How do i go about getting a paedatrician for my son?
#1
How do i go about getting a paedatrician for my son?
My 8 year old son was informally diagnosed in the UK with borderline ADHD/autistic traits. His new school have asked me to get a full assessment done by a paedatrician but im not sure how i do this, how do i check any potential drs out? He already has an appointment with a mental health team after the schools special needs teacher pushed for him to be seen.
We live in Darwin and im waiting for acknowledgement that we have got private medical insurance.
In the UK when i wanted to see a dr privatly the hospitals had a section where you could read up on the dr and get a 'feeling' for how you would get on with them. But when i looked for my area i could not find any information out.
Help would be appreciated before my son starts to have more problems with his new school
Mandy
We live in Darwin and im waiting for acknowledgement that we have got private medical insurance.
In the UK when i wanted to see a dr privatly the hospitals had a section where you could read up on the dr and get a 'feeling' for how you would get on with them. But when i looked for my area i could not find any information out.
Help would be appreciated before my son starts to have more problems with his new school
Mandy
#2
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 10,375
Re: How do i go about getting a paedatrician for my son?
My 8 year old son was informally diagnosed in the UK with borderline ADHD/autistic traits. His new school have asked me to get a full assessment done by a paedatrician but im not sure how i do this, how do i check any potential drs out? He already has an appointment with a mental health team after the schools special needs teacher pushed for him to be seen.
We live in Darwin and im waiting for acknowledgement that we have got private medical insurance.
In the UK when i wanted to see a dr privatly the hospitals had a section where you could read up on the dr and get a 'feeling' for how you would get on with them. But when i looked for my area i could not find any information out.
Help would be appreciated before my son starts to have more problems with his new school
Mandy
We live in Darwin and im waiting for acknowledgement that we have got private medical insurance.
In the UK when i wanted to see a dr privatly the hospitals had a section where you could read up on the dr and get a 'feeling' for how you would get on with them. But when i looked for my area i could not find any information out.
Help would be appreciated before my son starts to have more problems with his new school
Mandy
Private health cover will sometimes not cover things that medicare will pay a part of.
Eg, when we saw a paedatrician, he charged $300, the medicare rebate was $67, which is a % of the schedule fee, not what the Paedatrician charges The private health then would not pay anything as medicare had done a rebate.
If your still following me once you have spent over $2000 on out of pocket medical expenses you can claim back 20% on your tax, so if you have 2500 of medical bills after medicare and private health you can claim back 100 on your tax, whooopee doo
Some schools also have a guidance officer, they may also advise other specialists, for dyslexia recently we were told by her to go for auditory processing and a dyslexia assessment, that cost us $529 and $750 with $219 medicare rebate on the auditory processing, so big bucks once again. Way of life here I am sorry to say.
For some problems you might get a hospital specialist, for free, but dont hold your breath, however I have no idea about wait lists in Darwin.
#3
Re: How do i go about getting a paedatrician for my son?
My 8 year old son was informally diagnosed in the UK with borderline ADHD/autistic traits. His new school have asked me to get a full assessment done by a paedatrician but im not sure how i do this, how do i check any potential drs out? He already has an appointment with a mental health team after the schools special needs teacher pushed for him to be seen.
We live in Darwin and im waiting for acknowledgement that we have got private medical insurance.
In the UK when i wanted to see a dr privatly the hospitals had a section where you could read up on the dr and get a 'feeling' for how you would get on with them. But when i looked for my area i could not find any information out.
Help would be appreciated before my son starts to have more problems with his new school
Mandy
We live in Darwin and im waiting for acknowledgement that we have got private medical insurance.
In the UK when i wanted to see a dr privatly the hospitals had a section where you could read up on the dr and get a 'feeling' for how you would get on with them. But when i looked for my area i could not find any information out.
Help would be appreciated before my son starts to have more problems with his new school
Mandy
You don't need to have a private insurance either.
I know through past experience of having private insurance they dont normally pay for existing illnesses.
#4
Re: How do i go about getting a paedatrician for my son?
Thanks, i shall book an apt with my GP for him next week and see how we go from there.
It just confused me when the assistant principle told me to choose a paedatrician and that i didnt need a referral.
Im just hoping all of this is not going to be too expensive as our savings have been well and truely hammered.
Mandy
It just confused me when the assistant principle told me to choose a paedatrician and that i didnt need a referral.
Im just hoping all of this is not going to be too expensive as our savings have been well and truely hammered.
Mandy
#5
Re: How do i go about getting a paedatrician for my son?
Thanks, i shall book an apt with my GP for him next week and see how we go from there.
It just confused me when the assistant principle told me to choose a paedatrician and that i didnt need a referral.
Im just hoping all of this is not going to be too expensive as our savings have been well and truely hammered.
