For Parents
As parents, we often worry and have questions. At Child First Pediatrics, we care about your concerns. This section is devoted to addressing some of the common questions we hear, educating parents about general topics and offering information to address your particular concerns.Attention Issues - Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit with Hyperactivity Disorder
We have the most comprehensive behavioral clinic for young people and adults with ADD/ADHD. Dr. Caplan has been helping people with these conditions for almost thirty years. It’s not just a specialty area – it’s his passion. He believes that all children are capable of excelling and this particular population of children is often misunderstood, misdiagnosed – or simply missed.ADHD/ADD is managed most successfully with positive behavioral motivation parenting techniques, together with the safest, longest lasting, medicine, when necessary. This approach enables the child, teen or adult to focus, be calm, sit still and control their impulses, while still keeping a happy, creative and enthusiastic personality.
We help the parent collect family history, school data and the results of any educational testing that has been done to determine the child’s learning style. We also do an initial screening to rule out any inherited anxiety and depression disorders. Along with feedback from experienced school teachers and psychologists, daycare providers, sports coaches, etc., the patient's history is reviewed before the initial appointment – saving both time and money for the parents and the child.
At the initial appointment, we screen for allergies, anxiety disorders, depression, hearing disorders, thyroid problems and auditory processing disorders which can impair the child’s ability to listen and remember what was said. We use cognitive behavioral therapy techniques to help the immature child learn the social skills needed to make and keep good friends.
In everything we do, we put the child first. We support parents (and step-parents) "to be on the same page” so the child feels love, support and consistency in his life. We also teach parents how to help the child control anger and anxiety, to reduce the need for anti-depressants.
In the event that behavior modification alone does not enable the child to work up to his or her potential and medication is prescribed, we moniter the medicine’s effect on pulse, blood pressure, growth, height and weight. We also track changes in school performance, appetite and sleep patterns. In short, we work with the patient, the parents and the school personnel to ensure that the child is successful in school and in life.
Dr. Caplan is a national speakers who train other pediatricians how to help and support these children and teens throughout their school years into adulthood. Videos and DVDs as well as age-appropriate books for children, teenagers and adults are available to our patient community.