Another Newbie - with a medication question

[ajsoftware]

Hi all, I'm Anita, and I just found this board. My 10 year old son has ODD, with no apparent other diagnosis. We've been doing a social communication group, and therapy, but are wondering if there is any kind of "mood stabilizing" medication that might help. B is such a nice boy on a day to day basis, but then something will set him off and we have meltdowns to the nth degree, and everything else. On Saturday he pushed a boy who was laughing because B got out in a dodgeball game. He just lashed out. Then, when we got home, I told him he had to go to his room and clean it, and the end result was stomping up the stairs, slamming the door, and at one point going in to my bedroom and taking my cordless phone, TV remote, and hubby's slippers, and hiding them (that's his standard M.O. -- hiding our stuff). Later in the evening when all was calm, we asked him if he took the stuff, and he lied. When we caught him in the lie, he said he was afraid he'd get in more trouble for hiding the stuff. Getting in trouble for the lie didn't occur to him at all.

He's having trouble in all aspects of his life, and he's supposed to go to sleep-away camp for 4 weeks this summer. I'm afraid he's going to get kicked out if we don't get this more under control. He went for 2 weeks last summer, and the parent liaison called me almost every day. We have a meeting with the camp director at the end of the month, and I don't know what's going to happen. He's a twin, and she's going to camp, as are all of their friends, and their cousins. He loves the camp and had a blast last summer. He just isn't able to see the potential disaster.

I don't necessarily want to drug my kid (at least not more than he already is, as he has food and environmental allergies, and takes medications for that), but I want him to have a successful summer camp experience, too.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

-Anita

 

[pepperidge]

HI Anita,

Welcome. You say he has been doing therapy--is that who gave him the ODD diagnosis? Is there any possibility he might have Asperger's or ADHD? Not all ADHD manifests itself as hyperactivity. Does he get in trouble at school? Or only at home and in camp?

If you are thinking about medicating him for camp (and beyond that), then your best bet is to move very quickly to get an appointment with a child pyschiatrist (psychiatrist). ODD is not a very helpful diagnosis --seems like just about every imaginable diagnosis for kids comes with some version of ODD--you might also want to get him tested by a neuropsychologist.

medications have made an enormous difference for my kids--and their ODD. But figuring out what is going on is important, so you know what class of medications to begin iwth. There is no one medication for ODD per se.

good luck.

 

[TerryJ2]

Hi Anita, welcome.
We've got our son on Adderal (Concerta) in the a.m, and Imiprimine at night. We use Clonidine in between. It works very quickly and helps calm his agitation if he's going to rage. Now, getting him to take it while he's raging is impossible, so it should be on a routine, perhaps lunchtime or mid-afternoon.
We tried Zoloft but my son had a horrible reaction to it.
He's still quite surly, but in general he isn't lashing out any more. At 10, you're getting into the hormonal stage, so I'd do more therapy and role playing. But other than that, you're going to have to "sample" several medications and that takes a while. Don't know if you'll have what you want by June or July ...

 

[pepperann915]

My 10 yr old had ADHD and ODD He takes medications for ADHD but not any medications for ODD only theropy I don;t believe there r any medications for that. My son is totally out of control .We walk on egg shells around him not to set him off.And school is an awful time for him.They don't understand or don't care one

 

[ajsoftware]

Thank you to all who have replied thus far! He got the diagnosis. from a neuropsychologist. He did ADD testing, intelligence testing, etc., and determined that there were no indications of any kind of ADD or ADHD, or of Asperger's. If you look at the symptoms of ODD that are written out there, he's got every single one, and very few for Asperger's that are not overlapping. I am in the Special Education. field, so I'm very familiar with Aspergers, Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD), and Autism, and I am inclined to think that's not the case for him as well.

The neuropsychologist who saw him emailed me and said to call him tonight to discuss this. We have our therapy appointment. on Thurs., and I emailed the therapist to give her a heads-up as well.

Luckily for us, the school has been very cooperative. His current teacher really "gets" him, and has worked very hard this year to help us. The school principal used to be the head of our district's Special Education. dept., so she understands it well. We have a 504 in place with accommodations that help him get more immediate rewards and consequences, as he responds better this way than some of the general school policies. It's not perfect by a longshot, but at least he's not being singled out anymore as the "bad" kid. He's also very bright, and excels in academics, and when he gets rewarded for that, he is very happy.

Thanks, and I will keep you posted after I talk with the doctor tonight.

-Anita