So who does the diagnosing?

[AUDMama]

So, who actually does the diagnosing and treating of a child that may have ADHD/ODD?

The psychologist? psychiatrist? combo with pediatrician? therapist?

And even more, I have had extreme difficulty finding someone to evaluate my 4 yo ds. I live in a major city, with a university.

 

[SRL]

Behavioral and developmental pediatrician or a pediatric neuropsychologist are the specialty areas we usually recommend for the primary evaluations of young children, often with speech, audiology, and Occupational Therapist (OT) if indicated. What specialty areas for treatment depends on the outcomes.

 

[BusynMember]

I strongly recommend a neuropsychologist because t hey are so thorough. But no matter who does the diagnosing the diagnoses is often unclear in very young kids and changes over time, when it becomes more obvious. I personally love university hospitals as they tend to be on the cutting edge with more knowledge than others and the newest treatment options. Often there are long waiting lists, but they are worth it.

 

[AnnieO]

Be careful if you do not have a neuropsychologist though! With reports & questionnaires from me, husband, teachers and biomom, where all matched except biomom's, somehow the psychiatrist went with biomom's only and poor kid got medicated into oblivion till husband put a stop to it. This is why we are working on getting him to a neuropsychologist this summer.

University hospitals rock, so you should be good there. Beware of a regular pediatrician that wants to Rx medications without psychiatric input. We had one of those too.