and behavioral issues: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/456750-teaching-social-skills-conversation-etc/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 I guess in your position I would go with the Neuropshych, even though they are further away, since they have a great record and the other one does not. FWIW, my mom has Hashimotos and I have Graves, but ours developed as adults, not children. I don't know how developing these diseases in childhood would have affected things. I know at one point the doctors were really, really worried about Mom. The Hashimoto's severely affected her cognitive function until she could get her meds worked out correctly. Certainly I ran into my own issues with Graves that strongly affected my work performance and health until my own medication was balanced out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyLittleBears Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 :grouphug: I went back and read your original post from the link. She sound a lot like my ds (14) who was just diagnosed with ASD. I found myself teaching him social cues that I did not have to teach my other children. The conversational reciprocity, looking at people when talking to them, when it was appropriate to say things and when not to say them, etc. The fact that I had to have these conversations with him, according to our neuropych, was a big indicator that something spectrum related was up. I also thought he was dyslexic but as it turns out, it was more related to executive functions deficits. If there are other things going on a good neurophych will pick up on those with testing. We drove about 2hrs to see ours. It was totally worth the trips. It probably would not be worth going to someone that you know does not have a good reputation. Better a good evaluation a bit further away, than a closer one that you may always question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 :grouphug: I went back and read your original post from the link. She sound a lot like my ds (14) who was just diagnosed with ASD. I found myself teaching him social cues that I did not have to teach my other children. The conversational reciprocity, looking at people when talking to them, when it was appropriate to say things and when not to say them, etc. The fact that I had to have these conversations with him, according to our neuropych, was a big indicator that something spectrum related was up. I also thought he was dyslexic but as it turns out, it was more related to executive functions deficits. If there are other things going on a good neurophych will pick up on those with testing. We drove about 2hrs to see ours. It was totally worth the trips. It probably would not be worth going to someone that you know does not have a good reputation. Better a good evaluation a bit further away, than a closer one that you may always question. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innisfree Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Agreeing that it's worth the drive, even if you have to do it repeatedly, to see a good neuropsych. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted January 18, 2015 Author Share Posted January 18, 2015 Thank you, everyone. I called and gave the referring doctor the Neuropsych's name and number, but it can take months to get in. I appreciate the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busymotherof4 Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 I know that behavior is linked to hypothroid issues. My brother developed it as a child ( I also did). He ended up repeating 6 th grade. His was undiagnosed for years. It likely resulted in a few lost inches. He did have strong positive changes and now is a fine adult. My 14 and 8 year old son were recently diagnosed with Hashimotos. My 8 year old has some issues that we have yet to diagnose. ADHD or anxiety like behavior. Letter reversals and spelling issues. No problems reading but can't tell the # of syllables in words. I really don't know anything as we are just starting our journey with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted January 19, 2015 Author Share Posted January 19, 2015 I know that behavior is linked to hypothroid issues. My brother developed it as a child ( I also did). He ended up repeating 6 th grade. His was undiagnosed for years. It likely resulted in a few lost inches. He did have strong positive changes and now is a fine adult. My 14 and 8 year old son were recently diagnosed with Hashimotos. My 8 year old has some issues that we have yet to diagnose. ADHD or anxiety like behavior. Letter reversals and spelling issues. No problems reading but can't tell the # of syllables in words. I really don't know anything as we are just starting our journey with it. Yes! This sounds just like her. The specialist said he didn't think it was correlated, but it's just so...coincidental? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Χά�ων Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 I felt the NP my son saw was a waste of time. Developmental was more help but he was much younger. I still pull out that report from time to time. Is there another developmental ped that is within a reasonable travel distance? If insurance will cover both what about doing both? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted January 20, 2015 Author Share Posted January 20, 2015 According to the doctor and parents in the area, this is as good as I'll find. The NP wouldn't provide treatment, just a good diagnosis. We are very rural and there is a decided lack of services within 3+ hours of here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Χά�ων Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 I feel your pain on lack of services. And the drive. Sigh, I hate the drive. But. Either way you are probably not looking at treatment, just evaluations so only a couple of appointments total. When my son saw the developmental it was a 4 hour long appointment and then a parents meeting two weeks later. And a waiting list. I think I have previously talked about the NP my son saw. She did not take his language issues into consideration and gave him an IQ score that was more than 40 points lower than it actually it. Everything was blown off and explained as "he is just slow". I have a very deep bias against NP. Developmental didn't do much but was much closer to being on target and did consider his language delays and disorder in the evaluation. It was also a team. He saw the developmental doctor, an OT a PT and a SLP. I met with someone else (psychologist maybe) to go over family history and do a rather long interview. They were much more indepth on his medical history than the NP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 From the parents I've talked to, they've all been extremely frustrated with the DP available to us. So for now I'll take my chance with the NP with good reviews, unless we move. :) Ok, heard back from the nurse. The waiting list is over a year long! Oh my. So, more waiting. It's already been over 4 years of waiting, so what's another? :crying: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 FWIW, IMO, this is the cutting edge of medicine, where autoimmune stuff (hypothyroid is autoimmune, right?) affects the nervous system, which of course includes the brain, and thus can affect behavior and nervous system function. Unfortunately, most mainstream medical practitioners are a long way off from even accepting the possibility that the brain is located in a body with connected systems. (Sorry that this doesn't help find the answers; it's just my big-picture, annoyed perspective based on what's going on with one of my kids right now, and we've had to go way outside the box) On the NP, I would have a hard time waiting an entire year. I'd probably travel further, even for an overnight(s). There are some NPs who will do the follow-up conference by phone or set it up so that it can be the next day (it can take time to analyze the results after the testing). I agree. It will be a 2 day overnight evaluation and a follow up call with the results a month or so later. Unfortunately, my insurance is limited, so I'm not sure I *can* find anything else unless we move and get better insurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I would keep the eval appointment but also ask to be put on a cancellation list. Tell them you need X amount of warning--like a day or 2 or whatever. Sometimes that can get you in quite a bit earlier. I would also consider getting a basic eval done through the schools if you really have a year wait ahead of you. It won't be as thorough but it will be a lot faster and free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted January 23, 2015 Author Share Posted January 23, 2015 I would keep the eval appointment but also ask to be put on a cancellation list. Tell them you need X amount of warning--like a day or 2 or whatever. Sometimes that can get you in quite a bit earlier. I would also consider getting a basic eval done through the schools if you really have a year wait ahead of you. It won't be as thorough but it will be a lot faster and free. I will ask. We had a school eval done and it was somehow worse than useless. I think the old thread above outlines a few of the problems we had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.