Saturday, February 11, 2012

Brain scan for ADHD child?

Written by

domrocsmom

domrocsmom

Fri, April 17, 2009

Our almost 7 year old son has been on meds for ADHD and an "undiagnosable" related condition (aggression and anger/depression) for about one year.  He is doing better, but I'm not sure that we have a complete and fully accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment.  He is still having a hard time controlling his impulses and continues to be very mean at times, hurt people, take far too many risks w/o thinking, etc.  I have read Dr. Amen's books and heard him speak and wonder if anyone has had any personal dealings with him or his clinics?  He uses the Spect brain scan as a diagnosis tool for treatment.  I feel in my gut that we are missing part of the picture here.  I'm very worried about him being labeled as a "bad" kid and being left out.  A few parents have already made comments about him and/or told their children to not play with him at school.  I'm also worried about his relationship with his twin brother since he is so mean and does hurt him a lot.  I would appreciate any comments and especially like to hear if anyone has had any experience with the Amen clinics.  Thanks.

4/19/09 9:37pm

Although I have spoken with Dr. Amen a few times for interview purposes, I do not have any personal experience with either his diagnostic process or his treatment.

 

Dr. Amen combines traditional medication treatments for ADHD with nutritional supplements.

 

I am sorry I could not provide you with any personal experiences but am giving you some links to additional information on this site that may be helpful:

 

Creating a Discipline Process at Home

 

Games to Motivate your Children

 

The Out Of Control Child

 

Co-Existing Conditions

 

ADHD and Conduct Disorder

 

Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)

 

Coping Strategies for Siblings

 

I hope this helps.

 

Eileen

4/19/09 11:30pm

My only experience with Dr. Amen was his gracious permission for allowing me to use his checklist on my Website and parts of it in my book.

 

Brain scans are expensive and from what I have researched, not covered under most health insurance policies. They are a preferable diagnostic tool to the many subjective checklists that clinicians use to diagnose ADHD.

 

Best wishes for you and your child.

 

Don K Potochny

Author, Dear Mary: My Life with ADHD

 

 

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