[cakeladie]

My son has autism, mild restoration, an auditory processing disorder and OCD.

I finely got his medical card from his dad and he has an appointment tomorrow with a psychiatrist. He has never seen one before and he does not like to talk about his problems. He's 25 years old and is a good kid.

What can I expect from this appointment?

Any help anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated

Thank you

[lizardlady]

Cake, given that he is legally an adult, will you be allowed in his meeting with the psychiatrist?

My first appt. with my pdoc he wanted to know what kind of problems I was having that I needed his help with.

I would have a written list of any meds your son takes, including doses. I'd also be prepared to tell the pdoc what specific problems you see your son having or problems you have with your son's behavior.

[cakeladie]

He only takes one med and that is for blood pressure. What made us decide to see a psychiatrist is his OCD is gotten way out of hand. He washes his hands all the time. He goes through 1 1/2 bars of soap a day. The weekend my husband and I went to Yosemite when we got back he had used every single towel in the house and I have a lot of towels 3 bars of soap and 2 things of liquid soap plus he used the whole thing of liquid soap refiller.

He asked to go to the doctors and I took him to our primary doctor and he asked to go in by himself. But he did not tell the doctor about the hand washing or anything. The doctor just thought he was there for a visit. So I don't know if I will be allowed in there or not

Should I take his paperwork from ssa and the reports that say he has autism and mild retardation? I honestly didn't think this appointment was going to happen because I have been waiting since December to get his medical call from his dad.

I am a nervous mess. I just want to have everything I am supposed to

[lizardlady]

Given what happened at his regular doc's maybe you could explain when you check in that due to your son's problems you need to speak to the pdoc too. Also, you usually have to fill out some sort of questionnaire at a first visit. I would be sure to mention the hand washing on the questionnaire. Also tell the pdoc about it when you meet face-to-face.

I think it's pretty common to be nervous the first time you see a pdoc. I know I was.

Good luck. Let us know how it went.

[*Laurie*]

I hope the appointment goes well. Good for you and your son for taking action to improve his life!

[cakeladie]

Just an update. His appointment went good. They did put him on a low dose of lexapro. We go back in 2 weeks.

I told him not to be afraid to talk to the doctor that the doctor is the only one that could help him. No matter how much I love him I am not a doctor. I could hear him talking to the doctor I could not hear what he was saying but at least he was talking which is a good start. Like most kids with autism him does not do eye contact very well and I made sure before I walked out of the office that he looked me in the eye and said he can help you.

So we will see how it goes. Finger crossed.

[*Laurie*]

I'm so glad! That sounds like a very positive experience for your son. I sure hope so, cakeladie.

[cakeladie]

I do to we are all praying that this helps but I know that it will take time and we may have to increase the dosage or try something else or add something to it. But the fact that he asked for help is a plus and the fact that he did talk to the doctor is very encouraging.

I will keep you posted. His next doctors visit is in 2 weeks