I think the M.D.'s need the medications...

3babygirls

New Member
Well we went to the psychologist for our first visit yesterday and although I am gonna give him a try I am less than impressed with him. First of all how in the world can you possibly get 3 years of background info and examples of behavior issues in in a matter of 1 hour??? At first he kinda downplayed the issues as stating he felt she was "immature" and was looking for attention. Then he tried to go into what I should try with time outs, consistant punishment blah blah blah. Finally I said "Look, I'm not a doctor, I'm not the type of person that runs off to the doctor because my 7 yr old is "immature", I've worked with the school psychologist and teachers-we've done everything you are telling me to "try", we've been doing behavior charts for 2 years, we've exhausted all avenues BEFORE I came to terms with my childs issues are deeper than what we can handle. That's why I'm here." I told him to look at ODD. After going over the symptoms my child had 5 out of 8. After speaking to my difficult child he told me he doesn't think it's as serious as I think. Well I hope not, but he doesn't live in my house. Personally I think my difficult child manipulated him. lol She's very calculating and for a 7 yr old she knows how to respond in a way that she justifies her behavior. I'm gonna try to be optimistic and give this guy a chance but to me he seemed like he was the one needing counseling. lol
 

smallworld

Moderator
I'll be honest here -- we've had very little success with psychologists over the years. We've gotten far closer to diagnoses and appropriate treatment plans with child psychiatrists and neuropsychologists (who do intensive cognitive and emotional testing). I'd recommend finding a different professional to evaluate your difficult child.

by the way, a psychologist is not an MD.
 

totoro

Mom? What's a difficult child?
Almost everyone who meets my g'sfg think they are "fine". Only one therapist was smart enough to know there was a problem!!!
Smallworld is right- for us only the nuero-psychiatric and psychiatrist were able to really see who she is and all of her issues.
good luck
 

Sheila

Moderator
First of all how in the world can you possibly get 3 years of background info and examples of behavior issues in in a matter of 1 hour???

You can't. I've had great success in this regard via Parent Reports. I fax them before going to a new professional. There's info on the FAQ/Board help forum if you're interested.

If you're not confident with this psychologist, move on. Personally, I'm a big fan of mutidisciplinary evaluations (info also on FAQ/Board help forum).

I wouldn't tell a psychologist to look at ODD -- they may erroneously find it and miss the big picture. ODD is a list of symptoms that most of our kids would have met at one time or another. It is a stand alone diagnosis, however, everything else should be ruled out first. It's pretty disheartening when parents find out on down the road, that the ODD behaviors were actually a result of Sensory Integration Disorder (SID), or XYZ, or ABC and timely, appropriate therapies were missed.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Between myself (bipolar) and my son (Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)-not otherwise specified) Psycologists, who do not have MD's, have been useless for us. I've come not to believe they are really very good. There is no way they know, in one hour, with no testing, what is wrong with your child or how to fix it. I recommend NeuroPsychs. They are still Psycologists, but they have extra training in the brain and, rather than working with theories, they do extensive testing and try the best they can to show you the deficits and strengths the child has and to come up with a diagnosis based on knowing A LOT about your child. I never understood diagnosing a child without long evaluation first. One hour is a joke, in my opinion. Behavioral therapy, again in my opinion, is only helpful if the child isn't mentally ill or isn't suffering from a neurological disorder. Otherwise medications, interventions and maybe, after the child is stable, co-existing therapy from a professional who understands the child's disorder all help together (you don't always need medications, depends on the problems). I found the Psycologists answers to everything was a pat ADHD/ODD. Never failed. by the way, I worked for a foursome psycology group, big in our community. They had more problems than their patients. One was a cocaine abuser. I wanted to tell people who called to go elsewhere :smile:
 
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