Appt with dev. pediatrician - what to expect?

[LisaM]

Background: We are wondering if ds has sensory processing disorder as he definitely shows symptoms . . . this pediatrician is on our insurance, and we were told back in September that we'd probably have an 18-month wait, so I'm thrilled that we'll be able to see her in less than 2 weeks!

We have an appointment for ds with a developmental pediatrician on Dec. 22nd. We were told this will only be with the pediatrician and will last about 1 hour. Any ideas of what we can expect? Anything I can or should do to prepare ds for this appointment? (He was pretty traumatized by his check-up with the regular pediatrician back in September, so I know I need to do better at talking with him about the appointment ahead of time.)

TIA for any advice . . . prayers still appreciated as we navigate these waters!

[Alice]

They will do a really thorough history, focusing on developmental things (when he achieved certain milestones, what he is doing in different areas: gross motor, fine motor, language, problem solving, social). When I worked with dev. peds they would often give the kids some toys to play with while talking to the parents. Usually they were also observing how the child played/interacted with parents/interacted with doctor, etc but it helped to put the child at ease while they were talking. They might give him various tests with things like drawing pictures or stacking blocks or answering questions. They will do a physical exam also, probably similiar to your pediatrician's exam. They might focus more on the neuro exam and have him do more things like walking on toes or heels or hopping on one foot. They shouldn't have to exam genitals if that was the traumatic part of the exam for him. Most of the dev. peds exams I observed, the kids enjoyed it. I think it seemed more like fun to them than invasive.

[AmyinWI]

Doesn't sound like this is the case with your Dr., but when our guy went to the children's hospital dev. ped. they had a team of therapists come in and play/observe for about 30 minutes. they scored all his tests and then gave the results to the Dr., who came in a bit later.
Like Alice said, it was a lot of history, and observation, and questions for the parent. It was pretty low stress. our appt. was 2 hrs,though. I learned not to take the older kids along after that!

[Lisalyn]

Our experience was the same as Amy's. I had to go a few days before for an interview with a staff psychologist and to fill out a questionaire. Then I took Eli for the appt, which lasted about 2 hours. There was a nurse and 4 other assorted staff members: therapists, ped. residents, etc. who all stayed for the duration doing various parts of the exam. The actual exam was much like Alice stated. He played and interacted and they all took notes. The ped did the physical exam, had him walk and run down the hall.

It was a long appt, but Eli seemed to enjoy all of it except the basic physical exam.

[mariah m]

This was helpful...we're about to do this too.

[Jo in PRC]

You'll probably have to fill out a lot of paperwork. It's good to bring a baby book or calendar along or at least figure out before you go when all the milestones were (first smile, first word, etc). They often want to know birth details too...any problems with pregnancy, medications, etc. Think also about your concerns (list them to help you remember) and try to think of specific examples. Here's an example from our world...Anna freaks out and screams and tries to run if she hears a sudden loud noise or Anna cannot stand to wear any clothing with a seam or tight area or scratchy fabric and will sob hysterically until that clothing is removed. That give them more information that just "She throws a lot of fits." Hope that helps a little. ~Jo

[Robin H in VA]

I wish this thread have been up in October. :D

We actually just went through this with ds in November and our first day was about an hour and a half. Then ds had to go back about 2 days later for more tests and then the following week for OT and then a few days later for PT. Don't know that you all will have to do all of that, but I wish I could have been more prepared so that I could have prepared ds better.

Our first visit was basically what the others have said, but longer. Maybe because of ds age? not sure, but the lady that he worked with on that day was an Education Coordinator and my mom and I talked with the doctor. After the EC was finished playing/talking with ds (my dd was with him the whole time) she came in to speak with me while ds, my mom and the doctor went to another room for his exam. The EC told me that she was going to suggest Asspergers to the doctor and then she asked if I would ever consider placing ds in public school. I told her that was not an option now or later. She was not too happy and she told me that after we get all the results in and if ds has what she expects or ADD/ADHD she is going to suggest ps again and I told her that she would get the same answer from me.

I think maybe my experience is different from what you may experience but I thought you might want to be prepared for something like we have gone though. We have had a wonderful experience with this particular clinic with the exception of the EC, but I am going to stand my ground. I just want to know what is going on and how I can better help my ds learn.