OP ED wrote:i am curious about the "schizophrenia" diagnosis.
here in the united states this phrase can mean at least three distinct states. of these three states, only one of them, the organic, hole-in-the-brain sort of scizophrenia is only currently treatable [success ratio] with hardcore chemistry. the other two are, well, not really schizophrenia and can be treated in a number of ways, most of which i'd suggest are things the Psychiatrists i know would treat somewhat less aggressively, especially in a six yr old.
anyone know where we can look at the kid's PET scans?
[which should be a mandatory requisite for this sort of harsh treatment]
Thank you for having the ability to remind me that there is a true and monstrous problem in the real world that has nothing to do with the phantom projection of the board's collective narcissistic wounds about which most of the ranting and raving and cursing of the darkness on these subjects is generally directed. With a few assists from the PR specialists who ended up paying the most for the global rights to distribute the basic narrative parameters within which the ranting and raving ought to be channeled, as well as the guard-rails that keep it there.
Honey, the chances that her insurance was willing to pay for a PET scan,
and that it was done competently,
and that it was viewed insightfully by someone who knew what he or she was looking for and at are so remote as to be practically non-existent. And now that you mention it, I wonder how extensive even the really old-school pencil and paper (or crayon and computer, or stuffed animal, or house-person-tree or whatever) psychometric testing was. Because my guess would be: They barely did any. And that stuff's worthless unless you do so much of it that it turns the corner into: One of the most underutilized diagnostic instruments there is. Almost no insurance company's going to pay for as many labor hours as it would take to do a really thorough formal evaluation of even a mildly depressed child, let alone a frantically troubled and physically uncontrollable child. Plus, it kind of goes without saying, the value of every one of those tests, whether cutting edge or as-old-as-the-inkblot, that has any validity at all is very limited by itself. It really should be mandatory to do all of the ones that are non-invasive and have some chance of producing a meaningful result. At least then you'd have something more like a real starting place and less like the drugs-are-bad/good/the-best-or-only-option, children-are-wild-animals/need-structure, your-father-and-I-have-always-done-the-best-we-can free-for-all of passionately held theories, all of which have their pros and cons, but none of which are any more likely to be relevant to this child's well-being than any other.
Both the human mind and the human brain are way too complex for the human mind or the human brain to comprehend in more than a pretty partial and general sense, imo. Whether by theory or science. And a really tiny factor can make a pretty substantial difference. So you might as well ascertain everything that's ascertainable, such as it is.
For which the state should pay in full. Of course. But never will. Of course.
Also...I harbor some very faint and pale hope that a sleep disorder at least got some serious consideration as a rule-out. If only because it's something most pediatric-whatever-ists are aware of in some vague and general way. But certainly not enough to hang my hat on the proposition. I would just hope.
Actually, the thing that struck me as the only really strong indicator of some kind of parental culpability was the part about how they would run around with her thirteen or fourteen hours a day when she was an infant. I've never known any new parents who were so stupid or so freaked out or so clueless or so self-centered, or so some-combination-of-the-forgoing that their inability to distinguish the boundaries between themselves and their newborns led them to spend several years torturing a colicky baby without even knowing it. But I've known a whole grip of them who came close enough that it's a whole lot easier to imagine than I wish it were. Or than should ever even be possible. But you know. It's not like you have to get a license to have a baby.
