Pediatrician or psychiatrist? - CHADD's ADHD Pare...

CHADD's ADHD Parents Together

24,245 members6,364 posts

Pediatrician or psychiatrist?

Partyof6 profile image
7 Replies

What do you feel is the best route to go to get your child on medication? Pediatrician? Psychiatrist? Does it matter? Our son (7) was assessed by a psychologist so we don’t have a psychiatrist that we see already and having moved in the last two years our pediatrician hasn’t had a chance to get to know him very well either. What’s the best way to go about it?

Written by
Partyof6 profile image
Partyof6
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
7 Replies
JJMom16 profile image
JJMom16

1000% - choose a Psychiatrist who specializes in child ADHD medication management. We meet every ~2-4 weeks with our Psychiatrist to review meds as we iterate to find the right combination for 30 minutes/session. A pediatrician won't have specialized knowledge on these meds, and won't have the same amount of time to spend with you.

Applecrisp profile image
Applecrisp

We started with the pediatrician because she was able to quickly get him in the standard starter stuff (she had us choose Adderall or Ritalin and said it was about equal chance it would work or we could switch if not). He improved, but as he gets older he still has a lot of impulse control and social problems, as well as low motivation.

Now we are working with a psychiatrist. We are on a waiting list for some of the most highly respected practices around here. The first-available doctor is ok but doesn’t seem very good with children and their lives/behavior/needs, etc.(although he is board certified in child psychiatry). (Psychology today.com is a place to get verified doctors and read something about them first). Maybe get on a psychiatrist waiting list and work with a pediatrician if you feel it’s urgent?

bria18 profile image
bria18

I think you might get lucky with pediatrician, but like JJMom16 I believe if you can find a pediatric psychiatrist who is good with meds it's really a shortcut and so much easier to manage.

Nats2005 profile image
Nats2005

We use a psychiatrist, though admittedly we benefit from our pediatrician's practice having one on staff.

We did have one outside consultation with a psychiatrist specializing in ADHD but decided to stay with the practice we were already using.

Doodlebug25 profile image
Doodlebug25

Pediatric psychiatrist, hands down. But some pediatricians' offices have an ADHD specialist on hand, someone who can oversee the diagnostic process and prescribe meds.

Onthemove1971 profile image
Onthemove1971

There is a clear difference: Pediatrician can give a single type of medication for the average weight of a child. A Psychiatrist can help manage medication. To dial medication in correctly they must consider types of medication, dose of medication and how to time it the right dose for the child.In addition, if a child needs a combination of medications they must consider all the factors.

We did not have untimate sucess until a child psychiatrist was on our team.

Building a team really helps a lot. It can't be done alone.

Best of luck.

IheartDisney profile image
IheartDisney

Pediatric psychiatrist! We first used our pediatrician because everyrhing was new and we weren't sure what else to do. He did prescribe medication bit it wasn't right, it was too strong and he would only help so far until he referred us to a psychiatrist. She had a way different approach and has been able to manage things much better. She's not exactly warm amd fuzzy like the pediatrition but her job is to prescribe medication. Even if they aren't listed as a pediatric psychiatrist find out what the youngest age of patients they see and find someone who deals with ADHD. It really does make all the difference!

Not what you're looking for?

You may also like...

Pediatrician or Psychiatrist

I suppose it would matter on how versed a pediatrician is on the subject of medicating for ADHD but...
Gelz68 profile image

Developmental Pediatrician vs psychiatrist

My son 8yrs old and diagnosis with ADHD combined and is struggling in school. He is currently on...
Softball25 profile image

psychiatrist dealing with ADHD

I am hoping to find a psychiatrist to help my 19 year old daughter with Inattentive ADHD. Vyvanse...
willandgrace profile image

Psychiatrist prescribing med, who would perform medical checks?

If psychiatrist is prescribing the medication, who is supposed to monitor them for heart rate, bp?...
d0nnt profile image

Looking for best child psychiatrist in bayarea,CA

After evaluating all the pros and cons, we are decided to go with medication & CBT for our 7 yr old...
ven28 profile image

Moderation team

See all
JamiHIS profile image
JamiHISAdministrator
zlib profile image
zlibPartner

Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.

Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.