jennifer615
New Member
Hi, I'm Jennifer from Australia. My son, Joshua, has just been diagnosed with ODD, although I have suspected it for years.
From when he was a baby, before 2, I knew there was something different about him and knew he had ADHD. He couldn't get diagnosed until he was 5, despite tearing the paediatrist's posters off the wall. When he was 5 he was diagnosed with ADHD (which I knew all along he had), and was first put on Ritalin. It worked well during the day, but he went crazy at night when it wore off, much worse than normal, so we then put him on dexamphedamine. That worked quite well, but he wasn't eating, so he was but on Strattera, which he has been on for a few years. It works a bit but n Occupational Therapist (OT) too well.
In December last year I split up with my husband, but he is still in regular contact with our 2 boys (the youngest is 5, and an absolute angel). He has been so naughty lately. The main problems I have with him, is that he is always teasing, criticizing and winding up his little brother and hits and slaps him often. I always seem to be jumping between them and trying to disipline Joshua. He also often treats me with complete disrespect and is very manipulative. He is a prolific liar, and has stolen before from me, and from shops.
The funny thing is that he is very very intelligent, and is way advanced for his age. He was surfing the net at 5 and knows so much about space and planets (which is one of his interests). He can also be adorable when it is just me and him. He will hug me and tell me that he loves me. I always let him know how happy it makes me when he is good, and give me rewards and things to work towards, but he always reverts back to his old self.
I have been feeling at the end of myself. I am just always disiplining him. I have been in tears so many times due to his behaviour. My younger son runs to me to comfort me, but Joshua just sits there with a narky expression on his face. His father is not much support. He seems more interested in making me out to be a bad parent. I suggested that Joshua live with him for a while, which he said might be a possibility, but when the boys visited him, he told them that if Joshua lives with him, he will take the younger one too, and the courts will be on his side.
He is usually not as bad at school, but he got suspended for 2 days last week. He has been swearing, and when he got into trouble, he tried to be smart by saying things like "****zhu" and "firetruck" instead of the actual words, and had to see the principal. He got onto an inappropriate website and was sent to the principal for that. Within 5 minutes of going back to the classroom, they were having a slide presentation and there was a photo of a gymnist in mid air, and he put his head between her legs, which lead to his suspension.
I have suspected for a while that he has ODD as well as ADHD. He has been seeing a paediatrist and a child psychologist, but nothing seems to be working. The child psychologist believed he had ODD, and the paediatrist confirmed it.
In one way this diagnosis has explained alot of things and in another way, I'm very worried about his prognosis. He is destined to be a criminal and end up in jail? Will he end up hating me? Is there nothing but heartache in the future, until he eventually leaves? Will he eventually commit suicide? I know this sounds terrible, but I love him so much, and I am so upset about this. I worry about my younger son, who is always hit, slap, teased and criticized, but the child psychologist doesn't seem to be that concerned and said that he will eventually realise that his brother is different.
Anyway, thanks for reading this, and if you have any advice etc, I would appreciate it. Thanks. Jennifer
From when he was a baby, before 2, I knew there was something different about him and knew he had ADHD. He couldn't get diagnosed until he was 5, despite tearing the paediatrist's posters off the wall. When he was 5 he was diagnosed with ADHD (which I knew all along he had), and was first put on Ritalin. It worked well during the day, but he went crazy at night when it wore off, much worse than normal, so we then put him on dexamphedamine. That worked quite well, but he wasn't eating, so he was but on Strattera, which he has been on for a few years. It works a bit but n Occupational Therapist (OT) too well.
In December last year I split up with my husband, but he is still in regular contact with our 2 boys (the youngest is 5, and an absolute angel). He has been so naughty lately. The main problems I have with him, is that he is always teasing, criticizing and winding up his little brother and hits and slaps him often. I always seem to be jumping between them and trying to disipline Joshua. He also often treats me with complete disrespect and is very manipulative. He is a prolific liar, and has stolen before from me, and from shops.
The funny thing is that he is very very intelligent, and is way advanced for his age. He was surfing the net at 5 and knows so much about space and planets (which is one of his interests). He can also be adorable when it is just me and him. He will hug me and tell me that he loves me. I always let him know how happy it makes me when he is good, and give me rewards and things to work towards, but he always reverts back to his old self.
I have been feeling at the end of myself. I am just always disiplining him. I have been in tears so many times due to his behaviour. My younger son runs to me to comfort me, but Joshua just sits there with a narky expression on his face. His father is not much support. He seems more interested in making me out to be a bad parent. I suggested that Joshua live with him for a while, which he said might be a possibility, but when the boys visited him, he told them that if Joshua lives with him, he will take the younger one too, and the courts will be on his side.
He is usually not as bad at school, but he got suspended for 2 days last week. He has been swearing, and when he got into trouble, he tried to be smart by saying things like "****zhu" and "firetruck" instead of the actual words, and had to see the principal. He got onto an inappropriate website and was sent to the principal for that. Within 5 minutes of going back to the classroom, they were having a slide presentation and there was a photo of a gymnist in mid air, and he put his head between her legs, which lead to his suspension.
I have suspected for a while that he has ODD as well as ADHD. He has been seeing a paediatrist and a child psychologist, but nothing seems to be working. The child psychologist believed he had ODD, and the paediatrist confirmed it.
In one way this diagnosis has explained alot of things and in another way, I'm very worried about his prognosis. He is destined to be a criminal and end up in jail? Will he end up hating me? Is there nothing but heartache in the future, until he eventually leaves? Will he eventually commit suicide? I know this sounds terrible, but I love him so much, and I am so upset about this. I worry about my younger son, who is always hit, slap, teased and criticized, but the child psychologist doesn't seem to be that concerned and said that he will eventually realise that his brother is different.
Anyway, thanks for reading this, and if you have any advice etc, I would appreciate it. Thanks. Jennifer