Anyone have experience of CAMHS for their child?

teabag29

Hi, sorry if this is in the wrong forum but i know alot of posters on here have children with disabilities so hoping someone can advice me.

I have posted before regarding problems with my 12 year old dd. I got a letter last weeks from CAMHS saying they have discussed my dd and her case has been accepted and placed on their triage assessment waiting list and that an appt will be arranged as soon as one becomes available.

My first question is does anyone know how long the 1st appt usually takes or is it a case of how long's a piece of string? Also from your experience would you say CAMHS are pretty good? I'm looking at this as a step in the right direction and am praying they may be able to help my daughter and maybe give her a diagnosis.

Also at the bottom of the letter it lists the other people the letter has been sent to and next to this it gives our gp details and under that it says school doctor, then an adress in our city which when i looked it up on the net is the address of a paeditrician in the city which specialises in autism/aspergers and adhd. Is this usual? I mean I thought thats what CAMHS themselves were (specialists) so why has it been sent to another doctor?

Finally after looking into it more I have discovered when the 1st appt letter is sent out I will be sent something called a strengths and difficulties questionnaire, can anyone shed any light on this? Many thanks

when_will_it_end

hi tea bag

i have been dealing with CHAMS for a number of years in my experience i have found them to have been excellent in helping my daughter

if you have had an acceptance letter then i should imagine an appoint,ent will not be far behind

CHAMS is about childrens MH, my DD has weekly appointments more if needed the first few meeting will just be about them getting to know each other and building up a trust this has to the most important thing in the begining, please though if your child says that they do not like the CHAMS worker you must tell them, they will not be offended, a link has to be made for any progress to be made

my DD has like a plan of how or what issue they will work on for the next month or so if anything more important comes up tho they work on that, they work out coping stratagies for when DD gets mad/upset or wants to self harm an they try to see why she wants to do it as in what triggers it off

at the minute she is doing some CBT to try and combat her anxiety when out doors and other situations

our CHAMS also has there own psychatrist, this is a good thing because its easier for them to liase and discuss my DD, she tells them both different thing you see, so they work on a stratagie that will work for her and for them in trying to help

the questionnaire will be about what you think or it maybe for her to fill out, about what you/she thinks her strengths are and what they find difficult, it may even ask about her day to day life now, its just so they have some insight in to what some problems are, this will help at the first meetings, she may say she loves horses so the worker may talk about horses, its a way to build up a bond

the school doctor may have recieved a letter also but that does not mean that because he specialises in A,B,C that this is what is wrong with your child, he may just be the child psycologist in your area, and if CHAMS thinks that your child will benifit from such person they will already be aware

it may be that they will request to see your child anyway to see if there are any psycological issues that need adressing

it can be a drawn out process and there will be times that you may think she has all these specialists but she is not improving, she will be, it takes time

good luck xx

teabag29

Thankyou. It seems to have taken forever just to have got to this stage and now it seems this is just the beginning lol. I'm also a little concerned about the specialists not believing me about dd as she has 2 sides to her personality and her behaviour and issues are nowhere near as bad at school as they are at home and so when they speak to the school it may well sound like a different child.

Suffolk_Jock

No experience with my own kids. But had a lot of dealings with them when i worked for Children's Services.

First appointment can depend on a lot of factors. How many they have working for them at CAMHS, how long the waiting list is (if they have one) and also what they may be looking for in your child and if they consider there is a risk of harm to them or someone else. As an example here in Suffolk about 2 years ago when i had dealings with them there was a 6 month waiting list, unless there was a risk of harm then it was 24 to 48 hours.
They ask/send letters to other 'professionals' to build up a picture to help them make a diagnoses or were to start looking or to help with getting medication correct or the correct type of behavior management/counseling etc to use.
It is normal procedure, so don't worry. They are doing things correctly and are doing it for the to find the correct diagnoses so you get the right help and support. If they have given you some idea what they think it may be or when you know there are plenty of support groups etc you can turn to for more advice and help.
Strengths and difficulties sounds to me that they are asking you and family what your child does well were they struggle or have difficulty in coping this can be at home or school. This is one of your chances to make your case to get the correct help for your child go back as far as you can and i mean as far back even to a few months old if possible..

