Excellent point Lauren. A general doctor or pediatrician is looking for a diagnosis, while a therapist, acupuncturist, etc. is looking to correct the problem. I hadn’t actually considered that. I also recognized that a physical therapist is looking specifically at muscle and skeletal issues, she doesn’t look in my son’s ear, nose and throat 🙂 I think all doctors, therapists, etc serve a specific purpose but I just feel like generalists don’t spend much time with kids. I’m so happy to hear that your pediatrician is not the same as mine. Do you by any chance live near DC? Maybe I could try yours out 🙂 Also, I completely agree on learning the therapies at home. That helped my son immensely!

My daughter has been in physical therapy though Early Intervention since she was one, and the therapisst have been so great. I think a lot of it is that doctor’s just want a diagnosis, but the therapist is the one who actually shows you how to fix the problem. My daughter ages out of the program in a few months when she turns three, and we will be looking into private therapy at that time. (She will still likely get therapy at school/daycare, but I want to be able to see/learn what the therapist is doing so I can help at home.)

It’s very difficult to find good doctors these days. I think the best thing you can do is advocate for yourself and be very specific when you have symptoms. Don’t say something hurts, say I have a throbbing pain, a sharp pain, etc. Unless you are perfectly clear in what you expect and what you feel very few of them can help you. In my son’s case this is one of the best pediatricians we’ve found so far. We’ve dealt with a few others who were even worse!

I agree that certain doctors are worse than others, but overall I’ve found very few doctors who really take the time to look at their patients. I’ve dealt with my fair share, roughly 30 in a six month period, and only one of them took the time to really look and me and ask questions. 1 in 30 is a pretty disappointing number. If you find a doctor you really like stick with them!