[Sif]

Hi guys,

The time has come to bite the bullet.

My son really needs an assessment and I have an appointment with a GP tomorrow afternoon to get a referral for evaluation, but I know from previous experience that if I don't have a name to ask for, GPs generally don't have a clue about psychologists specialising in childhood ADHD.

Can anyone recommend a child psychologist specialising in ADHD in melbourne, preferably eastern suburbs?

[Therese]

I have just moved this to the babies and kids with disabilities and special needs forum as you will get more responses there.

Just a reminder that all recommendations need to be done off the boards. Feel free to use the pm system

Thanks for your understanding,

Therese

[lazycritter]

Hi Sif, I'll PM where we've been going. My son has ASD and APD but the clinic specialises in ADHD and other learning issues as well.

This post has been edited by lazycritter: 18/02/2013, 09:27 AM

[meljbau]

Have sent you a PM

[baddmammajamma]

Hi Sif:

I'm not in Melbourne, but I'm glad some other local EBers can help you out. I have some good resources in Sydney (in case someone else reading this note needs them!)

One thing you might also consider is concurrently booking in with a good developmental paed or generalist paed who has a deep interest in ADHD. When you are potentially dealing with something like ADHD or ASD, it is very valuable to have a medical doctor involved in the care plan as well.

Good luck & I hope you get some answers soon. We have seen such a positive change in our daughter since receiving her ADHD diagnosis and developing a good game plan to address. I wish for you the same!

[Sif]

Thanks guys

I'm quite nervous about doing this as I attempted to have him assessed through RCH Melbourne when he was eight (that was five years ago). I mentioned the possibility of ADHD then because I have a conditional diagnosis of ADHD myself and was dismissed out of hand at the initial appointment (which really shocked me, because the doctor had not yet completed her interview with my son or us at the time).

Since then my mum has been diagnosed with ADHD (at the age of 63). She is on medication and says it has been an enormous positive change for her.

I have never taken meds, and am currently not overly keen on having them prescribed for DS first off.

So, I'm nervous about asking for an evaluation and also about having this request taken seriously.

I thought my first call would be to get a psychologist assessment, but people seem to be suggesting paeds?

[lazycritter]

Hi Sif, I just sent you two more replies though I'm not sure if the second one sent (regarding age of child).

From what I know, you need a psych assessment as most paeds can't do proper evaluations.

However my experience is in here in Geelong and Geelong is severely under resourced in terms of paeds and psychs and from the ones I know of I wouldn't send my kids to be assessed by them as they seem to be band aid solutions.

Sorry what happened with you at RCH, it sounds familiar to the way my DS and I were treated at CAHMS.

[Henndigo]

Hi Sif,

ADHD is a highly heritable disorder (estimated to be about 70% from twin and adoption studies) so you are doing the right thing in getting it checked out! I agree with BMJ in getting a specialist that specializes in ADHD as the ignorance even among general paeds can be quite astounding, it is a poorly understood condition.

Personally, I've found both the developmental paediatrician and psychologist to be valuable. Developmental paeds can assess for other conditions that might mimic ADHD symptoms (there are at least 20!) and the psychologist is helpful in terms of developing behavioural management plans and liasing with the school. If you want to go the non med route though a psychologist might be the person you would work with the most once the initial assessment is done.

Good luck!

[ednaboo]

We chose to get DS tested by a paediatric neuropsychologist first, mainly because it is 1. very thorough and 2. I wanted to avoid the medical approach (ie: meds) if at all possible. A neuropsych is an expert in assessment and diagnosis who does additional training beyond the basic Clinical Psych program. The outcome was that DS has ADHD, so we were recommended to see a paediatrician who specialises in ADHD to discuss medication anyhow! The downside of this approach is cost - the cost of neuropsych testing is high (above $1000), which reflects the time spent and the expertise of the neuropsych. There are no rebates available for it.

I spoke to one educational psych who assured me she could pick up ADHD on IQ testing but I was not completely reassured. Have other people had ADHD picked up by just the WISC, or did your psychs do other tests as well?

I have since discovered that Monash Uni offer cheaper neuropsych testing, performed by neuropsych students supervised by experienced neuropsychs. If I was to get testing now, I would use this service. Neuropsychology Clinic. They do require a GP referral though. The private neuropsych we saw did not require a referral.

But all in all I agree with the PP's that in the long run assessment by a psychologist and a paediatrician is the best way to go.

This post has been edited by ednaboo: 19/02/2013, 05:22 PM

[Sif]

Thanks everyone, so much good information here.

Money is an obstacle for us, so we can't afford to really pay $700-1000 out of pocket. I will check out the Monash Clinic, and also the people/places mentioned to me in PMs. I might even see about having myself reassessed (my assessment was impacted by the condition affecting my low vision, but in light of mum's diagnosis might now be a bit clearer).

Thanks again!