The 5 “Conventional” Options
All the ideas regarding treating behavioural problems from the “conventional” experts could be placed into 1 of 5 broad categories.
1. medical
2. biochemical
3. counselling
4. skills acquisition
5. behavioural
The next series of blog entries will summarize what these categories entail.
1. Medical
One of experts that parents turn to for help is often the child’s pediatrician. During the office appointment the parent describes the behaviours of concern and the doctor will probably conduct or arrange for a number of diagnostic tests. These tests may range from striking him in the knee with a little hammer to check for reflexes to looking into his brain using the latest imaging techniques. Along the way the child may be poked, asked to pee into a bottle, submit blood samples for analysis, have his hearing and vision checked and possibly many more tests. The doctor of course is looking for a MEDICAL cause for the inappropriate behaviours. If a medical problem is found and can be “fixed”, then of course a medical solution is offered.
Examples of medical solutions could be:
– surgery
– drugs – example – antibiotics, anticonvulsants, vitamins, etc.
– assistive devices – glasses, hearing aids, etc.
– diet
– etc.
In my opinion, the medical options should be the first line of investigation. If a child truly has a medical problem, we would be negligent to not pursue that avenue. No other course of treatment will do what you want if in fact the cause is a medical problem. In my experience, however, seldom does the doctor find a “clearly definable” medical problem that is causing the behaviour problems. The reasons for this are two fold:
a) there isn’t a “medical” problem (the most common reason)
b) the medical diagnosis was missed (doctors are not infallible and diagnostic tools are not perfect)
If the doctor says “There is no medical problem causing the behaviour problem”, you have the option of believing this statement or seeking another opinion. You, as the parent are in the best position to be observing the child and you may feel the doctor has missed something. If the determination of the medical doctor does not “feel right”, then by all means seek another opinion.
Clearly the medical option is not a universal solution to all children’s behaviour problems but it should be the first question asked.
The next option is biochemical