The numerous diagnoses given to children today resemble a veritable alphabet soup: ADHD, LD, ODD, OCD, AS, SID, CAPD, etc. To further complicate things, many children fall into different points on more than one spectrum, with one diagnosis overlapping another one. Parents, teachers, and other professionals who work with these children need a lot of guidance. Martin L. Kutscher, MD has provided a one-stop starting point. Welcome to Kids in the Syndrome Mix of ADHD, LD, Asperger’s, Tourette’s, Bipolar, and More! [Jessica Kingsley, 2005].
General Principles of Diagnosis and Treatment
Dr. Kutscher begins by outlining some basic rules that can apply to any of the diagnoses. Children often have multiple issues. Parents, teachers, and other caregivers know the child best and need to work together when searching for a professional diagnosis and when implementing strategies. They need to accept that the child is different and find coping strategies both for themselves and for the child to function at his best. They need to be realistic yet remain positive. They need to arm themselves with knowledge, starting with this book.
The Syndrome Mix
Many children have co-morbid disorders, which simply means that more than one disorder is occurring at once. The following list of potentially co-morbid disorders that Dr. Kutscher covers are listed in the same order they appear in the book: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Learning Disabilities (LD), Autistic Spectrum, Asperger’s Syndrome, Anxiety and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders (OCD), Sensory Integration Dysfunction (SID), Tics and Tourette’s, Depression, Bipolar Depression, Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), and Central Auditory Processing Disorders (CAPD).
One chapter is dedicated to each of the disorders. Characteristics of each disorder are given, with both official definitions and real-life examples. Dr. Kutscher provides an outline of typical treatment options, as well as strategies for home and school. He refers the reader to other places in the book, such as chapters on diagnosis, treatment, and available medications. He also refers the reader to key points given about common co-morbid disorders and demonstrates how the different disorders play off of each other.
Further Reading on Syndromes
Dr. Kutscher recognizes that it would be impossible to give absolutely all information about each syndrome in just one book. Thousands of pages have been written about each diagnosis found with each chapter. At the end of the book, there is a list of resources used to facilitate this book’s writing, as well as more information for the reader. He has listed extensive resources both as books and as Internet sites, and divided them accordingly by diagnosis.
Kids in the Syndrome Mix by Martin L. Kutscher, MD is an introduction to the various diagnoses with which a child could present. It is designed to help parents and professionals build a foundation of knowledge to begin to understand a child’s issues. It then clearly directs the reader toward more information, if further clarification is required.
Sources:
Kutscher, Martin L., MD with Attwood, Tony and Wolff, Robert R., MD. Kids in the Syndrome Mix of ADHD, LD, Asperger’s, Tourette’s, Bipolar, and More!: The one stop guide for parents, teachers, and other professionals. Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2005.
Pediatric Neurology Associates Website
Andrea Coventry - Andrea Coventry is a Montessori child, now Montessori educator, with 25 years' experience with children, publishing online since 2007.
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