Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New profile posts
Latest activity
Internet Search
Members
Current visitors
New profile posts
Search profile posts
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Forums
Parent Support Forums
General Parenting
Born drug positive...wild 3 yr old
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="BusynMember" data-source="post: 80298" data-attributes="member: 1550"><p>I adopted a drug exposed little boy. You do have to take it into consideration. First of all, if Birthmom did drunks, she didn't exactly say "no" to alcohol during her pregnancy. Ingesting alcohol in pregnancy can cause the very serious fetal alcohol syndrome. It used to be known only as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) with the children having dysmorphic features, but it has morphed and we now know that alcohol affected kids have worse problems than even those exposed to cocaine, and it doesn't always show physically nor does it indicate mental retardation, as once thought. That can't be ruled out. Then, our kids inherit genes from their biol parents. If the birthmom abused drugs (like our son's also did) it is unrealistic not to think she had other mental or neurological disorders which she could have passed on to the child. Common are bipolar disorder and autism spectrum disorder (our son is on the Spectrum). Also, drug affected children are far more likely to have forms of autism. Did you get your child at birth? If he has had several homes before yours, or was abused in his home of birth, he could also have attachment problems. We were lucky--our son's birthmom dumped him in the hospital and never returned so he only lived with one very loving foster family. They suspected ADHD, but it was far more than that. The older he got, the more apparent it became that he was different. He was defiant as a toddler, but not when he got older--then he was just "quirky." Although he was above average, he coudn't perform in school. He is fourteen now and the dearest child on earth, but he is very quirky and, in spite of his normal IQ, for various reasons will need some help as an adult, which is fine with us. These adopted kids who are drug exposed are very tricky to diagnose and often defy any diagnosis. The best advice I can give you, because it took so long to sort out our son, is to see a neuropsychologist or even a specialist used to seeing kids who are drug and alcohol exposed. Have him completely evaluated and get him into interventions. Early intervention made my child the productive young man he is today.Without them, he would be a mess. The diagnosis doesn't matter right now--the interventions do.As he ages, keep having him evaluated because he will change and more will come out, and you can help him to the max the more you know. Your child is not your normal, average "acting out" child. You likely have a limited history on him and he had a very traumatic in utero experience with all those chemicals. The doctors feel my son may be on the autism spectrum because his birthmom did drugs during her pregnancy. We are lucky that he doesn't have worse. I wish you luck and hope you realize this is a long journey with no easy answers.</p><p>One last thing: I have four other kids (three adopted, but NOT special needs adoption). Three years olds don't act that way. They are usually easy to shop with and, while sometimes hyper, easy to redirect. Most don't say "no" or "shut up" after being reprimanded. There is a problem when a child is just a whirlwind of energy and defiance.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="BusynMember, post: 80298, member: 1550"] I adopted a drug exposed little boy. You do have to take it into consideration. First of all, if Birthmom did drunks, she didn't exactly say "no" to alcohol during her pregnancy. Ingesting alcohol in pregnancy can cause the very serious fetal alcohol syndrome. It used to be known only as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) with the children having dysmorphic features, but it has morphed and we now know that alcohol affected kids have worse problems than even those exposed to cocaine, and it doesn't always show physically nor does it indicate mental retardation, as once thought. That can't be ruled out. Then, our kids inherit genes from their biol parents. If the birthmom abused drugs (like our son's also did) it is unrealistic not to think she had other mental or neurological disorders which she could have passed on to the child. Common are bipolar disorder and autism spectrum disorder (our son is on the Spectrum). Also, drug affected children are far more likely to have forms of autism. Did you get your child at birth? If he has had several homes before yours, or was abused in his home of birth, he could also have attachment problems. We were lucky--our son's birthmom dumped him in the hospital and never returned so he only lived with one very loving foster family. They suspected ADHD, but it was far more than that. The older he got, the more apparent it became that he was different. He was defiant as a toddler, but not when he got older--then he was just "quirky." Although he was above average, he coudn't perform in school. He is fourteen now and the dearest child on earth, but he is very quirky and, in spite of his normal IQ, for various reasons will need some help as an adult, which is fine with us. These adopted kids who are drug exposed are very tricky to diagnose and often defy any diagnosis. The best advice I can give you, because it took so long to sort out our son, is to see a neuropsychologist or even a specialist used to seeing kids who are drug and alcohol exposed. Have him completely evaluated and get him into interventions. Early intervention made my child the productive young man he is today.Without them, he would be a mess. The diagnosis doesn't matter right now--the interventions do.As he ages, keep having him evaluated because he will change and more will come out, and you can help him to the max the more you know. Your child is not your normal, average "acting out" child. You likely have a limited history on him and he had a very traumatic in utero experience with all those chemicals. The doctors feel my son may be on the autism spectrum because his birthmom did drugs during her pregnancy. We are lucky that he doesn't have worse. I wish you luck and hope you realize this is a long journey with no easy answers. One last thing: I have four other kids (three adopted, but NOT special needs adoption). Three years olds don't act that way. They are usually easy to shop with and, while sometimes hyper, easy to redirect. Most don't say "no" or "shut up" after being reprimanded. There is a problem when a child is just a whirlwind of energy and defiance. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Parent Support Forums
General Parenting
Born drug positive...wild 3 yr old
Top