My aunt told me this story recently, and I knew I had to share it. My cousin has extremely high special needs, and he needs nearly twenty-four-seven care and supervision. The neurologist’s office — the receptionist specifically — has been giving my aunt the runaround, not letting her speak to the doctor directly, and finally, the receptionist drops this gem.
Receptionist: “The doctor has recommended a psychiatrist. This is outside of his specialty. Once [Cousin] is seen by the psychiatrist, we will discuss the next steps.”
Aunt: “You’re sending my son to a shrink? He’s having seizures and rage episodes again!”
Receptionist: “Behavior issues are not in [Doctor]’s area of study.”
Aunt: “I don’t understand. I was told the raging was part of his seizures. Can I speak to the doctor?”
Receptionist: “No. Your son needs to be seen for his behavior issues before [Doctor] will see him.”
Aunt: “His seizures can cause behavior changes. It’s one of the signs I needed to look out for. This is seizure behavior, and [Cousin] is non-verbal. He won’t be able to speak to a therapist!”
Receptionist: “Once the psychiatrist works with him, the doctor will be willing to discuss further treatment. Until then, we will not schedule any appointments for [Cousin].”
So, defeated, [Aunt] takes [Cousin] to the recommended psychiatrist, already knowing what will happen. She gets them both checked in, gets [Cousin] settled, and then explains the situation to the shrink, whose jaw gets lower and lower the more she explains to him.
Psychiatrist: “I… am so sorry. I am completely baffled.”
Aunt: “Yeah. Me, too.”
Psychiatrist: “If you don’t mind waiting, I’m going to call them and get to the bottom of this.”
Aunt: “Take your time. I’d love to know what they were thinking, too.”
After the call…
Psychiatrist: “Okay, I’ve spoken with the neurologist’s office. I told them in no uncertain terms that a non-verbal autistic child with a diagnosed seizure disorder and autoimmune encephalitis wouldn’t benefit from traditional therapy in any way. I can’t help him, I don’t know anyone in my field who could help him, and I can’t believe they even made you take this step. He has neurological conditions that need to be treated by a neurologist.”
Aunt: “I tried to explain it to them, but they insisted. I figured they had to hear it from you.”
Psychiatrist: “Well, they definitely heard it from me. I won’t be charging you for this, and I would like to offer you some free sessions. This must be beyond stressful for you.”
Aunt: “I— Thank you. I think I could use it.”
And that’s the story of how my aunt’s new therapist had to explain to a neurologist’s office that seizures aren’t a psychological issue. My cousin is currently on a waitlist for a different neurologist.