Johnsmom's comment in another post

[Mary M]

The quote below is from Johnsmom from another post...I was wondering if anyone would be willing to elaborate further on Dr K's "interesting tests" and what we should expect from our intial consult next week.

 

"I was told by another parent on this forum that dr k has some very interesting ways to test our kids and to not intervene. I will be forever grateful..."

 

Thank you,

Mary

[MomWithOCDSon]

The quote below is from Johnsmom from another post...I was wondering if anyone would be willing to elaborate further on Dr K's "interesting tests" and what we should expect from our intial consult next week.

 

"I was told by another parent on this forum that dr k has some very interesting ways to test our kids and to not intervene. I will be forever grateful..."

 

Thank you,

Mary

Yes.

 

Basically, Dr. K. wants to take the child a bit off-guard; his theory (well-held, I believe) is that our kids -- especially the high-functioning ones -- can successfully mask their symptoms and "be on their best behavior" in front of a new adult, doctor, person of authority, etc. for the short duration of the appointment. So, he tries to throw them off so that he can peek behind that facade of politeness and suppressed emotion and see who the kid really is, and how he/she really reacts to different situations.

 

I'm not sure what he does with girls, but for boys, his current routine seems pretty standard; he brings in a Barbie doll in her box, and asks the boy if he wants to play with her. Then he goes on for a bit about how he loves Barbies, how he has x-many in his collection and which clothes he likes, etc. Our son turned to look at me as though thinking, "What quacko-whacko have you brought me to NOW, Mom?!?!" Then he may ask them some other sort of off-the-wall questions that come out of nowhere (non-sequiters), etc.

 

In this way, says Dr. K., he gets to assess if the kid is anxious, age-appropriate, atypically dependent on parents or siblings for his/her age, etc.

 

Then, after spending some time warming up the kid and talking to them about what they're thinking and feeling, he sends them out of the room with some paper and a quick small-motor assignment (writing/drawing) while he spends some time talking to the parents.

[Mary M]

Thank you for elaborating. I must admit, I was worried about Dr K not seeing our dd at her worst. I am honestly grateful that he attempts to provoke the child to illicit a response aside from the controlled, meeting a new person persona. I am curious as to what he does with a girl but now I know to keep my face straight and my mouth shut during this portion of the appointment.

[sf_mom]

Funny thing...... he will motion to you not to intervene while he is talking with your child. One time he had me go outside to my car to see how my son would react in my absence. In my friend's situation, her son was so caught off guard he just cried with his head buried in her lap.

[Phasmid]

OMG, this is the first time I have laughed at anything for over a week! And out loud!! Thanks for the way you told this...