A Trip to the Psychia-olo-ana-huh?
After nearly three months of haggling with the state over whether or not I would have insurance or Medicaid or both, I was finally able to make that appointment for my eldest son with a Psychiatrist that our pediatrician had recommended back in March for his ADHD evaluation. His medicine isn’t working as expected and our pediatrician has decided that she needs some assistance in changing it. So, here we go!
I had expected to be given an appointment some time in September, after school had started. I had been told by the doctor that it takes a while to get in due to the overwhelming popularity and need. I was asked by the receptionist if I could bring my son in to see them that next morning at 8 a.m.
I was very surprised at how quickly they had agreed to see him as the doctor had said it might take a few months to get in. I managed to figure out where the office was located (ironically it’s next to the parole office on the Youree drive extension,) and made my plans for the next day in some attempt at being punctual.
Two of the babies woke up about 4:30 (rough night teething) so I was defiantly up early enough! We managed get everyone fed and dressed, the car packed and I even remembered to grab a bottle of juice and a box of teddy grahams in hopes of appeasing the trio during the course of the appointment.
In spite of early morning traffic, and my doggie having some idea that she had better tag along for the ride just in case, we managed to arrive for the appointment a little before eight. I was very happy because that would give us just enough time to unload the car and load the stroller.
Just as we were congratulating ourselves on being on time & actually ready to go inside, my son discovered that the door was locked. The signs above the office door each read different hours.
Just as we were about to load the car back up, a lady pulled up and opened the door for us. I had been getting a bit worried that we would look like some sort of vagrants standing around outside like we were or worse that we might end up with some new “Friends” that seemed to be hanging around the shopping center where the office is located.
I had never been to this sort of appointment before so I hadn’t any idea of what to expect. I was, however, ready to fill out paperwork, and they had plenty for me! I must have duplicated information on three or four different pages at their request.
The babies were even being quiet and nice. Bregon was doing his best to amuse them and keep them happy (I think he really must have been trying to masque his nerves!)
Meanwhile, the office staff seemed very intent on re-arranging the office and cleaning it up. The vacuumed all around and in different offices, they dusted and wiped down countertops with Clorox, and juggled taking our information down with moving very large pieces of office furniture through very small doors.
Poor, sweet Bregon tried to offer assistance and finally couldn’t stand himself and had to help them get a piece of a desk through that elusive tiny door. The man who turned out to be the “Counselor” (at least I THINK that’s who he was) was watching the chaos from the doorway (my sister would later theorize that perhaps they were trying to “Observe” us and our reactions or something.)
After a while, the “Counselor” called us back to the office. Then he did something rather peculiar. He advised me to leave the triplets in their stroller in the waiting room with the receptionist.
I felt a little bit like Dorothy must have when she landed in Oz- did this man understand the connotations of leaving three 1 year olds in the care of a totally unsuspecting and innocent receptionist who probably had never even had to take care of triplets? Would the receptionist be able to cope with my trio AND her job duties (I had wondered if maybe they had done this before or something) poor lady!
Bregon and I both shrugged and said, “Okay?” and went to join the “Counselor” in his office. I am STILL not sure who or what this guy really is, just that his credentials were all hanging on the wall from which I did manage to glean his name… I had been informed that the doctor to whom we had been referred to was out of town and on vacation, but that we were only here for an evaluation. Nobody seemed to want to explain what that involved, though.
We just went with it. Meanwhile, back in the waiting room, we could faintly hear Kian screaming and crying because we were no longer with them. The “Counselor” guy had me shut the door and said that the receptionist could handle it (very brave lady that she must be) and that he needed us to be able to be free of distractions to speak with him.
We touched on a little of why we were there-the session was supposed to be so that our pediatrician can adjust the adhd medication to something that will actually work for Bregon.
The man we were speaking with thought that Bregon was very well behaved and in control of himself. I thought to myself that this is what extreme fear can do to someone (Bregon is afraid of being poked and prodded by doctors for some reason and hadn’t been too happy or excited to be going this morning.)
The baby’s were awfully quiet all of the sudden. That made me really, really super nervous. It didn’t seem to make it easier to complete the session. I am still not sure what we accomplished during it. I suppose we will find out more next week when we go back.
When we went back to the waiting room, we discovered exactly what had quieted the babies. It was not the duct tape and gag vision that had floated around in my head, thankfully.
The receptionist had managed to find our apple juice stash and had refilled their cups and put “Shrek II” into the DVD player. I am very surprised that we didn’t hear Vivie announcing, “A cat! A cat!” as loud as possible as is her habit-then I noticed that she had conked out.
We had been there for right at two hours and it was naptime! Somehow we survived. I think we are both a little confused as to exactly what it was we were doing today since it didn’t go anything like we had expected.
Hopefully, we did what we are supposed to do and all will be well! Maybe next time I will be able to figure out exactly who/what we were having the appointment with since our referral doctor wasn’t in!
I had expected to be given an appointment some time in September, after school had started. I had been told by the doctor that it takes a while to get in due to the overwhelming popularity and need. I was asked by the receptionist if I could bring my son in to see them that next morning at 8 a.m.
I was very surprised at how quickly they had agreed to see him as the doctor had said it might take a few months to get in. I managed to figure out where the office was located (ironically it’s next to the parole office on the Youree drive extension,) and made my plans for the next day in some attempt at being punctual.
Two of the babies woke up about 4:30 (rough night teething) so I was defiantly up early enough! We managed get everyone fed and dressed, the car packed and I even remembered to grab a bottle of juice and a box of teddy grahams in hopes of appeasing the trio during the course of the appointment.
