From the NYT: ADHD treatment in preschoolers

[mrsbuttinski]

Behavior mods are more effective than meds for preschoolers with ADHD. 


www.nytimes.com/2016/12/05/well/family/why-parents-and-doctors-should-think-about-adhd-in-preschool.html?action=click&contentCollection=well&module=NextInCollection&region=Footer&pgtype=article&version=column&rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Fthe-checkup

[bubbalicious]

Awesome!! A decent article on early ADHD!

My only bone of contention is to recommend a developmental pedi.. But my experience is not representative to all. I just wouldn't want anyone to go through what we went through with our former pedi. My area pedis and even psychologists dump patients to KKI but usually they wait until school age problems.

[cam]

Now if more specialists would get on board with seeing the younger crowd. We are currently trying to find someone to evaluate LO, but at 5yo, he is "too young" to be seen in most practices. It's not like we are looking for meds, just strategies to help him.

[akafred]

Dec 13, 2016 11:52:35 GMT -5 cam said:

Now if more specialists would get on board with seeing the younger crowd. We are currently trying to find someone to evaluate LO, but at 5yo, he is "too young" to be seen in most practices. It's not like we are looking for meds, just strategies to help him.

Absolutely. We ran into this.

[bubbalicious]

I lucked into dev pedi who can handle early ADHD but psychologyiss another story.

[akafred]

Dec 13, 2016 18:28:43 GMT -5 bubbalicious said:

I lucked into dev pedi who can handle early ADHD but psychologyiss another story.

We had the opposite situation. Also the part in the article where they said parents may feel offended or whatever if you suggest parenting classes...hard not to feel that way when they outright say it. Or hard not to feel confused when they say, "You're doing all the right things. Keep doing what you are doing. But take this parenting class. By the way, your child is perfectly normal and you're an effective parent. Take a class."

[bubbalicious]

Dec 14, 2016 7:48:28 GMT -5 akafred said:

Dec 13, 2016 18:28:43 GMT -5 bubbalicious said:

I lucked into dev pedi who can handle early ADHD but psychologyiss another story.

We had the opposite situation. Also the part in the article where they said parents may feel offended or whatever if you suggest parenting classes...hard not to feel that way when they outright say it. Or hard not to feel confused when they say, "You're doing all the right things. Keep doing what you are doing. But take this parenting class. By the way, your child is perfectly normal and you're an effective parent. Take a class."


i agree. that is why I say go to a dev pedi. and hopefully they can put it in a better way. My experiences with general pedi's was downright stressful around the blame the parent game. (we switched to one who at least will talk to my dd and work with her). 

Of course who is offering these parent classes? 

[bubbalicious]

Sorry...we all agree access is an issue. Not trying to belabor the point.

[akafred]

Dec 14, 2016 15:01:57 GMT -5 bubbalicious said:

Dec 14, 2016 7:48:28 GMT -5 akafred said:

We had the opposite situation. Also the part in the article where they said parents may feel offended or whatever if you suggest parenting classes...hard not to feel that way when they outright say it. Or hard not to feel confused when they say, "You're doing all the right things. Keep doing what you are doing. But take this parenting class. By the way, your child is perfectly normal and you're an effective parent. Take a class."


i agree. that is why I say go to a dev pedi. and hopefully they can put it in a better way. My experiences with general pedi's was downright stressful around the blame the parent game. (we switched to one who at least will talk to my dd and work with her). 

Of course who is offering these parent classes? 

Exactly. In our case, she said we had the option of a group that takes kids up to their sixth birthday that has a waiting list a year long; DD was going on 5.5; OR the magic PCIT that SHE herself offers.

Note: I am all about classes, and education. I had at this time attended 2 parenting/discipline classes and had read at least a dozen books. It isn't really that she suggested classes; it is that her colleague said we were doing the right things, but she walked in and basically said nothing was wrong with DD (without ever MEETING her) and we should take classes. It was so condescending and disrespectful, like we were a waste of her time and her air. There was unquestionably an attitude of "kid is fine, you just aren't good parents." Hard not to be offended by that.

At least with the way the article lays it out, the professional is agreeing that there is something not developmentally right going on, providing the parent with a label that may be needed by them mentally, and then saying, "And here's some education that can help you best deal with this problem we all agree exists." It's vastly different from the message of "It's all in your head and you just aren't effective as a parent."

[mrsbuttinski]

akafred,

The message I got from DS's psychologist and dev pedi was that we'd been called to a higher level of parenting- validation first. Then they offered strategies. DS's dev pedi always led with "you're doing a great job with a child who needs a really competent parent". DS's psych used to warn me about being a doormat. Guess which one I liked better. Even though the latter had the bigger impact.