nicolewi I'm so sorry that you feel judged. I know you are doing the best you can and trying to make the best decisions for your child. It's not always cut and dry on what the right answer is. Hang in there!
Post by jeaniebueller on May 1, 2024 9:08:09 GMT -5
nicolewi, I didn't see the OP, but will commiserate that 'just get them evaluated' is not that easy--especially if you do not live near a major city and dont have limitless funds and time off work.
nicolewi , I didn't see the OP, but will commiserate that 'just get them evaluated' is not that easy--especially if you do not live near a major city and dont have limitless funds and time off work.
Yeah, I was just perusing this in my small town just to see what was available, and there is apparently only ONE person who does these evaluations and my H said she is backed up for months and months. For sure it's much easier than it sounds
You can ask the (public?) school to evaluate her for a disability, citing the issues and concerns in your original post. It doesn't need to be obvious at school or initiated by the school. Put it in writing and do it today- it can take months (especially with summer break coming up).
Yeah the “go get a full evaluation pronto” advice is always a lot to me. You are looking at long waits, multiple appointments, and thousands of dollars in a lot of cases. I looked into this earlier this year for my DD and just couldn’t justify the expense when what we were doing (therapy—still very expensive) was helping. I do have a contact now which is nice in case things ever escalate but it’s not as easy as go evaluated all the time. Healthcare in this country just kind of sucks.
Anyways I saw the OP but never got to respond. I would talk to your pedi and teachers. See what is suggested and go from there. Trying a low dose of anxiety meds might be enough to calm her mind.
nicolewi , I didn't see the OP, but will commiserate that 'just get them evaluated' is not that easy--especially if you do not live near a major city and dont have limitless funds and time off work.
Yeah, I was just perusing this in my small town just to see what was available, and there is apparently only ONE person who does these evaluations and my H said she is backed up for months and months. For sure it's much easier than it sounds
My DS has sensory issues/anxiety, and there is noone around here who does that kind of eval and not one medical professional or therapist has ever suggested it. We would probably have to go 3-4 hours away, and given that he functions normally in most situations, weighing the cost/benefit is something that i have done. Getting a full eval with a developmental pediatrician or any specialist is highly privileged that 95% of the population do not have access to.
Post by pinkpeony08 on May 1, 2024 11:00:46 GMT -5
Sorry to hear all of this. I know we are not terribly far from each other - the children’s wi mental health resources have expanded substantially in recent years. If you have a pediatrician with children’s wi, I would reach out for advice - i believe every clinic now staffs a mental health professional onsite now and they also have mental health walk in clinic available. Your pediatrician may have advice about best next steps if you are seeking further evaluation. The options may be different than they were even 1-2 years ago.
A close friend has a similar age child who was struggling and having massive meltdowns. She was in therapy, but they were hesitant to start meds. Once they made the decision to try, they saw immense improvement and felt like the interventions/plans from therapy weren’t able to actually be implemented until meds were on board.
Yeah, I was just perusing this in my small town just to see what was available, and there is apparently only ONE person who does these evaluations and my H said she is backed up for months and months. For sure it's much easier than it sounds
My DS has sensory issues/anxiety, and there is noone around here who does that kind of eval and not one medical professional or therapist has ever suggested it. We would probably have to go 3-4 hours away, and given that he functions normally in most situations, weighing the cost/benefit is something that i have done. Getting a full eval with a developmental pediatrician or any specialist is highly privileged that 95% of the population do not have access to.
I got adhd medication from the pediatrician for my kid. It was 4 weeks between the teacher's suggestion and him getting the rx.
I am not advocating an evaluation by some specialist. Just to be seen by someone who can prescribe medication to help with these long running issues.
My DS has sensory issues/anxiety, and there is noone around here who does that kind of eval and not one medical professional or therapist has ever suggested it. We would probably have to go 3-4 hours away, and given that he functions normally in most situations, weighing the cost/benefit is something that i have done. Getting a full eval with a developmental pediatrician or any specialist is highly privileged that 95% of the population do not have access to.
I got adhd medication from the pediatrician for my kid. It was 4 weeks between the teacher's suggestion and him getting the rx.
I am not advocating an evaluation by some specialist. Just to be seen by someone who can prescribe medication to help with these long running issues.
Consider yourself lucky.
Mental health stuff for kids can be so challenging. We spent years trying to get some sort of diagnosis. You said that a teacher suggested it. OP has said no teachers or anybody has suggested anything. We were also in this situation. If you have a kid that is functioning fine at school but is a challenge at home…it’s like nobody believes you. And adhd in girls is often missed.
We spent years with a therapist spinning our wheels. We talked to pedi first and she never once suggested adhd. The first therapist never once suggested adhd. Years later we tried therapy again (and spent quite a lot of time even trying to find a therapist taking patients) and finally after a few months that therapist suggested adhd and we were able to go to pedi and try meds.
Teachers aren't really supposed to suggest anything or mention a possible diagnosis that would lead a parent to request an eval, either. I know this is hammered into us at my school to not mention the word evaluation, unless they ask. Which is unfortunate, but I think that's how it is a lot of places.
nicolewi, I didn't see the OP, but will commiserate that 'just get them evaluated' is not that easy--especially if you do not live near a major city and dont have limitless funds and time off work.
Totally agree.
Also you need buy in from the kid too. Our therapist suggested possibly getting a neuropsych eval. But there’s the cost and time. Even our therapist didn’t think dd would be willing to do it. She wasn’t very willing to do therapy as it was. In the end we didn’t pursue it because the therapist didn’t think we would really find out anything that would change what we were doing so it wasn’t totally worthwhile.
And even just getting into seeing a therapist was a challenge. Practically nobody in my area takes insurance. I have high deductible plan anyways so it’s a big expense. I spent a long time going through a list of therapists, calling and finding out that most were not accepting new patients. The few that were did not have any after school appts. We tried a couple and they were not a good fit. In the end I had to call in a favor for somebody I know who knew a therapist and was able to convince her to see us even though she was not accepting new patients. It was the most frustrating experience.
OP, I read the original post but didn’t get to respond. Your dd sounds like mine. She did end up getting adhd diagnosis. Emotional dysregulation was her main symptom and was only at home with us. She also got diagnosed with auditory sensitivity but we weren’t really given any help for that. We tried meds for a while and they helped but haven’t been 100% effective. I do think it sounds like you should try seeing somebody. But I totally acknowledge that can be challenging. You could start with pedi but I did not find ours to really be helpful in the beginning stages. When dd was young we asked and she blew us off a few times. Finally she did refer us to a therapist but we did not like her at all. Pedi was able to prescribe meds once we had a diagnosis from therapist. But pedi was not helpful in any way in the beginning.
Post by secretagent on May 2, 2024 13:12:12 GMT -5
Getting into see people is a huge challenge even in major metros. I get it for sure. Plus, with therapy - we went through several before finding someone who not only takes insurance but my daughter is more or less willing to talk to. Our pediatrician refers mental health concerns out too, and doesn't prescribe for anxiety, adhd, etc.
Yeah, I was just perusing this in my small town just to see what was available, and there is apparently only ONE person who does these evaluations and my H said she is backed up for months and months. For sure it's much easier than it sounds
My DS has sensory issues/anxiety, and there is noone around here who does that kind of eval and not one medical professional or therapist has ever suggested it. We would probably have to go 3-4 hours away, and given that he functions normally in most situations, weighing the cost/benefit is something that i have done. Getting a full eval with a developmental pediatrician or any specialist is highly privileged that 95% of the population do not have access to.
I did not say she needed an expensive private eval. I would start with the school district. It is impossible to “treat” or accommodate a disability of any sort without knowing what you’re dealing with. Otherwise, we’re just throwing possible solutions at someone in the hopes that something sticks and 1) it’s a ton of work and 2) can sometimes be harmful if you’re putting the wrong stuff in place.
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”