Recommendations for General Pediatrician with experience managing behavior and psych issues

[Anonymous]

We recently did neuropsych testing for our 7yo son and it appears that he has several attention and behavioral regulation problems that require help (along with some anxiety and depression) . We're sort of confused/overwhelmed at finding out where to begin. (We're still waiting on getting the report from the testing and from an OT evaluation, but hopefully will have those soony.) We also found out that his pediatrician is retiring, so we figured it might help to find a pediatrician who is good at managing these types of issues. Does anyone have any recommendations? We live in NWDC, so someone in DC or Montgomery county is preferred. Also, we have blue cross, so that is preferable, though we may switch insurers / add out of network coverage at the end of the year, so this may be less important. Thanks in advance for your recommendations.

[Anonymous]

Get a great psychiatrist to "case manage" and help you find therapists. I really think this is the way to go, as I have not yet met a pediatrician who has more than a cursory knowledge of therapists or psych issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Get a great psychiatrist to "case manage" and help you find therapists. I really think this is the way to go, as I have not yet met a pediatrician who has more than a cursory knowledge of therapists or psych issues.

This. A gen ped is good at managing ear infections and other run of the mill childhood ailments. But, just like for other illnesses, you want a specialist, someone who has seen kids like your child many times before. A developmental pediatrician or child psychiatrist will have the greatest expertise.

[Anonymous]

Karen Belsito is a developmental pediatrician in Bethesda and gets a lot of recommendations on this board.

[Anonymous]

My son (6.5) just had a neuropsych eval and was diagnosed with ADHD combined. We love our pediatrician, but it was clear after one conversation with her, that this diagnosis is best managed wth a psychiatrist. I think your best bet is to find one and not expect too much from your pediatrician.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get a great psychiatrist to "case manage" and help you find therapists. I really think this is the way to go, as I have not yet met a pediatrician who has more than a cursory knowledge of therapists or psych issues.

This. A gen ped is good at managing ear infections and other run of the mill childhood ailments. But, just like for other illnesses, you want a specialist, someone who has seen kids like your child many times before. A developmental pediatrician or child psychiatrist will have the greatest expertise.

Yup, or a unicorn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Get a great psychiatrist to "case manage" and help you find therapists. I really think this is the way to go, as I have not yet met a pediatrician who has more than a cursory knowledge of therapists or psych issues.

+100 Sadly, true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get a great psychiatrist to "case manage" and help you find therapists. I really think this is the way to go, as I have not yet met a pediatrician who has more than a cursory knowledge of therapists or psych issues.

This. A gen ped is good at managing ear infections and other run of the mill childhood ailments. But, just like for other illnesses, you want a specialist, someone who has seen kids like your child many times before. A developmental pediatrician or child psychiatrist will have the greatest expertise.

Yup, or a unicorn.

No. Belsito also sees kids for regular well visits too. We switched practices to have a dev ped as our gen ped. I don't think they take BC though. She does prescribe/manage ADHD meds.

[Anonymous]

General peds are NOT qualified or trained to manage these issues well, OP.
Choose your ped and get a ped. psychiatrist separately.

[Anonymous]

According to the neuropsych eval, DS (6.5) has a pretty straight forward case of adhd. No other diagnosis. Funds are limited, especially after paying for the neuropsych. I'm looking for some thoughts in how to prioritize the funds we have to spend on managing ADHD. I'm the PP from above who had a less than ideal experience with our gen pediatrician about meds. Wondering if it might be worth it for us to switch pediatricians offices to one with a developmental pediatrician on staff to avoid paying out of pocket for med management and putting the the funds we do have into OT focused on building up executive function skills. I don't think we will be able to do both this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:According to the neuropsych eval, DS (6.5) has a pretty straight forward case of adhd. No other diagnosis. Funds are limited, especially after paying for the neuropsych. I'm looking for some thoughts in how to prioritize the funds we have to spend on managing ADHD. I'm the PP from above who had a less than ideal experience with our gen pediatrician about meds. Wondering if it might be worth it for us to switch pediatricians offices to one with a developmental pediatrician on staff to avoid paying out of pocket for med management and putting the the funds we do have into OT focused on building up executive function skills. I don't think we will be able to do both this year.

I would skip the OT, honestly. I don't think it does much for executive function.