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evaluating for adhd: pediatrician or psychologist?


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6 hours ago, Moved On said:

 From the moment the OP shared it I wished she hadn't ...

4KookieKids, if you decide to delete that post I will gladly remove any references from my posts.

Yes please... I don’t always anticipate we’ll how others will respond, I guess. I thought I was sharing something slightly humorous and encouraging.

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Done, from my part. Many hugs to you! I have posted things I have later regretted also. Always remember, this is a public forum with people you don't know and will likely never meet. If friends can use your words against you, think how much easier it is for a total stranger whom you don't see and who can't see you.

I'll be taking off now. Try to read books from parents of autistic kids. You can learn a lot more just by reading. It's what I do.

All the best,

M

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(((Kookie)))

I hope your psych turns out to be a great resource for you. The first psych we went to was so, so, so helpful for us. I can't tell you how much she helped us. She did his initial ADHD evaluation, but our input was atypical, because, as homeschoolers, we did not have an outside teacher to do the teacher input forms. So I filled out the forms as "teacher" and DH filled out the forms as "parent." We also asked DS's gymnastics coach to fill one out, but his input was not as insightful. So she diagnosed him as ADHD but also was extremely respectful of our hesitancy and said she would only list it as an official diagnosis on his paperwork if we wanted her to. 

She also connected us to other providers and resources and did counseling. (The only thing she could not do was prescribe meds. Once we had decided to try them, we had to go to a medical doctor for that, and we actually consulted with two -- a pediatric psychiatrist and our pediatrician )

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4KookieKids, for your Lego lover, have you also tried K'Nex? Lego, K'Nex, Thames & Kosmos sets, and Erector (Meccano) have been building sets my oldest was always into. He started building independently following the K'Nex instructions shortly after turning 5. I first started building with him when he was about two picking up on his passion for construction machines and construction sights. By age 7 1/2 to 8 he was building their Engineering Marvels educational set and others from their educational series. The set no longer exists but here's what I am referring to:

https://www.amazon.ca/KNex-78480-Education-Knex-Engineering-Marvels/dp/B0023P41I2

We are now looking at buying him his own Laptop (he has a slightly older desktop) with more powerful graphics so he can work on Blender and teach himself SketchUp. At the same time, I asked my husband for some machines for my birthday so my oldest and I can try our hands at woodworking.

Just some ideas on how to up the challenge. Lego Technics has some interesting sets but I have always found K'Nex and Erector more versatile, even though Lego appears to be more popular. 

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22 hours ago, Moved On said:

Done, from my part. 

Thanks. Do you ever PM? I had something I had wanted to share with you, but I don’t see the option to message you on your profile.

also, yes, ds was given a suitcase of erector stuff and Knex from an uncle who was really into it as a kid, and he plays with them very often! The things he builds are amazing! Recently not so much, because he saved for three years for a mindstorm and finally got it, so that has been his focus for the last few weeks. ?

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4 hours ago, 4KookieKids said:

also, yes, ds was given a suitcase of erector stuff and Knex from an uncle who was really into it as a kid, and he plays with them very often! The things he builds are amazing! Recently not so much, because he saved for three years for a mindstorm and finally got it, so that has been his focus for the last few weeks. ?

That's awesome!

My oldest switched over to MOCs also and was doing both. He also worked on some Lego animations for a while too. I didn't do the Mindstorms because we got a teens/ adults robotics book, so he will be using that. We have some of the Thames and Kosmos Robotics sets that we bought in the past and it was time to step it up for him. He also needs the laptop more at this age anyway. He has also used tools to build things with wood with his dad (my husband took woodworking in college at some point out of personal interest). I just want him to have more exposure to the different machines and what they can do. He has also worked on coding.

My youngest plays with Lego, K'Nex, etc. but he is my computer geek. So he is not that much into the building toys. This was why I mentioned my oldest who seemed to have closer interests to your boy. Robotics is another story! I have toyed with the idea of Mindstorms for him but I'm waiting on the book to see if they can both use it. We shall see!

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4 hours ago, 4KookieKids said:

Thanks. Do you ever PM? I had something I had wanted to share with you, but I don’t see the option to message you on your profile.

I keep my PM blocked to avoid backchannel talk. I avoid gossip so I isolate myself instead. Let me know if you want me to open it temporarily. I only came back to post because I saw your posts.

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23 minutes ago, Moved On said:

I keep my PM blocked to avoid backchannel talk. I avoid gossip so I isolate myself instead. Let me know if you want me to open it temporarily. I only came back to post because I saw your posts.

 

I don’t know what backchannel talk is - so I don’t know how to answer this. Don’t worry about it though. Go enjoy your time away! ?

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1 hour ago, 4KookieKids said:

 

I don’t know what backchannel talk is - so I don’t know how to answer this. Don’t worry about it though. Go enjoy your time away! ?

It's just the discussions behind the scenes. I'm sure in most cases they are used in a good way; sharing something someone doesn't want to share publicly or getting to know each other better. I'm sure people have formed friendships that way also. But it can be used in not so positive ways as well.

I'm an introvert. I was the only introvert in a family of all extroverts, so it took me a while to realize that socializing is just not the way I'm wired. It's not a criticism! It's just the way some people are. I read a lot and a lot of my spare time is spent on that as well.  I self-teach many things and keep up with my kids' passions to figure out what the next step is for them. I took on their therapies myself so had to teach myself through reading, researching, and observing my boys. And that's not to mention homeschooling. Having it blocked makes things a bit simpler for me! I also take short and long term breaks, so I'm often not around (not even to lurk).

I have no problem opening it if there's something you want to share though ☺️. I am approachable and speak to people when I'm out in the real world. I'm just a bit more private than most in my personal life. But, also, very outspoken and honest, and that's not always appreciated.

Apologies for the rambling, and thank you! ☺️ 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Well, I just met with the psych, and she says that there’s not a doubt in her mind that’s he has ADHD and it is affecting every single area of his life. She feels that the ASD-2 dx is off, even, inflated by ADHD tendencies, and he’s probably only ASD-1.

So I suppose I’m off to read about dietary interventions and meds now.

Ds summed it up really well for us this weekend when he said, “I’m just bored all the time. Even when I’m doing something, I’m bored. No matter what I’m doing, my brain is bored.”  ?

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