ExtraDAN: DAN doctors

[Guest guest]

DAN doctors – There will be a new format for selecting DAN doctors

and putting their name on the ARI list. Before, a person with no

experience in AS therapy could simply attend one DAN conference and

they were on the list. This gave the following result on the system

(I heard the following descriptions, select the one you like best):

a. not adequate

b. needs to be reevaluated

c. didn't work out

d. dismal failure

e. I would have been better off using the Yellow Pages

The DAN people say they will try to use a different criteria so the

DAN list will be far more useful. This will include adding things

such as the doctors' specialties, interests, geographic region, and

if they are taking new patients in person, by phone consultation, or

not at all. Hopefully, this will be more meaningful to both the

parents and the doctors.

If anyone has any other suggestions that would help the DAN folks

make the list more useful for everyone, now would be a great time to

submit those ideas to the ARI site. They are really trying to make it

a quality, effective resource. It would be great to let them know

what you like see and what they are doing already that is working

well. They are quite short-handed with doctors getting into this area.

so, 2 points:

1. If you haven't found a DAN doctor yet, don't worry that you are

substantially missing something. There are only a very few who are

very knowledgeable, and most of them are not taking new patients

anyway.

2. If you met with a DAN doctor and had a not-so-great experience,

you may want to give it another look in a few months with the new

selection system.

Dr. Amy Holmes was taking names of the " new " DAN doctors and whether

they were even taking patients or not (some on the previous list were

only into research). She said to give her a day or two to get it

finished and it will be on the ARI site and/or her site (does anyone

know the url? I can look for it later).

I just looked and it is not up now. Check either of the following

links in the following days:

http://www.autism.com/ari/contents.html#icbr (ARI home page)

http://www.autism.com/ari/danlist.html (ARI DAN dr. list)

They also said they are quite short on knowledgeable people, and if

you can not get in to see someone good, find a local agreeable doctor

of some kind (ped, neuro, development specialist, anyone) who will

work with you. They can order the protocol (make sure you ask for and

get the NEW one), and you and the doc can do it together. They said

they will make an effort to assist local doctors under these

conditions and this was a good alternative. They realize the entire

thing is in flux, treatments are still as little chaotic, and really

are trying to meet the great need. Amy Holmes outlined her chelation

protocal and that is another post.