Staying Calm... For Now

[TerryJ2]

Katherine, that is typical of these kids, especially the boys, to not want to talk about what they did all day. Then they'll start to talk about something really important about a week later, probably something you should have attended to, and act like it's normal, lol.

 

[TerryJ2]

Plexicos, and progress with-a neuropsychologist appointment?

 

[Wiped Out]

Yes, he reminds me of when my son was his age. We had a lot of worries when he was that age. He ended up being diagnosed with bipolar. We went through having him hospitalized (6 times eventually) and so many medication trials. He received therapy for many years. Twice a week for several years and then once a week for many more. Finally the right medications kicked in and all of those years of therapy started to show.

As I said things aren't perfect but they are so much better than I ever thought they would be.

 

[Plexicos]

No progress, but thats on me really. I need to get this in motion.

So is this a given? Is there any way this child grows up normally?

 

[Malika]

No, to be honest - not without an awful lot of help and intervention. Plain truth, I think.

 

[Wiped Out]

I think it depends on what one defines as "normal".

 

[Plexicos]

Well, normal is probably a poorly chosen word, but at the risk of sounding callous, I'll start by settling for avoiding one of the sad stories one finds on this forum.

 

[BusynMember]

There is no way to predict the future.

But this child needs a lot of help. The sooner, the better. If his parents are waiting for him to "outgrow" it, they'll most likely be in for a rough time in the teen years. Getting help will not hurt this child. Doing nothing can be a significant problem for his future...and the peace of your home.

There is no guarantee that professional help will be successful either, BUT at least then if something goes wrong you have done all you could when you still have control over what he does. When he gets into his teens...it is much harder to get a child to comply. At eighteen, your rights over the treatment are completely gone. Children with an ADHD diagnosis. have a much higher rate of substance abuse and other problems as they hit those teen years. And he is still young. Often there is more going on than just ADHD but it doesn't get dxd. until they are older.If his father is troubled, well, this poor kid has 50% of his father's DNA and heredity does come into play here.

Please urge her to take this child for a thorough evaluation while he is still young.

Good luck to you You are a caring person.

 

[InsaneCdn]

Hi, Plexicos...
I have two hard-to-diagnosis kids who are now teenagers. Just some random thoughts that might or might not add to the discussion...

1) ODD is not a useful diagnosis, except to acknowledge that a child has major problems and that there is something serious that needs to be investigated. We had it for a year or so as a "placeholder" diagnosis. There are no medications or therapies that I know of that work for "ODD" as such.

2) Dxes are "boxes" and our kids are not "square". If someone fits the definition for a "box", they can more easily get a diagnosis. But... lots of our kids are a bit of this and a bit of that. Even so, comprehensive testing helps. For example, someone can have Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)/Aspie "traits" and still "not meet diagnostic cutoff", which means... some of their behaviours and thought patterns are best looked at through the "Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)" lens, and strategies that work for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) people should be tried. There can be bits of various MH issues, developmental delays on any of several fronts, neuro-motor challenges, learning difficulties, and so on.

3) Family tree medical history, and prenatal exposure to various substances, have a significant impact on the make-up of every child. Some of these issues can be handled with knowledge, professional help and medications, others are just hard-wired (such as Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE)/Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)).

As others have said, it REALLY pays to get a comprehensive evaluation...

As a side-note, though, if this kid does well on Ritalin and horrible when it wears off or is missed... why isn't he at least on extended formats (like Concerta) and/or 24-hour ADHD medications such as Strattera? We found the 24-hour format to be a huge boost, as it gives a "baseline".

 

[Plexicos]

Thanks guys. Some really useful stuff. Im not quite sure about the medications, actually. I've kind of left her deal with it, but it may be related to the fact that he wouldnt swallow the pill so we had to crush it, and the only one that can be crashed is the 4 hour one. He has been swallowing it lately with me and then his teacher, but not with his mom, so hopefully this will allow a little more flexibility.

His mom was in no way a drug abuser or anything similar, so that is not an issue.

All in all, he has made a tremendous leap over the last year in all aspects. I get the sense that I may have painted a slightly negative picture of him, but that is really not the case. He is a super sweet kid, making alot of friends, with some anger issues, definitely ODD, and a supreme aversion to effort. Hopefully I'm not deluding myself in thinking that the positive trajectory will continue.

 

[Bertmery]

this kid definitely needs help. You have to keep an eye on him at least. Just like they said, I do believe he needs to be tested by a pediatric psychiatrist.