How do you know which it is?

[MicheleB]

If I had not come to this board, I would have thought my 7yo ds (whom I posted about with the APD issues and also a while ago that he never stops moving, which someone suggested was sensory-seeking) had ADHD.

I would have maybe eventually gone to our GP and considered Ritalin or what have you.

Now, I see that it is possibly APD and a sensory issue. However, how do you differentiate. I know you can have evals. done but often they miss the mark as well and you end up with a misdiagnosis and a kid on a medication he might not need.

What knowledge can I arm myself with and present to his GP or whomever else I may contact regarding the "symptoms" he's showing? What would a responsible GP do as far as referring a child on, prescribing a med, etc?

And lastly, how do you decide *which* issue to treat or seek treatment for first?

[godpoetry]

For my visit with the GP I took a list of all his symptoms . I also took the name of the neuro-psychologist I wanted the referral for, because our insurance only has a couple in the area that it covers. We are going to have testing done by a neuro-psychologist because I feel they can give me the best answers to my questions since my son has epilepsy.

[EKS]

The Mislabeled Child by Brock and Fernette Eide is about this very subject. It gives good information on how to differentiate between the various conditions and what can mimic what.

http://mislabeledchild.com/

[Claire]

ADHD, APD and SID all have overlapping symptoms. It requires a very discriminating doctor to tease out all the variations, because a child can have more than one of these conditions simultaneously and in different degrees of severity.

In my opinion, the easiest evaluation to start with is an occupational therapy eval. Not only will this eval be able to identify or rule out SID, but also if it shows a lot of problems in the area of vestibular development, it will increase the possibility of APD being a severe problem.

I think it's best to take it one step at a time. An OT eval is a good first step. Choosing the second step may depend a great deal on the results of that eval and on your own observations in the meantime.

It's a journey. Observing your child is one of the things you can do to arm yourself. People here can offer suggestions on books to read and websites to visit for information.

Be aware that professionals often look at just one part of your child. You are the one who sees the big picture. Use professionals for testing and information, but research their recommendations before deciding on a therapy or plan of action. Many professionals are biased in favor of the therapy in which they have trained, whether it is the most appropriate for your child or not. If a professional doesn't value you as a "team member", find one who does. Also, remember that not all professionals graduated at the top of their class. Some are downright mediocre in what they do. Drop those who do not meet you halfway, and look for the best.

[Cadam]

A behavioral Pediatrician is like the generalist of specialists. She was our first stop and was then able to point us in the right direction. Also, Occupational therapy never hurt anyone. It can help kids will all kinds of things including ADD and does not involve medication. I would start there and possibly with nutritional supplements, which also help many things.