Posted by Noa on January 11, 2000, at 12:12:12
In reply to Re: Lamictal Peter, posted by Peter on January 11, 2000, at 11:48:16
While there might be a great deal of cases in the US of very "liberal" diagnosis, and certainly I know of inadequate evaluation before prescribing stimulants, there is also a great deal of underdiagnosis, people whose problems go unnoticed. This came up again and again at the NIH conference last year. Not that this evens out happily for all. Hardly. We need the pediatricians to be better trained about getting independent observations from teachers and others besides the parents. We need HMOs, etc. to allow pediatricians to refer kids to pediatric psychiatrists and neurologists. We need the HMOs to all pediatricians to refer to therapists for non-pharmocological treatment, either instead of or in conjunction with, medication (depending on the individual needs of the patient). We need school professionals to be better trained, and for parents to have access to more guidance on how to decipher what is going on with their kids and how to develop more effective parenting skills.
poster:Noa
thread:18307
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000101/msgs/18712.html