Post by misty on Jan 31, 2007 22:01:47 GMT -5
You should definitely interview the doctor you wish to treat your child’s or your ADHD, unless you already know a lot about his or her ADHD diagnosis and management qualifications.
At the time of your interview ask about:
1. Post-medical school training and the extent of the doctor’s ADHD or behavioral medicine training.
2. How many ADHD patients he or she is currently treating.
3. Any associations or organizations with which the doctor is affiliated.
4. Practice philosophy regarding the use of drugs and treatment options without drugs.
5. Whether this doctor can offer drug treatment without use of stimulants.
6. In which ADHD patients does he tend to use stimulants?
7. A description of how this doctor works-up and diagnoses ADHD and associated behavior problems.
8. Does the doctor use psychological testing to help in his assessment?
9. Are blood tests needed to make the diagnosis?
10. What other diseases does he or she consider in making the diagnosis of ADHD?
11. An explanation of the doctor’s typical treatment plan.
12. How will the doctor evaluate your child’s progress?
13. The side effects the doctor may expect from his or her typical therapy.
14. How teams are assembled to assist in assessment and treatment of ADHD. The leader of any team assembled must be you the parent.
15. What outside resources does the doctor have to assist in treatment?
16. What will be the doctor’s game plan if things start going wrong and treatment is ineffective?
17. Can the doctor ask permission from a successfully treated patient or their parent for you to ask them questions about the way he or she treats ADHD?
18. How often will your child need to see the doctor for periodic evaluation?
19. How are refills of stimulants and non-stimulants handled?
Remember that at all times you must be your child’s advocate. The choice of a doctor to treat ADHD and behavioral problems is as important as the treatment itself. If you can’t place confidence and trust in the doctor you have chosen, then by all means, you should start looking for a new physician. This advice also applies to all members of the team you have put together to handle your child’s ADHD or your very own version of the trait.
Warning Signs That You Need to Find a New Doctor to Treat ADHD or Behavioral Traits
You should find a new doctor/therapist/counselor/psychologist to treat ADHD if:
1. Your doctor tells you the only way to treat the problem is with drugs. Likewise, if he or she says a team approach is unnecessary or behavioral training isn’t needed, just walk out of the office.
2. You notice he or she only talks to you and not “his patient” when asking how the child or family member is doing. We call this veterinary medicine. How can they know what is really going on inside someone’s head without asking that someone?
3. You try to give him input from schoolteachers, friends, other relatives, outside counselors, and siblings, but it dismisses or downplays the importance.
4. You tell your therapist or doctor how ADHD or the behavioral problem is disrupting your family, and he assures you that things will get better after your child responds to treatment. This is a real biggie now days. I’ve seen several marriages fall apart because an ADHD child caused so much family conflict that everyone jumped ship. ADHD is a family problem. It affects the entire family unit and therefore everyone in the family must be involved in treatment if it is to be effective!
5. If all the information he gives you about ADHD or other behavioral problems is printed in pharmaceutical company handouts. A lot of patients have told me how their previous doctor just handed them a drug company brochure and told them “This will tell you everything you need to know.”
6. Your doctor hands you a drug company brochure, then proceeds to prescribe that particular drug, with the remark, “This is the drug of choice and we really don’t need to discuss any other medicines.”
7. Your doctor or counselor indicates that ADHD and behavioral problems are really just indicators of laziness, stubbornness, poor discipline, “just being a boy”, or “girls tend to be like that”.
8. Your doctor tells you not to establish a routine of firm, uniform, fair discipline for yourself and the entire family. Remember, discipline is taught by example and “seeing is believing”. If you don’t have the discipline it takes to keep appointments, be somewhere on time with all you need to do a job or stick to a diet and take your medication, then you can’t expect your ADHD’er to do the same. ADHD kids have very sharp observation skills and put up on these things in a heartbeat. (They also have very long memories!)
9. Your doctor doesn’t look for other causes of hyperactivity before starting, or at least while starting drugs and other treatment. You might want to look at our article: “When it’s not ADHD, What is it, a Zebra?” to get an idea of other diseases that can mimic ADHD, depression, anxiety and general behavior disorders.
10. Your doctor avoids discussing his ADHD or behavioral medicine training. Reading about ADHD out of a book is a lot different that actually having classroom and patient contact training.
11. The doctor tells you that this medicine will cure your ADHD problem. At this point, you should grab all and run to your car! This doctor probably has no training in ADHD or behavioral medicine.
