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<blockquote data-quote="Marguerite" data-source="post: 290909" data-attributes="member: 1991"><p>Hi and welcome.</p><p></p><p>You sound like you've been through the wringer.</p><p></p><p>A couple of things we have learned that may help you -</p><p></p><p>1) ADHD medications can make a big difference but some kids have trouble with "rebound" where as the medications wear odff at the end of the day, it's as if all the problem behaviours that have been held in check all day, suddenly dup on you all at once. Nasty. A different medication may have been all that he needed, which makes me really angry if you got deflected down the ODD path. And it's not one particular medication that is at fault - difficult child 1 got rebound on ritalin (and his baby broter gets rebound on ritalin's long-acting big brother, Concerta) but neither boy gets rebound on dexamphetamine; but a friend of ours gets rebound on dexamphetamine and not ritalin.</p><p></p><p>2) ODD is in my opinion a real problem. Not because it's an untreatable disaster (as it has ben described) but because, in my opinion, there is a condition almost identical to ODD which actually has an environmental cause and responds well to a simple change in how you handle the child. Trouble is, too often parents are told, "Your child has ODD, it's untreatable with medications," and you feel like giving up. But when you have a child with a condition like ADHD, or bipolar, or autism, or any oneof a number of problems which include poor social skills, a short fuse, a high frustration level, then you have the stage set for a kid who will rapidly become oppositional in response to strict controlling-type of discipline. The best way to manage a kid like this is to go on treating the underlying condition and NOT get sidetracked into treating "ODD". An analogy - you are told you have diabetes, your doctor treats you for diabetes by giving you medication. Then another doctor tells you, "Your main problem is too high a blood sugar level," and implies that therefore you do not have diabetes. Which is crazy - if you stop treating your diabetes, the blood sugar level problems will become worse.</p><p></p><p>Whether ODD does really exist, I am not arguing. But I have seen too often a child labelled as ODD and untreatable, who actually is VERY treatable (and therefore doesn't have "real" ODD? although it seems indistinguishable) by simply changing discipline approaches and also managing the underlying condition more effectively.</p><p></p><p>A book we suggest here (and which turned around the ODD-type problems we were having) is "The Explosive Child" by Ross Greene. It's cheaper than a psychiatrist and probably more effective. Although I'm not saying, dump all therapy and just follow te book! But if nothing else has helped and you're at the end of your wits, give it a try. You've got nothing left to lose.</p><p></p><p>To get a bit of a preview, read the stickies in Early Childhood where there is some discussion on how to adapt the book to younger children. It can still give you an idea of how to go.</p><p></p><p>3) Adolescent hormones are ghastly, in the effect they have on our problem kids. But it needn't be all horror, there are things that can help. </p><p></p><p>Stick around, talk to other parents, read up on other threads and you will get a lot of useful information. Feel free to dump on us if you're stuck or at screaming point, we've all been there and can help.</p><p></p><p>Marg</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Marguerite, post: 290909, member: 1991"] Hi and welcome. You sound like you've been through the wringer. A couple of things we have learned that may help you - 1) ADHD medications can make a big difference but some kids have trouble with "rebound" where as the medications wear odff at the end of the day, it's as if all the problem behaviours that have been held in check all day, suddenly dup on you all at once. Nasty. A different medication may have been all that he needed, which makes me really angry if you got deflected down the ODD path. And it's not one particular medication that is at fault - difficult child 1 got rebound on ritalin (and his baby broter gets rebound on ritalin's long-acting big brother, Concerta) but neither boy gets rebound on dexamphetamine; but a friend of ours gets rebound on dexamphetamine and not ritalin. 2) ODD is in my opinion a real problem. Not because it's an untreatable disaster (as it has ben described) but because, in my opinion, there is a condition almost identical to ODD which actually has an environmental cause and responds well to a simple change in how you handle the child. Trouble is, too often parents are told, "Your child has ODD, it's untreatable with medications," and you feel like giving up. But when you have a child with a condition like ADHD, or bipolar, or autism, or any oneof a number of problems which include poor social skills, a short fuse, a high frustration level, then you have the stage set for a kid who will rapidly become oppositional in response to strict controlling-type of discipline. The best way to manage a kid like this is to go on treating the underlying condition and NOT get sidetracked into treating "ODD". An analogy - you are told you have diabetes, your doctor treats you for diabetes by giving you medication. Then another doctor tells you, "Your main problem is too high a blood sugar level," and implies that therefore you do not have diabetes. Which is crazy - if you stop treating your diabetes, the blood sugar level problems will become worse. Whether ODD does really exist, I am not arguing. But I have seen too often a child labelled as ODD and untreatable, who actually is VERY treatable (and therefore doesn't have "real" ODD? although it seems indistinguishable) by simply changing discipline approaches and also managing the underlying condition more effectively. A book we suggest here (and which turned around the ODD-type problems we were having) is "The Explosive Child" by Ross Greene. It's cheaper than a psychiatrist and probably more effective. Although I'm not saying, dump all therapy and just follow te book! But if nothing else has helped and you're at the end of your wits, give it a try. You've got nothing left to lose. To get a bit of a preview, read the stickies in Early Childhood where there is some discussion on how to adapt the book to younger children. It can still give you an idea of how to go. 3) Adolescent hormones are ghastly, in the effect they have on our problem kids. But it needn't be all horror, there are things that can help. Stick around, talk to other parents, read up on other threads and you will get a lot of useful information. Feel free to dump on us if you're stuck or at screaming point, we've all been there and can help. Marg [/QUOTE]
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