My boys go for their neuropsych. exams in about 10 days...

[MicheleB]

Is there any advice you have for me?

I feel a little "burned" by the OT eval. I went in and kind of poured my heart out about how I thought my dss had this or that, and then was told they don't. Not to mention it just wasn't a good eval anyway.

So....

Should I even take in the OT and speech evaluations from here (which I'm not completely satisfied with) or just leave them at home? How would they be helpful to the n.p. if I do take them in?

Should I just give him a list of symptoms instead of saying things like "visual-perceptual" etc, etc?

I'm worried I'll forget to mention something or because I'm around dss all the time, I don't notice something that should be mentioned. But perhaps the n.p. is good at picking up those things anyway. ???

Also, I once filled out a LONG history for my dd at the place where she was having therapy, and the results came back invalid! It was VERY frustrating for me because it took me a long time to answer all those questions, I wasn't lying, but I blew the validity scale somehow, I guess. I think I get confused because they ask the same question different ways multiple times. Which I know is all part of the validity thing.... but I find myself "obsessing" too much over answering. KWIM?

So if you have any wonderful advice for filling out all that paperwork (times 2), I'd appreciate that as well. :001_smile:

[JFS in IL]

Take in a sheet of paper for each kid on which you list the symptoms and frequency there of as seen by you, also list your questions, so you do not forget anything. Make sure the doc. sees each kid separately, too. The doc. will also probably want to know the ages at which each kid met developmental milestones, so have that written out, too.

Knowing I have everything on paper, so I do not have to worry about forgetting to ask something or point out a problem, has made our doc. visits much smoother and productive. Our neuro. knows I will come in with a clipboard and pen ;)

[MicheleB]

Take in a sheet of paper for each kid on which you list the symptoms and frequency there of as seen by you, also list your questions, so you do not forget anything. Make sure the doc. sees each kid separately, too. The doc. will also probably want to know the ages at which each kid met developmental milestones, so have that written out, too.

Knowing I have everything on paper, so I do not have to worry about forgetting to ask something or point out a problem, has made our doc. visits much smoother and productive. Our neuro. knows I will come in with a clipboard and pen ;)

Thanks! I was worried about the milestones thing b/c I was never a great "Baby Book" keeper. I know *some* things... like ds #1 didn't crawl till 12 months or walk till 16 months.... but things like rolling over and stuff I forget.

When you list the symptoms, do you just give that sheet to your doctor or read it off?

[Laurie4b]

I think this is great advice. I type the stuff up that I want to say and bring it in . That way, it's in the record. You can also tell the np, but s/he will be responsible for anything that you've written.

Don't do this in narrative; people just don't read pages of stuff. Instead, groups symptoms together and do it in bullet form.

Be sure to include strengths as well as problem areas.

Duration (how long it lasts, or has lasted), intensity, and frequency are key things to communicate.

Don't worry about developmental milestones you can't remember, although I bet your primary care has a record of them---remember all those questions you were asked every well-child-check-up? The answers were written down. What the np will primarily be looking for is whether the milestone was met wnl (within normal limits), was early, or delayed. Probably the things you don't remember were wnl.

[Cadam]

I typed the list of symptoms and brought in multiple copies. I gave one to the nurse for his file, one to the dr. and one for me as we talked through them.

I wrote down all of the dev. milestones I could remember and just let the rest go.

I wouldn't bring in the ST and OT evals unless I thought they were complete and accurate. I wouldn't say "I think she has this______". Conclusions are his department. You need to paint a picture for him. If you leave out one of two pieces he should still have enough of the puzzle to see what it is. kwim?

Relax, write down your questions. It will be ok.

[Mama2Three]

I'll second what Laurie4b wrote. Bullets are key -- keep them short, then you can add more description as you are talking. Take 2 copies -- one for yourself, and another for the dr/file.

Also, try to list/talk about your top concerns first. If you do your bullets in chronological order, you could do an executive summary at the top of the first page with your top 3 concerns (ie, why are you bringing your dc to the pn).

Best of luck to you!

[MicheleB]

We leave tomorrow to stay with family (since it's 2 hours away) and the initial appt is Wednesday.

We'll have another full day of testing in a few weeks and then the results at the end of the month.

I'm nervous yet hopeful! :)