You have made it past the biggest hurdle and that is getting your child seen, if i was working with your child i would be very happy that CAMHS have taken them on as in the past i have had big 'fights' with them to see kids i was working with.

Good Luck

pandora205

Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire
http://www.sdqinfo.org/a0.html

This is used as a baseline assessment for children and young people with emotional or behavioural difficulties (and also to evaluate new interventions, etc.) There are versions for the child, parent and teacher.

It's very widely used in clinical settings and sometimes used in education, although not so often.

teabag29

pandora205 wrote: »

Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire
http://www.sdqinfo.org/a0.html

This is used as a baseline assessment for children and young people with emotional or behavioural difficulties (and also to evaluate new interventions, etc.) There are versions for the child, parent and teacher.

It's very widely used in clinical settings and sometimes used in education, although not so often.

Yes I found this online to and gave it a go. The scores showed my dd to be in the abnormal range for all of the sections (except hyperactivity where she was borderline) particularly the conduct section which is where she scored the highest and I think the school would score her high on this section to. Her father was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder age 11, I wonder if this is hereditory. My mum was also a skitzophrenic.

when_will_it_end

teabag29 wrote: »

Thankyou. It seems to have taken forever just to have got to this stage and now it seems this is just the beginning lol. I'm also a little concerned about the specialists not believing me about dd as she has 2 sides to her personality and her behaviour and issues are nowhere near as bad at school as they are at home and so when they speak to the school it may well sound like a different child.

try not to worry about what the school say, my DD was not as bad at school either but it did not matter.

im sure i read that you have had meetings ect with the school, i found my DD school really good, when she was late or sometimes not even go in they understood, we had a care/supervision plan but only really needed it in the last year and a half of her schooling when the voices kicked in an the atemted suicides became more frequent, the school and i called each other on a regular basis, even if it was something small like she seemed distant in one class today, they knew that she heard voices and that her paranoia kicked in with out warning so if she had a bad day they called my to let me know what i was coming home to, i actually could not praise the school enough for there help

its all about what your child eventually tells the people who want to help her, in the begining you will not find much progress and she may get sick of going an talking but it is a long drawn out process, she invited me along a few months ago as there were things she wanted to let me know but could not tell me, it was sadening, but im glad i know, you child may do the same with you sometimes

do ot forget about your self though have you a close friend that understands? even ask the doctor for some counciling your self, i did, an it really helps

when_will_it_end

teabag29 wrote: »

Yes I found this online to and gave it a go. The scores showed my dd to be in the abnormal range for all of the sections (except hyperactivity where she was borderline) particularly the conduct section which is where she scored the highest and I think the school would score her high on this section to. Her father was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder age 11, I wonder if this is hereditory. My mum was also a skitzophrenic.[/QUOTE]


i would mention this to CHAMS

teabag29

when_will_it_end wrote: »

try not to worry about what the school say, my DD was not as bad at school either but it did not matter.

im sure i read that you have had meetings ect with the school, i found my DD school really good, when she was late or sometimes not even go in they understood, we had a care/supervision plan but only really needed it in the last year and a half of her schooling when the voices kicked in an the atemted suicides became more frequent, the school and i called each other on a regular basis, even if it was something small like she seemed distant in one class today, they knew that she heard voices and that her paranoia kicked in with out warning so if she had a bad day they called my to let me know what i was coming home to, i actually could not praise the school enough for there help

its all about what your child eventually tells the people who want to help her, in the begining you will not find much progress and she may get sick of going an talking but it is a long drawn out process, she invited me along a few months ago as there were things she wanted to let me know but could not tell me, it was sadening, but im glad i know, you child may do the same with you sometimes

do ot forget about your self though have you a close friend that understands? even ask the doctor for some counciling your self, i did, an it really helps

Can I ask how old is your daughter and what age did she start hearing voices? My dd is 12 and she has only recently started hearing voices and talking to herself to

when_will_it_end

teabag29 wrote: »

Can I ask how old is your daughter and what age did she start hearing voices? My dd is 12 and she has only recently started hearing voices and talking to herself to

she started with the self harm at 12-13
the voices started around the age of 14

she is 17 now

teabag29

My dd harms herself when she gets frustrated but not cutting or anything like that she will headbutt or punch herself or bite her hands