We met with the Psychiatrist yesterday. difficult child was very cooperative (even making a case for his own diagnosis). She asked a lot of questions, talked with me about history, asked difficult child a few things, and said that she felt he qualified for a diagnosis of ODD.
With that said, she talked about how at his age (5) the underlying issues as to why he is displaying these behaviors are still unknown. She said that she would like to start behavior therapy with a specialist and see if we can help difficult child learn strategies to control his agression. She said that she wants me to learn all I can about ODD...she also said to keep an open mind about the idea of medication down the line. She said that she wants to start with the least invasive treatments first. I agree. It was scary to hear her mention anti-psychotic medications. She also said that hypertensive medications are often used.
As for additional diagnosis (like ADD/ADHD), she again mentioned that at his age the diagnosis may be difficult. She suggested we start by working on the current symptoms and watch to see what other clues we can find to the underlying causes. That sounds reasonable to me.
So then we went home...without any real new ideas. I know, I know...I cannot expect immediate changes. She did suggest removing all violent media (video games, etc...) and no more swats on the bottom (which I never felt worked anyway). And she said that difficult child and I could brainstorm ideas of things that might calm him when he gets upset.
We brainstormed on the way home. difficult child suggested that I hold him and rock him in the recliner when he gets angry. I thought that sounded good (but knew that he would probably hate the idea when it came to fruition). He also suggested straps to keep him there. I declined.
When he blew up later that afternoon, I went over to him and calmly said, "Why don't we go sit in the recliner and rock until you're calm?" Without skipping a beat, my five year old responded, "Why don't I punch you in the face?" I did decide to follow through and held him for about 30 mintues while he raged. Eventually he was simply exhausted and I could let go. All this because I asked him to stop walking on the back of the couch. Sigh...
With that said, she talked about how at his age (5) the underlying issues as to why he is displaying these behaviors are still unknown. She said that she would like to start behavior therapy with a specialist and see if we can help difficult child learn strategies to control his agression. She said that she wants me to learn all I can about ODD...she also said to keep an open mind about the idea of medication down the line. She said that she wants to start with the least invasive treatments first. I agree. It was scary to hear her mention anti-psychotic medications. She also said that hypertensive medications are often used.
As for additional diagnosis (like ADD/ADHD), she again mentioned that at his age the diagnosis may be difficult. She suggested we start by working on the current symptoms and watch to see what other clues we can find to the underlying causes. That sounds reasonable to me.
So then we went home...without any real new ideas. I know, I know...I cannot expect immediate changes. She did suggest removing all violent media (video games, etc...) and no more swats on the bottom (which I never felt worked anyway). And she said that difficult child and I could brainstorm ideas of things that might calm him when he gets upset.
We brainstormed on the way home. difficult child suggested that I hold him and rock him in the recliner when he gets angry. I thought that sounded good (but knew that he would probably hate the idea when it came to fruition). He also suggested straps to keep him there. I declined.
When he blew up later that afternoon, I went over to him and calmly said, "Why don't we go sit in the recliner and rock until you're calm?" Without skipping a beat, my five year old responded, "Why don't I punch you in the face?" I did decide to follow through and held him for about 30 mintues while he raged. Eventually he was simply exhausted and I could let go. All this because I asked him to stop walking on the back of the couch. Sigh...