This paper was my free "gift" for signing up for a newsletter here:
www.drhuggiebear.com/index.htm
At the time of your interview ask about:
1. Post-medical school training and the extent of the doctor’s ADHD or behavioral medicine training.
2. How many ADHD patients he or she is currently treating.
3. Any associations or organizations with which the doctor is affiliated.
4. Practice philosophy regarding the use of drugs and treatment options without drugs.
5. Whether this doctor can offer drug treatment without use of stimulants.
6. In which ADHD patients does he tend to use stimulants?
7. A description of how this doctor works-up and diagnoses ADHD and associated behavior problems.
8. Does the doctor use psychological testing to help in his assessment?
9. Are blood tests needed to make the diagnosis?
10. What other diseases does he or she consider in making the diagnosis of ADHD?
11. An explanation of the doctor’s typical treatment plan.
12. How will the doctor evaluate your child’s progress?
13. The side effects the doctor may expect from his or her typical therapy.
14. How teams are assembled to assist in assessment and treatment of ADHD. The leader of any team assembled must be you the parent.
15. What outside resources does the doctor have to assist in treatment?
16. What will be the doctor’s game plan if things start going wrong and treatment is ineffective?
17. Can the doctor ask permission from a successfully treated patient or their parent for you to ask them questions about the way he or she treats ADHD?
18. How often will your child need to see the doctor for periodic evaluation?
19. How are refills of stimulants and non-stimulants handled?
Remember that at all times you must be your child’s advocate. The choice of a doctor to treat ADHD and behavioral problems is as important as the treatment itself. If you can’t place confidence and trust in the doctor you have chosen, then by all means, you should start looking for a new physician. This advice also applies to all members of the team you have put together to handle your child’s ADHD or your very own version of the trait.
Warning Signs That You Need to Find a New Doctor to Treat ADHD or Behavioral Traits
You should find a new doctor/therapist/counselor/psychologist to treat ADHD if:
1. Your doctor tells you the only way to treat the problem is with drugs. Likewise, if he or she says a team approach is unnecessary or behavioral training isn’t needed, just walk out of the office.
2. You notice he or she only talks to you and not “his patient” when asking how the child or family member is doing. We call this veterinary medicine. How can they know what is really going on inside someone’s head without asking that someone?
3. You try to give him input from schoolteachers, friends, other relatives, outside counselors, and siblings, but it dismisses or downplays the importance.
4. You tell your therapist or doctor how ADHD or the behavioral problem is disrupting your family, and he assures you that things will get better after your child responds to treatment. This is a real biggie now days. I’ve seen several marriages fall apart because an ADHD child caused so much family conflict that everyone jumped ship. ADHD is a family problem. It affects the entire family unit and therefore everyone in the family must be involved in treatment if it is to be effective!
5. If all the information he gives you about ADHD or other behavioral problems is printed in pharmaceutical company handouts. A lot of patients have told me how their previous doctor just handed them a drug company brochure and told them “This will tell you everything you need to know.”
6. Your doctor hands you a drug company brochure, then proceeds to prescribe that particular drug, with the remark, “This is the drug of choice and we really don’t need to discuss any other medicines.”
7. Your doctor or counselor indicates that ADHD and behavioral problems are really just indicators of laziness, stubbornness, poor discipline, “just being a boy”, or “girls tend to be like that”.
8. Your doctor tells you not to establish a routine of firm, uniform, fair discipline for yourself and the entire family. Remember, discipline is taught by example and “seeing is believing”. If you don’t have the discipline it takes to keep appointments, be somewhere on time with all you need to do a job or stick to a diet and take your medication, then you can’t expect your ADHD’er to do the same. ADHD kids have very sharp observation skills and put up on these things in a heartbeat. (They also have very long memories!)
9. Your doctor doesn’t look for other causes of hyperactivity before starting, or at least while starting drugs and other treatment. You might want to look at our article: “When it’s not ADHD, What is it, a Zebra?” to get an idea of other diseases that can mimic ADHD, depression, anxiety and general behavior disorders.
10. Your doctor avoids discussing his ADHD or behavioral medicine training. Reading about ADHD out of a book is a lot different that actually having classroom and patient contact training.
11. The doctor tells you that this medicine will cure your ADHD problem. At this point, you should grab all and run to your car! This doctor probably has no training in ADHD or behavioral medicine.
This paper was my free "gift" for signing up for a newsletter here:
www.drhuggiebear.com/index.htm
