All right. Thank you Bec for all of that information. You may share more if you desire, however I believe I now get the "jist" of the situation. Quite shoddy treatment, in my opinion! Putting him on a drug haphazardly and then taking him off of it just as quickly. Bad enough to do this to an adult, but a child? As a mother, I well understand your upset over this!
I was going to ask you if they had prescribed Ritalin, and to be frank, I was hoping not. Not saying Ritalin in itself is a bad medication, it works very well for its intended purpose, which is to help those who truly have ADD/ADHD not helped by other means, such as behaviour therapy. However, it is prescribed far too often. It is not a panacea for all the ills of childhood. I believe now Jim was correct in saying they were lazy. Frankly I am disgusted that they gave him this drug, knowing that he has anxiety issues.
Why do I say this? Well, as you likely know, Ritalin is a stimulant. I needn't tell you what a mild stimulant such as caffeine does to someone with anxiety issues. Well, Ritalin is a much more powerful stimulant than caffeine, and it is known to make anxiety worse in someone who already has anxiety. Ritalin is absolutely not recommended for Panic Disorder, Generalized Anxiety, and so on. So, if there is any suspicion that Matt has PTSD, this is definitely not the drug for him. Additionally, if Matt has any underlying depression, common in PTSD, Ritalin will actually make the situation worse for him. Years ago, Ritalin was prescribed for depression, however it was found that, when tapering off, depressed patients experienced extreme relapses of depression, many to the point of suicide. As a result, Ritalin is no longer prescribed for depression. You also mentioned previously that you suspect Matt may have an eating disorder? Is he as thin as you are Bec? Once again, one common side effect of Ritalin is appetite loss and resulting weight loss! Overall, a very poor choice for Matt, in several respects! Had I been the caseworker, I would have made certain the assessment ruled out any anxiety issues prior to prescribing any drug, especially in a child of 12.
Now, regarding assessment, what exactly have they done? Have they taken a case history including his background and previous experiences in life? Has he received any official psychological testing, or are they simply talking to him and taking him on his word? A certain amount of assessment can be achieved simply by talking to a person and observing their behaviour. However, as you are aware, some behaviours (such the pacing) can point to more than one condition, depending on the patient's history. In Matt's case, it does sound as if his pacing is trauma related.
When trauma is suspected, a good assessment will include written psychological testing as part of the assessment. A person with trauma may not always tell the truth about their situation, not to be deceiving, however simply because they are frightened and have been conditioned to not give away too much information. This is where a written psychological test can be helpful. Now, whilst there is some controversy surrounding it, the
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is quite an accurate indicator of various personality problems. Evie took this test early on in her treatment, during a period when she was being very "dishonest" with health care professionals. In spite of her not wanting to reveal certain aspects, the results of the test indicated very severe trauma. She was extremely high on the trauma scale portion of the test, yet low in every other aspect. There is a version of the MMPI, called the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent (MMPI-A) designed specifically for adolescents. Officially it to be administered to those 14-18 years of age, however, I have administered it to 13 year olds on more than one occasion. Matt is 12, so perhaps slightly too young for the test, but perhaps not? You would simply need to find someone willing to administer the test, usually a clinical psychologist. I can assure you, if Matt indeed has trauma, it will show up on that test!
What were the results of Matt's MRI, or do you not know yet? I believe that is an important piece of the puzzle as well.
Now. What to do from here. Honestly, Matt needs to be properly asssessed and diagnosed. That is the first step. Then, if he is to be on any medication, he must have a doctor who can regularly assess and adjust the medication. And most preferably, counseling. I am a proponent of behaviour therapy and cognitive restructuring, I believe it works very well for anxiety issues. Perhaps not for healing full blown PTSD so much, but when administered correctly, it can reduce the symptoms of anxiety dramatically. I believe this may be good for Matt especially as he does need to attend school, interact with others socially and so on. I could advise you on finding a decent therapist, however I am not certain - perhaps you already have one lined up? In any event I don't wish to overwhelm you with too much information all at once. In a future post however, I certainly can advise you as to working within "the system" to your advantage.
I do hope I have not overwhelmed you Bec! This is quite a long post. However I did want to explain why I feel the way I do. I assure you, other health care professionals may not agree with me. One nice thing about being retired however - I get to say what I like! :wink:
