How can I find a better Psychiatrist to prescribe medication for my Autistic Son?
The Doctor we see simply prescribes the medication. He is like a drug pusher. He wants all his patients to be involved in his studies . Drug companies pay him well. My Son will never be involved in any studies.
This Doctor has no compassion or comprehension of my Son’s needs.The medication helps my Son to be more mellow. I do worry about side effects.
My Son is Autistic he is a Human being not a rodent.
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7 Answers
Psychiatrists are MD’s that prescribe medicine. I would suggest looking for a therapist.
You can ask around the parents of other autistic children. You can look on Jenny McCarthy’s web site about autism.
I like Marinas suggestion. Hopefully there is a local support group in your neck of the woods.
My sister adopted a child with Down Syndrome and this is how she found the best Pediatrician in the area for Downs kids. The other parents know and word gets around.
Find a support group in your area. One or two names will repeatedly come up as recos from parents of autistic kids.
If you still live in the New York area there are more physicians specializing in the treatment of autism than anywhere in the country I would imagine.
It is my understanding that drugs are not the primary therapies in the treatment of classical autism. I am no expert on this but that is my impression.
Some autistic children are treated with prescription drugs for conditions such as ADD, which appear in certain types of autistic diagnoses. The primary drug there is methylphenidate usually known as Ritalin or medications that contain Ritalin along with other drugs such as Adderall.
Consider yourself fortunate that you live in a large metropolitan area where there are many people to consult with and many facilities for treatment of autism. When you live in a town of 80,000 people, as we do, your options are considerably more limited.
Thank you all for your impute. I found the Psychiatrist we use through our support (Advocacy) group . I wish there was someone more caring. Sadly I can not find anyone near by. I live in Staten Island, New York not Manhattan .
There has got to be more than one psychiatrist on Staten Island who deals with autistic children.
Try the Richmond County Medical Society for a referral.
Your child should be attending a school which deals with autistic children. Ask some of the faculty members or the administration of the school for a referral to someone who has the skills that you want.
Have you tried the link given to you by @gailcalled ? She is a very smart person and her advice can be trusted.
There are several national support groups for autism. My wife works with high-functioning autistic children of middle school age. I will send some other links to you via private comment on Tuesday evening when she gets home from work.
You do not have to get stuck with a physician that you don’t like to deal with.
SRM
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