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Still Fighting for a Diagnosis for My 13-Year-Old Son

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Thread : Still Fighting for a Diagnosis for My 13-Year-Old Son
12 May 2008 @ 7:11 AM
judy2302	Join Date: Mon 12th May 2008 Threads: Posts:
Still Fighting for a Diagnosis for My 13-Year-Old Son Hi this is my first post on the forum and I wound up on here by googling about sleep problems and ADD and found an excellent article on ADDitude mag going back to 2007. We live in the UK and since starting high school at age 11 my son has struggled and now all but given up on his education. He has had Educational Psychology and Occupational Therapy Assessments and came out of the Ed Psych one as being extremely intelligent with what could be a specific spelling difficuly and his OT Assessment didn't show anything too major just some problems with Motor Co-ordination. The Consultant Psychiatrist who we've being seeing over the past 15 months won't have it that he has ADD because she observed him in one lesson and he was 'engaged' and interacting in the lesson, they also sent an ADHD nurse to observe him in a lesson which again he showed interest in (the lesson was about genetics and everyone - apart from my son because he forgot - took in photos of parents and grandparents and they had to guess which class mate they belonged to. When I ask the consultant things like, why does he lose things, lose his place when reading or copying from the board, or get so bored in school that he says he is almost crying in lessons. She says he is depressed and tried to find reasons for this in our family life. My son now takes anti depressants and melatonin to help him sleep. We have gone from him having a 98% attendance record in junior school to a less than 30% attendance in High School. We are lucky not to have been prosecuted for his poor attendance, its only because the Education Welfare know the fight I am putting up to have him diagnosed. We recently got a second opinion from a paediatrician who said if he were her patient she would give him a trial of medication and closely monitor him to see if there were any benefits. But bureaucracy in this country means she is not allowed to treat him, but she did suggest that we move from the Mental Health team we are seeing to a new one. We have taken the advice and last week my son went to the new centre for the first time, and it was like starting all over again, they wanted to know our history and then in 4 weeks time they will see us again, but on a positive note at least they seemed to listen and not go off on a path like the last psychiatrist did. I am sorry to ramble on but I have watched my lovely laid back son turn into an aggressive unhappy teenager, who has no confidence or self esteem, he often appears anxious. He seldom goes out, but has his friends come and stay over, when they do get him to go out he is like a different boy. When he's home he plays on the PC he rarely watches TV or movies because he says its boring, but loves things like the Simpsons, Family Guy and The Office. He has a great dry sense of humour. Quote

Thread : Still Fighting for a Diagnosis for My 13-Year-Old Son

12 May 2008 @ 7:11 AM

judy2302

Join Date: Mon 12th May 2008
Threads: Posts:

Still Fighting for a Diagnosis for My 13-Year-Old Son

Hi this is my first post on the forum and I wound up on here by googling about sleep problems and ADD and found an excellent article on ADDitude mag going back to 2007.

We live in the UK and since starting high school at age 11 my son has struggled and now all but given up on his education. He has had Educational Psychology and Occupational Therapy Assessments and came out of the Ed Psych one as being extremely intelligent with what could be a specific spelling difficuly and his OT Assessment didn't show anything too major just some problems with Motor Co-ordination.

The Consultant Psychiatrist who we've being seeing over the past 15 months won't have it that he has ADD because she observed him in one lesson and he was 'engaged' and interacting in the lesson, they also sent an ADHD nurse to observe him in a lesson which again he showed interest in (the lesson was about genetics and everyone - apart from my son because he forgot - took in photos of parents and grandparents and they had to guess which class mate they belonged to.

When I ask the consultant things like, why does he lose things, lose his place when reading or copying from the board, or get so bored in school that he says he is almost crying in lessons. She says he is depressed and tried to find reasons for this in our family life. My son now takes anti depressants and melatonin to help him sleep.

We have gone from him having a 98% attendance record in junior school to a less than 30% attendance in High School. We are lucky not to have been prosecuted for his poor attendance, its only because the Education Welfare know the fight I am putting up to have him diagnosed.

