can anyone recommend a good child psychiatrist? (Smithtown, Hyde Park: insurance, home)
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Have a friend whose daughter has been diagnosed with ADD. They also have a history of OCD in their family- father, grandfather, aunt...and my friend thinks that her daughter may be actually struggling with OCD, mistaken by the neurologist as ADD. Who would be able to distinguish between these two diagnoses? I know that these diagnoses also often coexist. Psychiatrist, developmental ped, neuropsychologist? Who should they call? And is there a name you can recommend? She came to me knowing I have kids with special needs, but my kids have very different special needs.
Her daughter is so sweet and so smart, but has been really struggling with this, in school and out of school for so long, and it is now taking its toll on her self esteem. It would be great to point them in the right direction.
A good child psychiatrist should be able to diagnose ADHD or OCD. However, sometimes these two conditions exist together or are "co-morbid". NYU has a Child Study Center in New Hyde Park. They have excellent psychiatrists and psychologists who can perform full evaluations and provide ongoing counseling and training. The process is very expensive. NYU does not take insurance. They leave it to you to try to get money from your insurance company.
Stony Brook hospital offers pediatric psychiatric services as well.
Of course, your friend could always get a second opinion from a new pediatric neurologist. The visit and diagnosis could possibly be covered by insurance and if they decide to use medication as part of the treatment plan, so would all follow up visits.
Good luck to your friend.
We used a doctor named Shelley Epstein in Smithtown for our daughter who diagnosed with later in teens ADD. She was very professional and helpful but the meds caused more issues with our daughter than positive. She did steer us to other types of therapy and I am pleased to say she has improved. Not perfect but improved.
We used a doctor named Shelley Epstein in Smithtown for our daughter who diagnosed with later in teens ADD. She was very professional and helpful but the meds caused more issues with our daughter than positive. She did steer us to other types of therapy and I am pleased to say she has improved. Not perfect but improved.
I've heard some crazy things about the side effects and long term effects of some of these ADD medications which are very similar to illegal narcotics.
So OP, please have them research the medications for themselves before they make a decision.
Sorry I can't be of more help
Non-Drug treatment of ADD.. Don't put that poison in kids. Damn doctors today all they want to do is prescribe and cut surgically. I still wonder how a country as advanced as America can lack so far behind in preventitive medicine.
OP here. I agree that medicine should be used as a last resort. For some kids, though, medicine is the only choice. Even in the link posted above re: non medical treatment of ADHD, it said that non medicine treatments helped 80 percent of the cases, leaving twenty percent who truly need medication.
The issue with my friend's daughter is that she has been diagnosed with ADD, but my friend questions whether she has been misdiagnosed and her true diagnosis is OCD, as she has a strong family history of OCD. I am not a doctor and do not have the means to diagnose, and have not shared my opinion with my friend, but honestly I think she could be right. I know her daughter very well. She is smart as anything but has a terrible time staying on task. She seems to worry so much about the little details that in the end,, nothing gets done. Her mom has told me that every day her daughter brings home unfinished classwork to be done as homework. Her daughter is very bright and knows the material when asked, so the work should be easy, but most homework sessions end in tears and she spends most of the time starting, erasing and restarting her work. She does tend to daydream and fidget, so I can see where the dr got ADD from, but I would hate to see her misdiagnosed and on meds for ADD if this is really OCD related anxiety. Believe me, my friend has not rushed into medicating her child. She has tried different natural things, but her daughter has been having these issues in school since kindergarten. Her daughter is now in third grade and things sure haven't gotten any easier. Every year, the teachers have brought up the same exact concerns. "She is smart but cannot get anything done in class. She is not disruptive but it takes her so long to get her work done." It would just be great to have someone else look at this child for a second opinion to see if it is really ADD, OCD, both or something else.
Last edited by kdlugozi; 09-15-2012 at 06:38 PM..
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