A Doctor for Max

  When Max was tiny, a doctor for him was simple.
  We brought him to his brother's pediatrician.
  Later we found a neurologist for him also, because Max needed medication that the pediatrician did not feel qualified to dispense.
  We never got in with the local autism doctors, but the neurologist was an older man and knew autism as well as other areas of his field.  He became our autism doctor, and the pediatrician was our generalist who was willing to learn about autism along with us.
  We need qualified doctors like this.

  Then Max turned eightteen.
  While our pediatrician sees adults, it shouldn't have surprised us that he discharged both our young men at that point.  He is an urban doctor, a black man, whose clientele is primarily black.  Later i read that he originally became a doctor to serve underpriveleged black babies.
  Which my big white young men definitely are not.
  No hard feelings here, but a definite problem for us.

  Which became more of a problem for Max when his neurologist suddenly passed away a few months later.
  People with autism love things to be the same.
  And i have a problem with forging ahead.

  We did find new doctors in both areas, and, though i would be thrilled to recommend them to other people, they simply were not right for Max.
  Especially the internist.  He moved his practice into the midst of an assisted living center, then i saw that he had written papers on female problems.  But i had already thought he was coasting with Max.
  Not a bad doctor, you understand.  But not a good match.

  There is CYACC, a transition medical team for kids with special needs.  i've met representives of them at special needs fairs, but never had any success contacting the organization to work with them.  They sound like a great group; maybe you will have better success.

  Right now we have a psychologist/therapist, who prescribes Max's medications.  We don't spend a lot of time in the appointments, but it's enough to get meds that work, so i guess we have the right one.

Yesterday we began with a new internist.  i shouldn't get excited on a first visit, but it's hard not to.  This man was friendly and seemed genuinely interested in Max.  He related to both of us.  Max allowed him to examine his head, always a point of contention.  i don't think Max has ever had lab work in the absence of a specific problem.  We've got lab work ordered, just for a baseline to make sure there's no problem.
  Max really likes him.  i don't think he ever warmed up to the intervening doctor.
 So we'll see how this goes.  i think it will be great, probably not without problems, but the measure is not no problems, rather, how they are dealt with.
  We've got a great start.