ADHD diagnosis

[Kanniewagnie]

My son's teacher recommended that I must see a GP to be referred to a Peadiatrician for a ADHD diagnosis. Apparently the diagnosis will help to get access to occupational therapy.

Did any of you go this route before? I'm not sure what to expect. Is it going to be a costly exercise?

Thanks!

[RYLC]

I'm not sure of the cost of the Paed but OT costs a lot of money - over $100 per session. Both my boys went for sensory issues and one for speech therapy and we spent thousands of dollars.

If your child truly has ADHD then medication is usally the best route. Initial OT would be god to see what they say but ongoing OT won't really do much. With the sensory issues, after we had been going for a while, I just started copying what they did at home so that we didn't have to go in. Saved some money that way.

Also schools receive extra funding based on diagnosed children so the diagnosis is important to get the money rolling.

[JackieO]

The assesment will be costly, you will get some back from medicare, but alot of out of pocket. Do the assessment first and then go from there

[DXB2OZ]

Schools don't necessarily receive funding based on a diagnosis, it can depend on whether or not the child is deemed "high functioning. Support varies from state to state, but with a diagnosis, you will get access to something. It may not be restricted to OT and you will probably have several choices.

You may choose to go medication or not to go medication. You may change your mind down the line. A diagnosis like this can evolve and change and all you do is try to evolve and change with it.

if your child is battling, a diagnosis can help you to understand what he is going through and adapt accordingly. It can help the school to perhaps change their tactics and give him the support he needs.

The assessment is expensive. The follow ups are expensive. Support therapy can be expensive. Your GP will only be able to give you a referral, which will very possible lead to a series of referrals before you are done. Ask your GP to explain the process clearly to you at the start, as they often forget that people aren't familiar with this. Ask about support, allowances, etc. Once you have the diagnosis, I would strongly urge you to go to Centelink to get more info. We have only just found out that there are several allowances that we haven't touched at all.

Good luck. I am sure there are plenty of people on the forum who have been through something like this - we have a different state and a different diagnosis. This is a great place for support and useful info.