My 7 year old 2nd grader was diagnosed with ADHD going on two years now. So far its been managed by his primary pediatrician. And in October he started seeing a neurologist just to get another opinion. Now he has an upcoming appointment with a pyschologist for a pyschological evaluation.
Just wondering which type of doctor/doctors manages your childrens ADHD? Who do you prefer/what works for you?
A psychologist did an evaluation to determine my son had ADHD but then we switched to a psychiatrist who treats children with ADHD. Psychiatrist are more skilled in helping out with medicine and this is really important because things get more complex the older children get.
Do you kids go to therapy as well if so with a psychiatrist or psychologist?
Yes my son sees a counselor every 2 weeks to help him. He’s 14 now so he hates his ADHD and struggles socially so counseking helps him work through these issues. I recently moved my son to a new male counselor and he’s likes him much better than the female psychologist we were working with. Our psychiatrist only prescribes medicine - no counseling.
We do the same as above. My son sees a psychotherapist weekly. His pediatrician hasn't done much more than give us the initial referral for the mental health clinic.
Our first therapist moved, so now we have a male and I am hoping this will be a better match since my son's ODD is very much geared towards women.
Originally my daughter saw a pediatric neurologic psychologist for her diagnosis. She is diagnosed bipolar and ADHD. She also sees a pediatric psychiatrist. She see a therapist on her own once a week and we go to family therapy twice a month. I see the same family therapist every other week myself. She also has an IEP and connects with the school counselors every day. Honestly, the family and individual therapy is the best thing we have done. It's hard but it has been phenomenal to her (and my) growthe and understanding.
For 'routine' ADHD, the pediatrician is probably adequate for management. If there are other issues, then a physician who sees and manages ADHD regularly is more appropriate. This can be a pediatrician, child psychiatrist, child neurologist or developmental pediatrician, depending on the location.
Our started with the pediatrician but it ended up outside of her scope. We have a child psychiatrist who prescribes and monitors the medications.
The pediatrician is probably going to be your first stop, and at the very least should be a source for referrals and kept in the loop on everything.
We primarily see our pediatrician to treat ADHD, though many here have felt the need to move on to a psychiatrist for medication. Our pediatrician is highly qualified in handling ADHD, so we have not felt the same need. It really just depends.
We annually see a pediatric neurologist for a tic disorder, but she doesn’t treat ADHD and typically will refer us back to the pediatrician for questions about ADHD.
We also did testing with a neuropsychologist, at the request of our neurologist to weed out masking / comorbities. It’s a bit excessive & expensive for just diagnosing ADHD, but is fabulous for a personalized list of school accommodations, which the school took very seriously.
Psychological counseling of kids isn’t really effective in improving ADHD symptoms, but can be a big help in dealing with certain comorbidities (Anxiety, OCD, etc) or handling negative feelings. Parents are really the best option to seek counseling, as a trained psychologist can guide you in managing your child’s ADHD, what we may call “parent training”. We currently do not see one, but have had valuable input from the school psychologist and a family member who is also a psychologist.
6 year old with recent diagnosis
Free from angry outbursts 
Explain diagnosis to child?
Guafacine/ intuniv hallucinations!
How to get diagnosis?
