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General Parenting
4-y-o with ODD and possibly BiPolar (BP)
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<blockquote data-quote="aimeefitz" data-source="post: 220269" data-attributes="member: 6462"><p>Hmmm. No diagnostic "tests" per se were administered. We had 2 two-hour sessions, about 4 months apart, initiated both by me. Basically the private psychologist was "just" a PhD who specializes in children. He was in our insurance network. His office clearly indicated he worked with children, but to what degree or in what exact capacity, I don't know.</p><p> </p><p>Basically he asked us as bunch of questions about my son's behavior, situations, etc. Talked about our parenting, and reassured me that our parenting was fine - that the issue was with our son. The second time we went, it was like he was frustrated with us because I expected him to "do" something - he's like, look you can medicate and mainstream him, or try to put him in a Special Education program. There's nothing that I can do to really help you at this point. Which was disappointing to me. I expected some sort of therapy sessions - but he said my son doesn't need therapy.</p><p> </p><p>The child psychiatrist was pretty much the same - the only pediatric psychiatrist in the network, and we spent about an hour talking about behaviors, and she agreed with the psychologist's diagnosis of ODD and prescribed the respridol. She was hesitant to go along with the BiPolar (BP) and said that it would "emerge" more clearly as he got older if it was true.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>I am so buying that book TODAY. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We had a full assessment - this is exactly what I did, and the whole process was interesting, but not helpful. He had an audiology session, a vision screening, a speech/Occupational Therapist (OT) evaluation (actually, the assessor stopped half way and said, I'm just going to play with him for the rest of the session, since he clearly has no pathology.) </p><p> </p><p>What you said above is correct - but the school psychologist said, our programs are not appropriate for him because he exceeds the educational requirements for meeting kindergarten. He would run circles around the other children in the program, who are mostly Downs, autistic, blind/deaf etc. She thought that he would not be getting the appropriate education in the Special Education program because of this. Based on his academic performance alone, he is more than capable - and the only way she saw that he could get into any program was to define him as "severely emotionally disturbed" and she thought that was bit extreme considering he is, half of the time, perfectly happy and obedient. </p><p> </p><p>She assessed him by interviewing us, using the "Vineland-11 Adaptive Behavior Scales" according to her report and my IEP. My sons "results were within the average range across the three domains, including all subdomains."</p><p> </p><p>We completed the "Behavior Assessment System for Children" on him, and he was scored in the "clinically significant range" for externalizing problems, behavioral symptoms index, and adaptive skills. The psychologist said that "it is important to note that while [my son] is rated within the clinically significant range in several areas, the majority of these areas appear to be related to compliance and impulsivity issues rather than emotional disturbance."</p><p> </p><p>This is probably waaay more info than you need, but the school district does not see this as an emotional disturbance. When I asked about the bipolar diagnosis, she said that when that was confirmed, then he could be re-assessed, but that it was still possible to keep him in the mainstream if he was appropriately medicated.</p><p> </p><p>The outcome from the school district IEP was to meet with his kindergarten teacher before the school year (which doesn't start until July) and come up with a "plan" and that the Special Education department would arrange the meeting, and assist with the plan. If he was unable to stay in the regular setting, we could also have him re-evaluated, pending the advice of the kindergarten teacher. (And depending how many other children he bites, kicks, scratches or pinches - or his teachers or teachers' aides.) </p><p> </p><p>What I'm worried about is the period between now and then - he's at an in-home daycare that seems to be working, but I suspect that she is not being 100% truthful with us. I don't know why. We found out that another daycare was not being truthful with us, after 6 weeks we got a call just to come get him and never bring him back. We were shocked since we thought he was doing well. He had been having problems, but the teacher thought she could handle it, and that he would get better. And then the last straw was when he LOCKED her our of her house, stood there laughing at her and wouldn't let her in. Then, when she climbed in through a window, he kicked her, then bit her.</p><p> </p><p>So, while things seem calm for now, I'm seriously waiting for the other shoe to drop - and then, what will do until the school year starts?</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>I do not have a history, except for depression - I was adopted. There is nothing on my husband's side except alcohol and drug abuse. I suspect things on his father's side but his dad moved out when he was 18 and never looked back.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>100% developmentally normal. Super, super bright. His speech is fantastic for his age, motor skills all on target. In fact, from the IEP report: his "mean length of utterance is 5.1. This is appropriate for [son's] chronological age. He spoke in four to seven word sentences and used expanded and complex sentences. His connected speech was intelligible and easy to understand."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>None that I have observed. He does get freaked out by plants, especially flowers. He is very fearful of unknown animals - we have raccoons in our neighborhood, and although he thinks they're cute, he's terrified one is going to come into his room. Same for coyotes. We took a walk yesterday and he wanted to know if the live oak trees on the path were going to eat him... </p><p> </p><p> </p><p></p><p> </p><p>He doesn't like loud sounds - he is terrified of the automatic flushing toilets. That was really hard for us to get around when he was being potty trained. We since have learned to hold our hands over the sensor until he is up and at the other end of the stall. He used to cover his ears and scream when the toilet flushed. They are, really, very loud.</p><p> </p><p>Sometimes, if I yell to him (like, come eat dinner), and I'm too close, he says, you scared me mommy! you're too loud! </p><p> </p><p>So I guess that counts!