Mandy
It just confused me when the assistant principle told me to choose a paedatrician and that i didnt need a referral.
Im just hoping all of this is not going to be too expensive as our savings have been well and truely hammered.
Mandy
#6
Re: How do i go about getting a paedatrician for my son?
We are in QLD so may be slightly different but this is our experience...
Both sons have ADD & were under the care of a child psychiatrist in the UK. We brough reports over for both. We had to see the GP who then referred us to the paediatrician. Under Medicare payment rules, referrals need to be made every 12 months, even for the same problem...go figure!
You are lucky if you have got to see mental health team. I was told that here in Cairns they are so overwhelmed, they only see the really screwed up kids. So we see a paed who thankfully knows his stuff.
I do not declare the private insurance as it would cost us more on each visit than with the medicare rebate.
Get used to paying out lots of money but make sure you keep all your receipts for tax time.
Good luck
PS If you know it is going to be an ongoing problem, you can ask GP to write that in his referral & then you should not need to go back every 12 months to get a new referral. I shall be doing this next week!
Both sons have ADD & were under the care of a child psychiatrist in the UK. We brough reports over for both. We had to see the GP who then referred us to the paediatrician. Under Medicare payment rules, referrals need to be made every 12 months, even for the same problem...go figure!
You are lucky if you have got to see mental health team. I was told that here in Cairns they are so overwhelmed, they only see the really screwed up kids. So we see a paed who thankfully knows his stuff.
I do not declare the private insurance as it would cost us more on each visit than with the medicare rebate.
Get used to paying out lots of money but make sure you keep all your receipts for tax time.
Good luck
PS If you know it is going to be an ongoing problem, you can ask GP to write that in his referral & then you should not need to go back every 12 months to get a new referral. I shall be doing this next week!
Last edited by Sally Simpson; Aug 19th 2010 at 10:32 am. Reason: More info
#7
And YOU'RE paying for it!
Joined: May 2007
Location: kipper tie?
Posts: 2,328
Re: How do i go about getting a paedatrician for my son?
Hi Mandy
Have you considered calling the infoline of Aspect Australia? They may know of Darwin paeds that have particular experience in Autistic Spectrum Disorders. You could also try looking on the forums but they're not superbusy.
http://www.autismspectrum.org.au/ind...=show&sel=8760 and http://www.autismspectrum.org.au/a2i...ation-line.htm
Vogue forums (don't laugh!) might also be worth looking at for generic paed recommendations, there are lots of mothers on there.
Good luck
Have you considered calling the infoline of Aspect Australia? They may know of Darwin paeds that have particular experience in Autistic Spectrum Disorders. You could also try looking on the forums but they're not superbusy.
http://www.autismspectrum.org.au/ind...=show&sel=8760 and http://www.autismspectrum.org.au/a2i...ation-line.htm
Vogue forums (don't laugh!) might also be worth looking at for generic paed recommendations, there are lots of mothers on there.
Good luck
#8
Re: How do i go about getting a paedatrician for my son?
You might also want to book a long appointment with your GP if you haven't taken your son before. Explain what you need to the receptionists and they should be able to advise you whether you'll need a long appointment. Just in case the GP needs to do an assessment before he/she can give you the referral...
#9
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Oct 2009
Location: Perth
Posts: 2,237
Re: How do i go about getting a paedatrician for my son?
Hi Mandy
We're members of a support group in WA called LADSWA (Learning and Attentional Disorders Society of WA). There is lots of useful fact sheets on their website: http://www.ladswa.com.au/page.php?id=6 that you can access. For anyone who is in WA, they hold support meetings for parents and adults with ADHD, lend specialist books to members and also had contact details for all sorts of health professionals who specialize in these types of conditions. I find that they are very pro-medication, and a lot of parents have no problem with that - one of those very personal decisions.
I looked for a similar group in NT and found:
Darwin ADD Support Group
Parap
Phone: 08 8998 1650
Email: [email protected]
I personally find the diagnosis of ADHD a little worrying and understand your concerns about finding the right health professional. I found that a paediatrician could diagnose and prescribe for ADHD for kids, but adults need a psychiatrist. A clinical psychologist can diagnose kids for ADHD and ASD, but can't medicate.
It is also possible that a specialist paediatric occupational therapist might be able to help.
We're members of a support group in WA called LADSWA (Learning and Attentional Disorders Society of WA). There is lots of useful fact sheets on their website: http://www.ladswa.com.au/page.php?id=6 that you can access. For anyone who is in WA, they hold support meetings for parents and adults with ADHD, lend specialist books to members and also had contact details for all sorts of health professionals who specialize in these types of conditions. I find that they are very pro-medication, and a lot of parents have no problem with that - one of those very personal decisions.
