You could almost see this coming -- the predictable line from the doctor when things get to a certain stage and he knows that the parent has taken an active interest in her child's condition:

"I'm not exactly sure what’s wrong with you," the doc says to my son, "but the fact that you are keeping a detailed record of your symptoms in a daily journal is probably not helping, and I also wonder whether your mother’s involvement might be counter-productive…".

While feeling that this was yet further confirmation that the word ‘neuro’ in someone’s title is no guarantee that his understanding of PCS is better than yours (esp. if you are a pretty cluey parent who has been researching PCS pretty intensively for 4 mo.), I mumbled something deferential & polite and noted that my son’s journal had proved to be useful on a number of occasions, such as at visits to the Emergency Dept. to investigate acute symptoms.

At this point, my son leapt in and said, in so many words:

"Look doc – my symptoms are very real, and my mother has nothing to do with it. I know that she can be a bit overbearing at times [thanks, kid...], but what has been happening to me has been totally independent of any contact that I have had with my mother. The symptoms began before she was even aware of what had happened, and everything that has happened since – including new symptoms and the worsening of some existing ones – has been very real. I am experiencing these things, and they have nothing to do with whether I see my mother or with anything that she says!"

Champion performance -- and confirmation that his cognitive and verbal skills are still pretty sharp, despite the fairly debilitating physical symptoms!

And confirmation, as if any were required, that there is still a long way to go before the health-literacy ideal of 'information sharing' between patients, carers and clinicians is truly realised.