We recently got a second opinion from a paediatrician who said if he were her patient she would give him a trial of medication and closely monitor him to see if there were any benefits. But bureaucracy in this country means she is not allowed to treat him, but she did suggest that we move from the Mental Health team we are seeing to a new one. We have taken the advice and last week my son went to the new centre for the first time, and it was like starting all over again, they wanted to know our history and then in 4 weeks time they will see us again, but on a positive note at least they seemed to listen and not go off on a path like the last psychiatrist did.

I am sorry to ramble on but I have watched my lovely laid back son turn into an aggressive unhappy teenager, who has no confidence or self esteem, he often appears anxious. He seldom goes out, but has his friends come and stay over, when they do get him to go out he is like a different boy. When he's home he plays on the PC he rarely watches TV or movies because he says its boring, but loves things like the Simpsons, Family Guy and The Office. He has a great dry sense of humour.

Quote

12 May 2008 @ 4:33 PM Reply # 1
Leeanne	Join Date: Thu 24th Apr 2008 Threads: 0 Posts: 1
COMMENT ON FIGHTING FOR DIAGNOSIS I just wanted to tell you that it is wonderful that you are such a great advocate for your son. My son is 11 yrs. old and after a HUGE fight, has been on medication since he was 7. After he turned 10, the medicine he was on quit working. Since then, we have been struggling with various medications and dosages. Just to tell you how successful we have been... He's home today because he refused to go to school.... even with losing video game, computer, TV, and going outside privileges. ARGH!!!! I feel bad for him.... BUT, I wanted to tell you that we went through a very similar situation when I was trying to get a diagnosis. I'm sure the laws here are different, but because no one at school would be cooperative with me, I took him to an outside source (psychologist) for an evaluation. Of course, he came up with good intelligence, a learning disability in writing AND ADD. I took the evaluation to the school, and they would not accept it and refused to test him because he 1st grade teacher fought against the fact that there was something wrong. I found out that he could be served under what is called a 504 plan, which basically makes accomodations for him in the classroom. He is so shy that he does not cause problems at school, but often feels left out and behind in school. I had to keep a list of symptoms to take into the Dr. about why I thought my son had ADD. This was after 4-5 years of struggling with him and telling the doctor that I thought he needed medication. He finally agreed to put him on a minimal dose of meds, and we saw an immediate effect. However, he wouldn't "up" the dose or adjust it when it needed to be done. We are on our 3rd doctor, now. Because he was on the 504 plan, when in 4th grade his teacher told me he had an issue with writing; he was able to be tested in the school and they have given him special services. I was told that he was right on the border for special services and if he hadn't had the diagnosis of ADD and had a 504 plan for 2 years, he probably wouldn't have qualified. I'm just telling you this because I want you to hang in there! You are doing the right thing and you are the best advocate for your child. I think it's AWESOME that you are pursuing ALL avenues. (Also, my son came out fine when his motor skills were tested as well, even though doing things like tying shoes, writing was difficult for him). YOU CAN DO IT!!!!! I read an article one time that said if a parent can just stick with ADD child through being a teenager, setting limits and loving him... that things turn out OK in the end! Leeanne Quote

12 May 2008 @ 4:33 PM Reply # 1

Leeanne

Join Date: Thu 24th Apr 2008
Threads: 0 Posts: 1

COMMENT ON FIGHTING FOR DIAGNOSIS

I just wanted to tell you that it is wonderful that you are such a great advocate for your son. My son is 11 yrs. old and after a HUGE fight, has been on medication since he was 7. After he turned 10, the medicine he was on quit working. Since then, we have been struggling with various medications and dosages. Just to tell you how successful we have been... He's home today because he refused to go to school.... even with losing video game, computer, TV, and going outside privileges. ARGH!!!! I feel bad for him.... BUT, I wanted to tell you that we went through a very similar situation when I was trying to get a diagnosis. I'm sure the laws here are different, but because no one at school would be cooperative with me, I took him to an outside source (psychologist) for an evaluation. Of course, he came up with good intelligence, a learning disability in writing AND ADD. I took the evaluation to the school, and they would not accept it and refused to test him because he 1st grade teacher fought against the fact that there was something wrong. I found out that he could be served under what is called a 504 plan, which basically makes accomodations for him in the classroom. He is so shy that he does not cause problems at school, but often feels left out and behind in school. I had to keep a list of symptoms to take into the Dr. about why I thought my son had ADD. This was after 4-5 years of struggling with him and telling the doctor that I thought he needed medication. He finally agreed to put him on a minimal dose of meds, and we saw an immediate effect. However, he wouldn't "up" the dose or adjust it when it needed to be done. We are on our 3rd doctor, now. Because he was on the 504 plan, when in 4th grade his teacher told me he had an issue with writing; he was able to be tested in the school and they have given him special services. I was told that he was right on the border for special services and if he hadn't had the diagnosis of ADD and had a 504 plan for 2 years, he probably wouldn't have qualified. I'm just telling you this because I want you to hang in there! You are doing the right thing and you are the best advocate for your child. I think it's AWESOME that you are pursuing ALL avenues. (Also, my son came out fine when his motor skills were tested as well, even though doing things like tying shoes, writing was difficult for him). YOU CAN DO IT!!!!! I read an article one time that said if a parent can just stick with ADD child through being a teenager, setting limits and loving him... that things turn out OK in the end! Leeanne