In spite of early morning traffic, and my doggie having some idea that she had better tag along for the ride just in case, we managed to arrive for the appointment a little before eight. I was very happy because that would give us just enough time to unload the car and load the stroller.
Just as we were congratulating ourselves on being on time & actually ready to go inside, my son discovered that the door was locked. The signs above the office door each read different hours.
Just as we were about to load the car back up, a lady pulled up and opened the door for us. I had been getting a bit worried that we would look like some sort of vagrants standing around outside like we were or worse that we might end up with some new “Friends” that seemed to be hanging around the shopping center where the office is located.
I had never been to this sort of appointment before so I hadn’t any idea of what to expect. I was, however, ready to fill out paperwork, and they had plenty for me! I must have duplicated information on three or four different pages at their request.
The babies were even being quiet and nice. Bregon was doing his best to amuse them and keep them happy (I think he really must have been trying to masque his nerves!)
Meanwhile, the office staff seemed very intent on re-arranging the office and cleaning it up. The vacuumed all around and in different offices, they dusted and wiped down countertops with Clorox, and juggled taking our information down with moving very large pieces of office furniture through very small doors.
Poor, sweet Bregon tried to offer assistance and finally couldn’t stand himself and had to help them get a piece of a desk through that elusive tiny door. The man who turned out to be the “Counselor” (at least I THINK that’s who he was) was watching the chaos from the doorway (my sister would later theorize that perhaps they were trying to “Observe” us and our reactions or something.)
After a while, the “Counselor” called us back to the office. Then he did something rather peculiar. He advised me to leave the triplets in their stroller in the waiting room with the receptionist.
I felt a little bit like Dorothy must have when she landed in Oz- did this man understand the connotations of leaving three 1 year olds in the care of a totally unsuspecting and innocent receptionist who probably had never even had to take care of triplets? Would the receptionist be able to cope with my trio AND her job duties (I had wondered if maybe they had done this before or something) poor lady!
Bregon and I both shrugged and said, “Okay?” and went to join the “Counselor” in his office. I am STILL not sure who or what this guy really is, just that his credentials were all hanging on the wall from which I did manage to glean his name… I had been informed that the doctor to whom we had been referred to was out of town and on vacation, but that we were only here for an evaluation. Nobody seemed to want to explain what that involved, though.
We just went with it. Meanwhile, back in the waiting room, we could faintly hear Kian screaming and crying because we were no longer with them. The “Counselor” guy had me shut the door and said that the receptionist could handle it (very brave lady that she must be) and that he needed us to be able to be free of distractions to speak with him.
We touched on a little of why we were there-the session was supposed to be so that our pediatrician can adjust the adhd medication to something that will actually work for Bregon.
The man we were speaking with thought that Bregon was very well behaved and in control of himself. I thought to myself that this is what extreme fear can do to someone (Bregon is afraid of being poked and prodded by doctors for some reason and hadn’t been too happy or excited to be going this morning.)
The baby’s were awfully quiet all of the sudden. That made me really, really super nervous. It didn’t seem to make it easier to complete the session. I am still not sure what we accomplished during it. I suppose we will find out more next week when we go back.
When we went back to the waiting room, we discovered exactly what had quieted the babies. It was not the duct tape and gag vision that had floated around in my head, thankfully.
The receptionist had managed to find our apple juice stash and had refilled their cups and put “Shrek II” into the DVD player. I am very surprised that we didn’t hear Vivie announcing, “A cat! A cat!” as loud as possible as is her habit-then I noticed that she had conked out.
We had been there for right at two hours and it was naptime! Somehow we survived. I think we are both a little confused as to exactly what it was we were doing today since it didn’t go anything like we had expected.
Hopefully, we did what we are supposed to do and all will be well! Maybe next time I will be able to figure out exactly who/what we were having the appointment with since our referral doctor wasn’t in!
posted by Mimi Rankin Webb at 10:49 AM
Mimi is the mother of four: a 12 1/2-year-old boy and 1-year-old triplets (two boys and one girl). She is very happily busy taking care of everyone, whether it's the triplets' multiple doctor appointments, attempting a shopping excursion or volunteering to plan her son's school renaissance festival.
2 Comments:
Having been through something like this before with my son who has ADHD, I'll offer an explanation. When we first took my son to the psychologist's office, we were also given an evaluation. We were asked a TON of questions, the same ones the actual psychologist will ask you. Basically, this person that you saw is the buffer for the actual psych. It's his job to make sure that your child's case warrants the busy psych's time. Sometimes, if the buffer doesn't think it's warranted, they will just refer you back to you pediatrician (calling them to say that the child just needs to up the dosage or whatever). If you're coming back, then obviously the buffer thinks it's warranted. I'm sure that most of the time, most people do get to see the psych. But, since he's so booked, this may be the office's way of seeing who needs to get in quicker. Make sense?
thanks for the info!
it was really odd- we had another appointment for tomorrow (had the little reminder card & all) because of fencing camp & the time coinciding with my triplet's naptime, i called today to try & reschedule for afternoon sometime-as it turns out, the receptionist couldnt find any record of the appointment in their system-which worked out because i needed to change it anyways, but i am starting to REALLY wonder about the office staff-the new appt is for the 23rd so hopefully all will go well- we shall see! i suspect that my child really has been misdiagnosed & that the real problem may be mild ocd...which has similar symptoms- it may be both-only time will tell!
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