I rarely ever cry but I actually did feel a little better yesterday for it.
I've found a neurophsych but the wait time is forever. Meanwhile, we've decided to try the Strattera. That will give us a chance to see if it works and also give me a chance to get my husband on board with another evaluation.
We spoke to the psychiatrist (who turns out to be a neuropsychiatrist) this morning and he explained the ADHD to husband and what the medicine might do. When he asked what we wanted to talk about, I looked at husband (who's the one who wanted the appointment!) and he just shrugged and said "she wants him on medication". Argh! So, the doctor reviewed notes and went over it all and told me I looked worn out (I wasn't sure whether to be offended or relieved that someone noticed!). He thinks the Strattera can help and doesn't think we need more evaluation but I'm not convinced. At this point, I'm ready to just try it and see what happens while we wait for the NP.
I also asked him about ASDs and he said that even if my son is diagnosed with Aspergers, he would treat it the same way. Medication and then organization and planning help, as well as behavior modification. He did caution us not to try any new behavioral modifications for a while since we'll just be digging the hole deeper until the medicine starts to kick in. He encouraged positive reinforcement and limited time to video, computer, and TV (which we already do).
It's funny, though, on the way to the appointment I had made up my mind that I didn't like this doctor and that I'd find someone else to administer medicine. After we left the office, though, I thought "that makes a lof of sense, maybe he's on to something". Weird.
There is something to what Zen says but I don't think I could let go of that much control. (Maybe the whole problem is that I'm a control freak!!!)
So, to sum up, next steps:
1. start the Strattera
2. talk hubby into NP eval
3. do lots of positive reinforcement
4. try to implement more structure and organization
5. look for a behavioral therapist
6. consider an OT eval
Thank you all again for your input and responses.
