Need advice on what doctors to see

Lkleiv315

New Member
Hi, thank you for letting me join your group! I am reaching out for some advice. I have an 11 year old son who has been diagnosis'd as bipolar since age 6. We have been through a few medication changes and while all worked for a while, nothing seems to be helping now. I am now on the quest to find some new doctors and approaches. In a nutshell, I am not 100% against the bipolar diagnosis as he does have many traits of pediatric bipolar. I do see more of signs lately of something along the lines of high functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) - particularly something known as Pathological Demand Avoidance. While this condition is not in the DSMV, it is a high research topic in the UK. I am coming to you because I would like to start from square one. I have reached out to Neurologists, Psychologists, Therapists but I am not sure of who I want to see and what I want them to do. Here are a few of the issues he faces: Poor organization, lack of empathy, lack of understanding how things are linked and can change (told at 9am yes you can have ice cream for dessert at 8pm he throws a fit to come in from outside, punches the wall and throws things, when he is told no ice cream for dessert he doesn't understand why because at 9am I told him he could), can not read social cues, very socially awkward with very few friends, believes adults are his equal, will never admit he is wrong will even lie and tells absurd stories, poor sleep (night terrors as a small child and now just calls out in his sleep nightly), issues whenever a transition is coming. Those are the most common daily issues but of course there are more, lol. I guess my question is, does any of this sound familiar to anyone? What doctors do I meet with? What testing do I want done? We have been in the same medication and therapy routine for so long I feel like I don't know where to start again! I am sorry this is so long but any advice is welcome!
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
See a neuro psycholovgist (a psychologist with extra training in the brain).;This is how we got my son an Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) disgnosis. He had been diagnosed with bipolarvand on heavy medications, but it didnt seem right.

My son was also 11 at the time, taken off his medications, and is now almost 24 and doing great. He is happy and has no mood swings and I mean NO mood swings. Makes me think the drugs made him worse, but that is history. With ten hours of testing for all disorders, the diagnosis shift and no medications plus autism interventions, he is on his own, a little different, but comfortable in his own skin. In fact he has no signs of any mental illness.

Trust yout gut

in my opinion neuropsychologists are the most thorough, best diagnosticians. You can find them in childrens hospitals and university hospitals. Im so glad we did it and finally got right answers.

Good luck.
 
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