Quote

12 May 2008 @ 7:42 PM Reply # 2
Elaine20	Join Date: Sat 10th Nov 2007 Threads: 3 Posts: 150
Fighting for Diagnosis Judy, It makes me so sad and angry when someone like your son cannot get a proper diagnosis because of the psychiatrist's lack of understanding of ADHD. Her comment shows she doesn't understand ADHD at all. Individuals with ADHD can be attentive in something they find interesting, novel, or intimidating. They also are more attentive in a one on one situation as opposed to a classroom. My advice would be to try and find a knowledgeable doctor but if that is not possible, I have one other suggestion that might help. Get a list of the current 18 criteria used to diagnose ADHD and get the book, "Driven to Distraction" by Drs. Ed Hallowell and John Ratey. Reading the book will help you to understand the different ways ADHD can be manifested and will give you examples that your son might relate to. Then type up at least two specific examples of each criteria that he fits. He doesn't have to fit all of the criteria. For example, if he has the primarily inattentive type (as I do and my children do), then he only needs to meet 6 out of the 9 inattentive symptoms. He may or may not meet the hyperactive/impulsive symptoms. My sister and I have found that in dealing with doctors, it helps to be proactive. By documenting how he fits the criteria, you have done most of the work for them. I had to do that myself, not because the doctor didn't believe me but because I had previously said that I didn't have ADHD on my initial visit. I had only recently come to that conclusion (I have a thread here that describes how it came to be) and therefore I had to present him with plenty of documentation. I also typed up a narrative explaining some of the other reasons I believed I had ADHD and how it had negatively impacted my life. I had given him 5 type written pages and he was impressed. I do hope your son if able to get the right help that he needs. Elaine Quote

12 May 2008 @ 7:42 PM Reply # 2

Elaine20

Join Date: Sat 10th Nov 2007
Threads: 3 Posts: 150

Fighting for Diagnosis

Judy,

It makes me so sad and angry when someone like your son cannot get a proper diagnosis because of the psychiatrist's lack of understanding of ADHD. Her comment shows she doesn't understand ADHD at all. Individuals with ADHD can be attentive in something they find interesting, novel, or intimidating. They also are more attentive in a one on one situation as opposed to a classroom. My advice would be to try and find a knowledgeable doctor but if that is not possible, I have one other suggestion that might help. Get a list of the current 18 criteria used to diagnose ADHD and get the book, "Driven to Distraction" by Drs. Ed Hallowell and John Ratey. Reading the book will help you to understand the different ways ADHD can be manifested and will give you examples that your son might relate to. Then type up at least two specific examples of each criteria that he fits. He doesn't have to fit all of the criteria. For example, if he has the primarily inattentive type (as I do and my children do), then he only needs to meet 6 out of the 9 inattentive symptoms. He may or may not meet the hyperactive/impulsive symptoms.

My sister and I have found that in dealing with doctors, it helps to be proactive. By documenting how he fits the criteria, you have done most of the work for them. I had to do that myself, not because the doctor didn't believe me but because I had previously said that I didn't have ADHD on my initial visit. I had only recently come to that conclusion (I have a thread here that describes how it came to be) and therefore I had to present him with plenty of documentation. I also typed up a narrative explaining some of the other reasons I believed I had ADHD and how it had negatively impacted my life. I had given him 5 type written pages and he was impressed.

I do hope your son if able to get the right help that he needs.

Elaine

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