HELP!!!

Heidi - posted on 11/30/2011

Better to try him with natural supplements such as Focus Attention, Gaba Plus and/or Sunshine Heroes Omega 3 with DHA. If you need more info. about these you can find them at: www.mynsp.com/herbs_health or contact me if you have any questions.

ERICA - posted on 08/28/2011

I am happy to report that he has started school and started new meds and is doing great he is in soccer and football and doing so well he even got out of special Ed math and into regular math the new meds and the therapy once a week is doing great o have my son back thank you all so much for listening have a blessed night

Teresa - posted on 07/08/2011

i feel so bad for our disciplianry efforts with our ADHD seven year old. The teacher said he gets out of his seat, wallers on the floor, calls out in class, hums, defiance, We would take everything away and homework was a nightmare. he was getting spanked every day. He was a biter in day care as a toddler, and then kind of a bully, and I like you, knew he was a sweet child. Now that he is on medication, his interactions with others are much more civil. Now my son never took knives to us, but I have a young cousin that is 15 and has been institutionalized for such things. I guess I shouldn't scare you, but the problem was his meds. They finally got him on the right meds and he has been fine since. his aggressiveness was only toward his mother and himself. I guess those were the two people expecting the most of him. Most people, even my aunt's sister thought it was a disciplinary problem, but anyone couuld see that this child had other issues. Just continue working with the docotrs, pray, and don't listen to those who know not what they are talking about. Just know you're not alone. My cousin is one of the most intelligent 15 year ols. Talking to him is like talking to an adult. Seriously. He is extremely intelligent, he just has some chemical imbalance issues.

Jane - posted on 07/02/2011

http://www.goodtherapy.org/types-of-ther... has a list of all the different types of therapy. Some forms of therapy are more helpful than others for different people. Anger Management is one we have used with our son. Cognative Behavioral Therapy has also been used with him, to try to get to the reasons why he gets angry and teach him to replace hurtful images with calming ones. A lot of kids do well with Equine Assisted Psychotherapy in that it allows them to let go of anger. A number of my friends who have worked with foster kids recommend Play Therapy very highly. Sand Tray therapy is recommended for kids who have trouble talking about their emotions. You might talk to your therapist to see if they have any suggestions for directions in which to go with your son that may help him.

You say that being in the hospital for two weeks hasn't done any good, that he is afraid of being away from you. Does the facility have any outpatient programs? Our nearest one has a school that kids can attend that mixes regular lessons with additional therapy. That might help him.

But to be honest, the one thing that helped my son the most was residential treatment. He was there for five months. I saw him every Friday for therapy together followed by time to hang out. The advantage of long term treatment was that it was consistent, it was focused on both reassuring him that we would never abandon him, and he went to school with teachers who understand how to work with kids with problems. It also had a neuropsychiatry unit that could look for physical causes, such as the brain damage found in my son, or epilepsy that presents as uncontrollable anger.

When your kids have problems, as a mom you are always afraid. You want them to grow to adulthood successfully and happily and you worry if it looks as though they might not. What does his therapist say you should try? What about his psychiatrist? And what do the folks at the hospital suggest?

Also, what meds were they using? Did they consider something besides PTSD? What about Bipolar Disorder, Conduct Disorder, Schizo-Affective Disorder?

And this is a bizarre thought but one that maybe should be ruled out: has he been checked to be sure he doesn't have either epilepsy or a brain tumor or problems with brain function?

Good luck, and be strong and patient. You will need both traits not only to deal with your son, but also with doctors, who are only too human.

ERICA - posted on 07/02/2011

He has been in the hospital for two weeks and it dont help he was also thought to have mood disorder nos but none of the meds help they just make it worse and more aggresive I am at my wits in he is a great kid at times and very smart he was loved and taken care of as a infant and one of his biggest fears is being taken away from me like before when his dad took him and I just can't hopitalize him i love him and want to hel[ him in all the ways I can but i just can't make it with him being in a mental place and they do have a great one here but I am just afraid and no sure of what to do anymore but thank you so much for your input have a blessed day

Jane - posted on 07/01/2011

He may need more or different medications. If he is a risk to himself or others, as the knife incident indicates, then you may need to consider hospitalization for a week or two, so he can have therapy every day and so they can see if other meds are indicated. Do you have a reliable psychiatric hospital with a children's unit near you?

I say this because my son was diagnosed with ADHD and ODD when he was 5. He got worse over time, in spite of counseling and medication adjustments. He, too, threatened me with knives. He set fires. He destroyed his possessions. He made huge holes in the walls. He attacked his sister. Then, when he was 7, he tried to kill himself and his sister. He ended up in a psychiatric hospital for three weeks.

He was diagnosed as being bipolar while he was there, and his medications were changed. The intensive therapy helped for a while, but the process repeated itself, culminating in another suicide attempt when he was 9, and self-mutilation when he was 11. Eventually he was placed in residential treatment for 5 months.

The particular facility included a neuro-psych unit so they could discover what parts of his brain weren't working correctly. He was adopted and his mother had no prenatal care. At birth he was not breathing and some brain damage may have happened at that time. In addition, his birth mother has some untreated psychiatric problems that she may have passed on. And finally, my son was with his birth mother for a week. Her mother was worried enough that she had him removed to foster care for five weeks. Based on how he acted even as a tiny baby we also believe that his ability to bond was damaged.

Your son may have some characteristics that make him respond badly to the treatment he got from his father. Also, some mental difficulties are genetic. If his dad has difficulties, he may have passed them on to your son both through his genes as well as through his treatment of him.

The important phrase to remember is "risk to himself or others." At that point, the safest thing to do for him and you is have him placed somewhere that he will be safe and can get intensive treatment.

Another thing to remember is that he has three areas in his social life: home, school, and friends. As long as he can function in at least one of these areas weekly therapy is fine. But when he has problems in all three, that is the time to change his meds or consider hospitslization.

ERICA - posted on 07/01/2011

he is seeing both one for therapy and one for meds we do think it is a much deeper issue cause he was taken from me for a year by there dad cause he wanted them and i have custody of them and he abused him so it is was deeper he has adhd odd and ptsd and we are in trama therapy but it is just the baby steps as they call it but than you so much for the input have a blessed day

Alexandra - posted on 06/30/2011

When you say therapy, is he seeing a psychologist or a psychiatrist? Maybe there is a deeper root to the issue that a psychologist could bring out rather than using the drugs as a bandaid effect? It might not work but it's worth a try. Good luck xx