Taking a child to a psychiatrist

[Clearinguptheclutter]

I've just had my DS10 referred to a psychiatrist. This is for anxiety, possibly linked to ADHD/ASD.
I've never been referred to psychiatrist before. Just wondering what is likely to be involved and if it's likely that they will want to see him with our without me.

We saw one last month at The Priory, she was lovely and great at extracting information. Me and my husband stayed through the whole appointment.

oh that's reassuring thank you. I presume we will get someone used to working with kids. He is very very clingy to me so I think he would find it really difficult without me present.

Not all psychiatrists work with children, so they will have specialised in this area if they do work with them. Do you know if the person you're going to see has any SEN experience? Suspected or diagnosed SEN make a difference to any approach, so it's good if they do have experience.

indeed. I dont know yet I am hoping we will get some element of choice (I'm lucky that this is a private referral)

It depends where you live, we had to travel 1.5hours away as there are hardly any child psychiatrists. You probably won’t get a choice of one that specialises in a specific area. They great news with going private is the waiting list was only 3weekss.

3 weeks is not too bad at all. I am in greater manchester so hopefully there will be some suitable options not too far away.

If you were referred by GP in the NHS, then you will get a child specialist. At age 10, they'd probably expect you to stay anyway.

I stayed in the consultation with my 16-yr-old when she was assessed for ADHD/ASD and it turned out that the doctor needed my input on certain questions. It’s unrealistic to expect a child to self report reliably and if it’s for ADHD your perspective will be relevant