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Seeing pediatrician for ADHD...


sbgrace
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I made an appointment with the pediatrician to talk about ADHD treatment and I'm nervous. They wanted the school to fill out paperwork and, of course, there isn't a school/outside professional to give an opinion on my son.

 

How do I approach this with the pediatrician? I've never met her before which makes me more nervous. I don't want to come across as drug seeking! I think anyone who spends 3 minutes with my son can see the ADHD but there is an autism diagnosis and that might give a pediatrician pause.

 

Any advice?

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I would be reluctant to have a ped give an ADHD diagnosis in any event but especially in the presence of an autism diagnosis. I would have doubts about the extent of the ped's expertise in the areas of both diagnosis and treatment. (I personally know more than one kiddo misdiagnosed by a ped.) I'd want a full neuropsych eval, as there are issues that can look like ADHD but have other causes. Just my two cents.

 

Eta, I'm assuming you've already seen the CDC criteria? I think you can expect the paperwork checklist to look like that.

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We were referred out for the dx. The checklist is just one component, fill it out to the best of your ability. Sometimes there is some trial and error involved in getting a dx, as each individual is unique in symptoms and limitations. Hope you can get a good outcome for your DS. I know it is so hard to help kids help themselves sometimes.

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Who did the autism diagnosis? That might be someone to see regarding the ADHD.

 

Can you get in to see a pediatric psychiatrist? It can be very helpful to have a specialist prescribing the meds as the autism does complicate things and your pediatrician most likely just has some basic background in ADHD whereas a pdoc will have this as their expertise.

 

Does your son attend any classes, Sunday School, scouts, etc? That could be another outside person that can help fill out a checklist.

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When I called I ask if I could have a phone referral and the nurse told me they can usually handle ADHD in office as they see it so often. Huh. Maybe that's unusual then or at least should be! At any rate I'm sure I can request referral instead at that appointment. His autism diagnosis was from the Children's hospital's child development clinic. I'm sure they do broader testing. I will say I'm personally certain this is ADHD. There are classic symptoms and a very strong family history as well.

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I would be reluctant to have a ped give an ADHD diagnosis in any event but especially in the presence of an autism diagnosis. I would have doubts about the extent of the ped's expertise in the areas of both diagnosis and treatment. (I personally know more than one kiddo misdiagnosed by a ped.) I'd want a full neuropsych eval, as there are issues that can look like ADHD but have other causes. Just my two cents.

 

Eta, I'm assuming you've already seen the CDC criteria? I think you can expect the paperwork checklist to look like that.

 

This.
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