Reply to How many second opinions? Or when to stop assessing preschooler if nothing seems to fit?

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Reply to "How many second opinions? Or when to stop assessing preschooler if nothing seems to fit?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote]Anonymous wrote:
I feel your pain, OP. I was given three different diagnoses for my-then 5 year old, ranging from PDD-NOS to full blown autism to severe ADHD. I was told he would never be able to function in a mainstream school, he should be in a school for kids with severe autism, etc. Fast forward, he's now 14, his one and only diagnosis is ADHD/Inattentive, is enrolled in honors courses in his school, participates in Johns Hopkins CTY. And yes, I was told we would be lucky if he can spell or write his name.

What I am trying to say is that sometimes you need to go with your gut. What does your gut tell you are his biggest problems? Is it social speech? Is it his hyperactivity?

Amen, PP. Amen. OP, these boards are rife with stories like this of utter quacks whose "diagnoses" were not worth the paper on which they were written. YOU are the one and only expert on your child. If you feel what the doctors are telling you is off, do not for one moment doubt yourself. I did and I still have guilt about what my kid went through. And anger at the utterly incompetent "experts" who were more enamored of their own diplomas than anything else. [/quote]

I find the evaluation process frustrating not because there are loads of incompetent doctors, but a single visit eval (and parent questionnaires) can only tell you so much. Kids have one and off days, and reat different in different settings. Our 3 year old was dx'd with severe ADHD after questionnaires and one office eval; 6 months later a second eval at school by the same doctor changed it to mild ADHD, but we discovered that there is probably some anxiety about lack of structure at home which is making behavior worse there ((more conflict). In a way, my gut told me that DS did not have sever (eg, inability to function in mainstream) setting ADHD, but after the first visit I was dishearened. Now I know we have something else to focus on. At this age, address the behavior first, and the dx may or may not follow. [/quote]

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