Need advice on getting my child evaluated

[emma1325]

Hi,

I have a six year old (she'll be seven in September) who has some issues, probably resulting from a vaccine reaction she had at 5 months old.

We've never gotten her evaluated, because we didn't want her labeled, and we've been managing her symptoms ok thus far.

But lately they've been getting worse in some ways, and it's time to get a professional opinion. My question is, where do I start? Who do I call?

Medical doctor/pediatrician (she doesn't have a regular one; we don't do well visits)? School counselor? Child psychiatrist?

I just have no idea who to make an appointment with to get things rolling.

Thanks for any advice.

[SoCaliMommy]

Talk to her teachers and see if she is having the same problems at school as at home, The school district has do a evaluation for free.

[kavamamakava]

A good place would be to start with the school if you feel she needs more supports in school. The school psychologist will do an evaluation. But I would not stop there. My son's school evaluation was very vague and did not really qualify him for any services. They don't even agree that they should evaluate my daughter.
With my son, I had his pediatrician do a 2 hour appointment to rule out what it wasn't. He ruled out ADHD and some other suspected behavior and learning disorders in that appointment and then referred me to a therapist. The therapist wasn't a good fit for us so I made an appointment at an Autism clinic to rule out autism. The waitlist was 11 months long. I finally was able to get my son evaluated there and he was considered to be on the Autism Spectrum after two 4 hour appointments with the neurologist and two observation/play appointments with the psychologist.
With my daughter, I know she's not on the spectrum but she has some areas that need support and this is negatively impacting her school performance in a way that the school doesn't feel it necessary to respond. I took her to a child therapist and got a referral for a full workup which will be done sometime this summer. I expect it will show a high IQ and maybe highlight the areas where she needs support so she can excel. At the moment she's doing very poorly in school and her teacher seems to think that is all she is capable of. I know she's capable of a whole lot more because she reads National Geographic at home and recites the facts she learns to me.

[sbgrace]

I'm not sure what issues you're seeing? If they are learning related most Children's hospitals have a child development type dept that can do that sort of testing. If you're suspecting something developmental a developmental pediatrician or dev. psych would be a good place. If it's something specific (like adhd or autism) that's important because you want to see someone who's very good in that area. That's particularly important because in most of those issues girls are harder to diagnose. The criteria is sort of based on boys and girls and boys present differently. So girls are missed and mis-diagnosed in many cases.

[LynnS6]

A lot of it depends on her symptoms -- when our son was exhibiting hypersensitivity and sensory defensiveness, we had him evaluated by an occupational therapist. When I was worried about his gait (his left foot turns in considerably), I got a referral to a physical therapist (which I never did follow up on) and an orthopedic surgeon. When I was worried about anxiety, we made an appointment for a child psychologist.

FWIW, we had him treated by the OT for sensory issues, but decided against treatment for the gait (actually the orthopedist recommended against it) and for anxiety.

I hear a lot of people say "I don't want my child labeled", but I can tell you that there are times when having a label can help. It can help you read up on what you need to do, it can help search out possible therapies and people to help you, it can help your child understand what's going on.

I have a former student who was diagnosed as an adult with Asperger Syndrome. For her, it was a relief to have a diagnosis and a label. She had just felt weird in school, and had a rough time. When she was diagnosed, she could then understand herself better. Once she understood her 'label', it helped her understand why certain things were difficult for her. She could then make a conscious choice about applying small talk or choosing not to interact. She wrote a couple of nice little columns for the disability student newsletter about why things like small talk were important for social relationships.

I guess my point is: don't fear the label. Your child is the same lovely child.

[KatWrangler]

What exactly are the issues you are seeing?

[emma1325]

Sorry I wasn't more specific guys.

We suspect sensory issues...she is prone to major fits with kicking, screaming, banging her head into things...very out-of-control tantrums.

When she's not tantruming, she seems very dizzy and disoriented, bumping into walls, furniture...tripping over her own feet, falling over.

She "ticks" when she's trying to self soothe...says things over and over to her self. She picks major fights with her sister and can be aggressive with her.

She seems to often be on the verge of a tantrum...and when the tantrum is over she seems a lot better, as thought the tantrum released some of her anxiety somehow. I'm convinced she seeks out reasons to go into her tantrums when she's "ticky"...she gets awfully unreasonable, unhappy, fidgety and moody until something little sets her off.

She does a lot of things that are just quirky and odd, and I love her quirkiness but it also ties into her misery.

I could write a book about her issues...but let me say also that she does wonderfully at school. She holds most of this stuff in and can function well. She has many friends; she's very sociable. Her grades are good (A's and B's), she's in first grade.

The only reason I'd say her school suffers a little (I think she's capable of straight A's) is because she has a tough time doing homework. When she gets off of school, she "lets loose" and cannot settle down to focus.

Thanks for the advice everyone.