Need a Good Child Psychologist

Go to Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare in St. Paul (Regions Hospital.) My son was having some behavioral issues that puzzled his teachers, and our pediatrician (at Central Peds) sent us to Dr. Raymond Tervo at Gillette. We had an impressively thorough (and long! it took eight months from start to diagnosis) evaluation - audiology, opthamology, extensive psychological eval, and an OT eval. It took a long time, but by the time we got to a diagnosis (which did, full disclosure, end up being ADHD) both my husband and I felt truly confident that it was accurate and appropriate.

Feel free to contact me if you have more specific questions about our experience.

Dr. Steven Hughes has a private practice in St. Paul is excellent. His website is goodatdoingthings.com.

I'm a special ed. teacher and I don't think School Districts are able to diagnose and treat ADHD. They may encourage parents to go to the pediatrician or for outside evaluation.

I know that you don't trust the school district, but you might want to start there. If it turns out that they want to put her on medication, then you can always opt not to. If you do not like their opinion, you can get a second opinion. You might even be able to ask them where you could go for a second opinion. Just a thought... Good luck!

We like Randy Pottebaum at the Eagan Counseling Clinic. I don't know if that's too far for you to drive. He specializes in families and children. I think he visits another location, but that might be even further--maybe Lakeville? Send me a private message if you want more information.