Anyone been to a bahavorist or a phsychologist for your kiddo?

[GoofyG]

My pediatrician (who doesn't really listen to my concerns) finally mentioned taking DD4 to a behavorial pediatrician. I can't decide if I should take her or go to a phsychologist instead.

Anyone been in this boat, I feel like she is getting worst. She does OT and speech twice a week. I know it's still new to us, but there is still something going on! I'm worn out!

 

[WheeledTraveler]

What you probably really want is a developmental paediatrician if any exist in your area. I don't know if that's what your paediatrician meant when she said "behavioural" or not.

bookwormde is likely to have more and better info, but most people I know who've had kids with issues similar to your daughter's have had most of their luck with developmental paediatricians for looking at the big picture.

 

[toodycat]

Developmental pediatricians are the best! My son saw MDs, neurologists, psychologists, you name it. There is nothing like a developmental pediatrician for seeing the big picture. They look at all aspects of your child's development, not just their physical health and not just their behavior. Good luck.

 

[GoofyG]

Just found out the behavorist is a Dev pediatrician also. So I guess I will make a phone call, thanks!

 

[deerhart]

behavior therapy is usually done by a psychologist who specializes in behavioral issues.

We have used two different ones. The first was when oldest DS was 4, the second (we used a different one because we had moved and he had different needs now) was a few years ago.

Many behavior therapists specializes in certain conditions or behaviors. For example, the one we had for DS as he got older specialized in autism, adhd, speech/language issues, and giftedness, which is a rare combination (usually therapists who specialize in giftedness do not also specialize in LD's and such). We even paid oop for her because insurance would not cover (and I wasn't going to fight them for coverage because they did not have anyone with her specialties in their plan)

 

[bookwormde]

If you try a behaviorist make sure that the therapy is skills base (something like the program Jim Ball teaches) otherwise in the long run it will do more harm than good. I agree if you can find a Developemtal pediatrician that is highly trained in evolutionary variations it can make a big differenence.

bookwormde