Wow... help!!! How to get diagnosis...

[BMW]

My 11yob has had a ps eval. in 2nd grade and 5th grade. These show basic ld/dyselxia and adhd.

I brought him home to homeschool for 6th grade. I was skeptical of the ps reports... He just needed mom to work with him and fix it all, right???

Well, he has to hold his head up with his arm.
He is very clumsy.
He is awkward.
He has very little core body strength.
He acts SO immature... flips himself upside down on the floor, couch, etc., flailing his legs up in the air...
He cant remember to say "excuse me", but pushes people aside when he walks by...
I can go on... and maybe I will, but I talked with the ped. last week and he said, "adhd" and to try some medication.
BIG inability to focus and cooperate
Forgets things all the time... all the time... all the time...
He has to touch me... even just to feel my arm next to him
He has to get lots of hugs... I mean he HAS to...

With the med. (given just 2 days ), he could write legibly and smaller, neatly (big improvement), he could sit and focus, and had such successful days!

But, I am wondering... why am I diagnosing him? I know he saw the ped., but the ped. just listened to me and agreed with me and gave me a perscription. How do kids get tested? I know the school did a complete psychoeducational analysis, but, I wasn't his mom then (she died of cancer and I married his dad early this year).

I read these threads and I wonder, what is a neuropedicatrician or these specialists... we have some "good" insurance... what should I ask for? I would like someone to really work with this boy and help me. I want to know how to help him. I have worked with my aspie boy, but I KNOW him from birth and I KNOW what I am working with and how to help him. I think with my newer son I am missing something. I never understood adhd and honestly, I doubted the validity of such a diagnosis until I met my son! He is SO sweet, though, and I am honored to be his mom... he wants so much to please me and loves me dearly.

Anyway, it's very late and I am rambling... anyone have some suggestions?
Thanks, so much,
Bee

[hsmamainva]

I have several suggestions or thoughts that came to my mind while reading your post.

First, you could return to your pediatrician (or try another one) and ask for a referral to a specialist. Any doctor with 'neuro' in his or her title is going to have a long waiting list. Maybe a developmental pediatrician would be helpful?

I also thought about suggesting that you pay a visit to a child psychologist / psychiatrist. Not only are they helpful with ADHD, but they may also be able to talk to both of you, especially if he's having trouble adjusting to the loss of his mom. (When I read about his mother dying of cancer, and then read how he wants to hold you all the time, it sounds like he's afraid of losing you, too?)

I also suggested the latter because a 'neuro' or developmental specialist is likely only going to see your son once or twice, just for the testing phase; a psychologist / psychiatrist would probably be more available for repeat visits, since you mentioned that you wanted someone who would get to know your son first, before making a blanket diagnosis based on a 30 minute office visit.

I hope this helps!

[LisaTheresa]

From your description, it sounds like an evaluation by an occupational therapist could be very helpful. Most of the issues you have described are OT issues.

Lisa

[Laurie4b]

Yes, the first several issues could be related to coordination disorder and/or a vestibular system that is not functioning optimally. OT's are the ones who do the diagnosis and treatment for both these conditions.

You could also go the route of an evaluation by a developmental pediatrician or a neuropsychologist because the combo of coordination issues, adhd, reading disorder, and some potential social issues (? about the rolling on the floor stuff. 11 year olds are unbelievably silly. Does he have a group of friends?) might be several distinct things, or possibly one thing rolled together. Just a warning though: a lot of times when there are multiple things going on, diagnosis is less reliable. Unless it all fits "perfectly" under some label or other, you will get a variety of opinions on what to call it. However, you should still get some valuable information with which to understand your child.

For your son, I would want a WISC-IV, a NEPSY, a Beery VMI, and A CTOPP at least. The WISC, VMI, and CTOPP may have been done already in the public school eval..There are also patterns on the WISC, for instance, that are characteristic of ADHD, and would confirm or negate your observations. However, there is no definitive test for ADHD. A whole lot of diagnosis is done just by parents and teachers describing symptoms. It does make one tremble a bit as a parent. (What if I'm not a good observer? Why are they depending on me? Don't they know I have my own blind spots? ) An OT will likely do a BOTS (a test of coordination), the VMI, and some probes about sensory processing, particularly with the vestibular system. If you put the two types of evals together, you ought to get a pretty good picture. (You can take the OT eval to the dev. ped or np. That's what we did. Then they have a more complete picture.) Given that you have recent testing, a new eval will not cost that much because they don't have to repeat everything. However, you may want to go for something like a "consult" to get someone's view of the big picture.

[BMW]

Thanks, I will keep these and think them through for a plan... as soon as I can get over this huge head ache I woke up with and can think once more... :tongue_smilie:

Bee

[Cadam]

My first thoughts were sensory processing disorder and low tone. Both treated by an occupational therapist. You might look into working memory issues as well.

We all feel like we have to diagnose our own children. You are not the y only one. I have been bemoaning that lately. It seems like doctors are so myopic and don't realize that there could be a problem beyond their specialty, much less point you to the correct specialist.:glare:

[LizzyBee]

From your description, it sounds like an evaluation by an occupational therapist could be very helpful. Most of the issues you have described are OT issues.

Lisa

:iagree:

[cillakat]

I'd 2nd, 3rd and 4th all of the recs for an OT evaluation and would Laurie's recs for other testing.

Can you get the reports from the school testing? It'll make it easier to figure out exactly where you need to go.

While some of the things you mentioned say 'adhd', other symptoms indicate sensory/motor issues or asperger's or even nvld.

Wishing you all the very best,
Katherine