Doctors refer to the simultaneous presence of two or more chronic conditions as ?co-morbidity.? The term sounds scary, but it?s not uncommon for kids to receive a second? or even a third?diagnosis down the road, when they have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
?If you just look at the tip of the iceberg, you?re maybe going to miss what?s below the surface,? says Peter Nieman, a community-based paediatrician in Calgary.
When Michele Jarvie received a triple co-morbid diagnosis for her son Connor, then eight, she was relieved to finally have answers. But the labels of ADHD, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and anxiety disorder were just the beginning of a long journey to find the right medications and support for her kid, now 13. ?He was shutting down in school, not listening, getting fixated on what he wanted to do and not transitioning to other things,? says Jarvie. ADHD meds could not fully address Connor’s complex symptoms, and Jarvie ultimately moved her son to a private school for kids on the spectrum that had a staff psychologist, a life skills program and a one-to-five teacher-to-student ratio. She also enrolled him in an after-school program run by the Autism Aspergers Friendship Society to help with his social skills. This multi-pronged approach has been a key to Connor?s success and experts say the co-existing strategies are critical when treating complex neuro-developmental conditions.
Doron Almagor, a child and adolescent psychiatrist and ...