</p><p> </p><p>I appreciate any feedback - I know this was very long ,and probably waaay too much information, but I wanted you to know that we've been serious about doing this the right way!</p><p> </p><p>Aimee <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="aimeefitz, post: 220269, member: 6462"] Hmmm. No diagnostic "tests" per se were administered. We had 2 two-hour sessions, about 4 months apart, initiated both by me. Basically the private psychologist was "just" a PhD who specializes in children. He was in our insurance network. His office clearly indicated he worked with children, but to what degree or in what exact capacity, I don't know. Basically he asked us as bunch of questions about my son's behavior, situations, etc. Talked about our parenting, and reassured me that our parenting was fine - that the issue was with our son. The second time we went, it was like he was frustrated with us because I expected him to "do" something - he's like, look you can medicate and mainstream him, or try to put him in a Special Education program. There's nothing that I can do to really help you at this point. Which was disappointing to me. I expected some sort of therapy sessions - but he said my son doesn't need therapy. The child psychiatrist was pretty much the same - the only pediatric psychiatrist in the network, and we spent about an hour talking about behaviors, and she agreed with the psychologist's diagnosis of ODD and prescribed the respridol. She was hesitant to go along with the BiPolar (BP) and said that it would "emerge" more clearly as he got older if it was true. I am so buying that book TODAY. We had a full assessment - this is exactly what I did, and the whole process was interesting, but not helpful. He had an audiology session, a vision screening, a speech/Occupational Therapist (OT) evaluation (actually, the assessor stopped half way and said, I'm just going to play with him for the rest of the session, since he clearly has no pathology.) What you said above is correct - but the school psychologist said, our programs are not appropriate for him because he exceeds the educational requirements for meeting kindergarten. He would run circles around the other children in the program, who are mostly Downs, autistic, blind/deaf etc. She thought that he would not be getting the appropriate education in the Special Education program because of this. Based on his academic performance alone, he is more than capable - and the only way she saw that he could get into any program was to define him as "severely emotionally disturbed" and she thought that was bit extreme considering he is, half of the time, perfectly happy and obedient. She assessed him by interviewing us, using the "Vineland-11 Adaptive Behavior Scales" according to her report and my IEP. My sons "results were within the average range across the three domains, including all subdomains." We completed the "Behavior Assessment System for Children" on him, and he was scored in the "clinically significant range" for externalizing problems, behavioral symptoms index, and adaptive skills. The psychologist said that "it is important to note that while [my son] is rated within the clinically significant range in several areas, the majority of these areas appear to be related to compliance and impulsivity issues rather than emotional disturbance." This is probably waaay more info than you need, but the school district does not see this as an emotional disturbance. When I asked about the bipolar diagnosis, she said that when that was confirmed, then he could be re-assessed, but that it was still possible to keep him in the mainstream if he was appropriately medicated. The outcome from the school district IEP was to meet with his kindergarten teacher before the school year (which doesn't start until July) and come up with a "plan" and that the Special Education department would arrange the meeting, and assist with the plan. If he was unable to stay in the regular setting, we could also have him re-evaluated, pending the advice of the kindergarten teacher. (And depending how many other children he bites, kicks, scratches or pinches - or his teachers or teachers' aides.) What I'm worried about is the period between now and then - he's at an in-home daycare that seems to be working, but I suspect that she is not being 100% truthful with us. I don't know why. We found out that another daycare was not being truthful with us, after 6 weeks we got a call just to come get him and never bring him back. We were shocked since we thought he was doing well. He had been having problems, but the teacher thought she could handle it, and that he would get better. And then the last straw was when he LOCKED her our of her house, stood there laughing at her and wouldn't let her in. Then, when she climbed in through a window, he kicked her, then bit her. So, while things seem calm for now, I'm seriously waiting for the other shoe to drop - and then, what will do until the school year starts? I do not have a history, except for depression - I was adopted. There is nothing on my husband's side except alcohol and drug abuse. I suspect things on his father's side but his dad moved out when he was 18 and never looked back. 100% developmentally normal. Super, super bright. His speech is fantastic for his age, motor skills all on target. In fact, from the IEP report: his "mean length of utterance is 5.1. This is appropriate for [son's] chronological age. He spoke in four to seven word sentences and used expanded and complex sentences. His connected speech was intelligible and easy to understand." None that I have observed. He does get freaked out by plants, especially flowers. He is very fearful of unknown animals - we have raccoons in our neighborhood, and although he thinks they're cute, he's terrified one is going to come into his room. Same for coyotes. We took a walk yesterday and he wanted to know if the live oak trees on the path were going to eat him... He doesn't like loud sounds - he is terrified of the automatic flushing toilets. That was really hard for us to get around when he was being potty trained. We since have learned to hold our hands over the sensor until he is up and at the other end of the stall. He used to cover his ears and scream when the toilet flushed. They are, really, very loud. Sometimes, if I yell to him (like, come eat dinner), and I'm too close, he says, you scared me mommy! you're too loud! So I guess that counts! I appreciate any feedback - I know this was very long ,and probably waaay too much information, but I wanted you to know that we've been serious about doing this the right way! Aimee :) [/QUOTE]
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4-y-o with ODD and possibly BiPolar (BP)
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