I looked for a similar group in NT and found:
Darwin ADD Support Group
Parap
Phone: 08 8998 1650
Email: [email protected]
I personally find the diagnosis of ADHD a little worrying and understand your concerns about finding the right health professional. I found that a paediatrician could diagnose and prescribe for ADHD for kids, but adults need a psychiatrist. A clinical psychologist can diagnose kids for ADHD and ASD, but can't medicate.
It is also possible that a specialist paediatric occupational therapist might be able to help.
#10
Re: How do i go about getting a paedatrician for my son?
Thank you all for the advice and sugestions of support groups,i shall certainly explore them.
Mandy
Mandy
#11
Re: How do i go about getting a paedatrician for my son?
Yes you will need a referral from a GP. You'll probably find that you dont have too much choice in the matter, Darwin may well not have too many paediatricians to choose from.
Get the school counsellor to do some ground work for you - there are ADHD checklists that can be given to you and the class teacher. Ask them also to do a full psychoeducational assessment if you havent already had one done in the last 2 years. And, too, ask them to give you and the teacher and adaptive behaviour checklist. Once you have got all the objective data then you will be able to take it all to the paediatrician. The school counsellor should be able to do this for you free but you will have to pay for the specialist and, as the others have said, it will be nothing to do with your private health cover because it wont be a hospital event.
If the school counsellor wont do the assessments for you then you may be able to get them done privately and get a bit of it back through medicare.
In the meantime, be sure you dose him up with fish oils.
Get the school counsellor to do some ground work for you - there are ADHD checklists that can be given to you and the class teacher. Ask them also to do a full psychoeducational assessment if you havent already had one done in the last 2 years. And, too, ask them to give you and the teacher and adaptive behaviour checklist. Once you have got all the objective data then you will be able to take it all to the paediatrician. The school counsellor should be able to do this for you free but you will have to pay for the specialist and, as the others have said, it will be nothing to do with your private health cover because it wont be a hospital event.
If the school counsellor wont do the assessments for you then you may be able to get them done privately and get a bit of it back through medicare.
In the meantime, be sure you dose him up with fish oils.
#12
Re: How do i go about getting a paedatrician for my son?
Yes you will need a referral from a GP. You'll probably find that you dont have too much choice in the matter, Darwin may well not have too many paediatricians to choose from.
Get the school counsellor to do some ground work for you - there are ADHD checklists that can be given to you and the class teacher. Ask them also to do a full psychoeducational assessment if you havent already had one done in the last 2 years. And, too, ask them to give you and the teacher and adaptive behaviour checklist. Once you have got all the objective data then you will be able to take it all to the paediatrician. The school counsellor should be able to do this for you free but you will have to pay for the specialist and, as the others have said, it will be nothing to do with your private health cover because it wont be a hospital event.
If the school counsellor wont do the assessments for you then you may be able to get them done privately and get a bit of it back through medicare.
In the meantime, be sure you dose him up with fish oils.
Get the school counsellor to do some ground work for you - there are ADHD checklists that can be given to you and the class teacher. Ask them also to do a full psychoeducational assessment if you havent already had one done in the last 2 years. And, too, ask them to give you and the teacher and adaptive behaviour checklist. Once you have got all the objective data then you will be able to take it all to the paediatrician. The school counsellor should be able to do this for you free but you will have to pay for the specialist and, as the others have said, it will be nothing to do with your private health cover because it wont be a hospital event.
If the school counsellor wont do the assessments for you then you may be able to get them done privately and get a bit of it back through medicare.
In the meantime, be sure you dose him up with fish oils.
Ive just spoken at length with a special needs director from Melbourne who covers Darwin through a co ordinator who lives local. They are going to help us with a plan of action for my son and if neccessary contact the school to ensure that he gets the suport he needs in school.
Once again thanks for the help everyone
Mandy
#13
Re: How do i go about getting a paedatrician for my son?
Phone Royal Darwin Hospital and ask if they have a Public Outpatients Clinic for the particular specialist that your son needs to see. My son was seeing a couple of specialists at home, both in Queensland and Western Australia and we visited them at the main children's hospitals via their Public Outpatients Clinics. It may take a bit longer to get an appointment, but if you go as a public patient, all consultations and tests are covered by Medicare. Good Luck.
#14
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Oct 2009
Location: Perth
Posts: 2,237
Re: How do i go about getting a paedatrician for my son?
Another thought, perhaps get his vision checked, as some minor problem can affect their behaviour. Some optometrists specialise in behavioural or developmental optometry. A check-up would be covered by Medicare.
#15
And YOU'RE paying for it!
Joined: May 2007
Location: kipper tie?
Posts: 2,328
Re: How do i go about getting a paedatrician for my son?