Frustrated mom questioning diagnosis

[debr]

my difficult child will turn 10 friday. she was diagnosed by a child neuroligist as having add & odd. she has been on daytrana 20 mg since she was 7. things had been working well. but lately she has been very oppositional since april. i have started to question the diagnosis. my thoughts have been confirmed by the school psychologist, her teacher that is Special Education qualified and her specail ed teacher. they say that M sits still and listens all day long. she does not move or squirm around. she will not participate unless she is working 1 on 1. even in a small group she will shut down and either answer yes, no or shrug. she seems to try to hide within herself when in a group. when called upon she begins to move her tongue nervously. my opinion and the teachers opinions are that she does not have add but suffers from anxiety. We are scheduled to see her therapist and I am going to request a physch evaluation. For any other people out there what are some medications that are used for anxiety. what are the plus & minus.

she also has tantrums the most recent she was sent home from school becuase in gym someone hit her with a ball while playing a game she feels it was intential and lashed out, which she does when she is hurt. the gym teacher tried to grab her and that made things worse. from what little i have read on anxiety tantrums are also part of anxiety

any insight would be helpful

 

[BusynMember]

Hi there.
First of all, neither a Neurologist or a Special Education teacher is qualified to diagnose the type of disorder your child likely has.
Has she ever seen a NeuroPsychologist? That's the place to go for a good diagnostic workup.
Why don't you tell us more about you and your child. I have a few questions to help us. First of all, we need to know her age and her grade and how she does in school.
1/Any psychiatric problems on either side of the family tree? Any substance abusers? Suicide attempts?
2/How was her early development as far as speech, motor skills, imaginative play, appropriate eye contact? Does he know how to socialize appropriately NOW with his same age peers? Any quirks or obsessions? Does she talk strangely, using big words, like a "Little Professors?" Does she monologue at people rather than converse? Can she express herself and read body language? SHe has some symptoms of high functioning autism. Anxiety is a big symptom as is not doing well with people and shutting down. I"d look into it. Anxiety is rarely a stand alone diagnosis. It almost always comes with something else.

ADHD/ODD is often the first and very often not the last diagnosis a child gets. I'd get the neuropsychologist evaluation to see what's going on. Welcome to the board.

 

[tiredmommy]

I think you should consider a re-evaluation too. Sometimes, stimulants can make non-ADD/ADHD people anxious, irritable or even aggressive.

 

[klmno]

Hang in there- I agree with the evaluation but also keep in mind, many times the ADHD/ODD diagnosis is wrong- it is thrown out there way too often and in my humble opinion, both are usually symptooms of a different diagnosis. Plus, she's reaching the age where maturity and hormones are going to play into behavior changes. You have every right to quaestion all this and that makes you an observant and conscience Mom!

 

[ML]

Anxiety and ADHD go together along with aspergers, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Learning Disability (LD) and also Tourette's Syndrome. I use to call my son's diagnosis aspolaradd. Another term I like is "brain wrinkle". Definitely get a re-evaluation. Welcome to the CD family! Hugs, ML

 

[flutterby]

Anxiety often mimicks ADHD and could easily be misdiagnosed by someone not really qualified.

The medications typically used are SSRI antidepressants such as prozac, celexa or lexapro.

 

[timer lady]

Hi & welcome. You've been given a great deal of good advice. The only thing I'd like to offer is that this was a horrible age for the tweedles. We had a solid diagnosis by that time & both were on the same medications they are on now.

Saying that I really had to look at the age, the early onset of puberty, & the emotional age of my difficult children. Their bodies were 10 but their emotional age was more around 5 or 6, some days much younger.

AND if at all possible find yourself some time for yourself. Moms of difficult children need to recharge as much as possible.

Again, welcome.

 

[AnnieO]

I think you should consider a re-evaluation too. Sometimes, stimulants can make non-ADD/ADHD people anxious, irritable or even aggressive.

She's very right. difficult child 2 was awful on stimulants.

I don't have anything to add except - WELCOME!

 

[lizanne2]

Welcome......

My difficult child went through quite a change at about that age. He carried the same dxes but also Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) (Anxiety) and some Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). We started first with the SSRI younger and then added a stimulant.
Sometimes I think that the anxiety was Because of the ADD. It was just so hard to deal with the add for difficult child that anxiety crept in.

I'm not sure a stimulant would all of sudden after three years show a markedly different effect... but early adolecence can change a lot.

Hang in there. Mother's instincts are usually pretty good. And more information is always good (at least for me.)

Let us know how things go.

 

[debr]

CAn anyone tell me what is involved in a neuro psychiatric evaluation?

What is the difference between a psychiatric evaluation a neurological evaluation and a neur psychiatric evaluation.

This is all new to me and I am getting confused

 

[jasz1971]

Have you ever considered selective mutism or a social anxiety disorder? Some of the info. that you shared sounded a little like SM. Check out this website for more info www.selectivemutism.org

 

[BusynMember]

A Neuropsychologist does 6-10 hours of intensive testing in all areas of function. This can pinpoint problems and disorders that other professionals miss. Most see the child for an hour, listen to you, watch the child (who is probably on good behavior) and pull out a diagnosis which is often wrong. If it's a psychiatrist, a prescription usually follows (been there/done that). I have bipolar and my son is on the spectrum. Of all the different professionals I personally have seen for myself and for my son, I think NeuroPsychs nail it with the most accuracy. I have had the most bizarre diagnoses that I knew were wrong and almost laughed at from therapists and even a few psychiatrists. And if you get misdiagnosed, you don't get the right help. NeuroPsychs can be wrong too--there are no blood tests--but in my opinion they try the hardest and you have the best shot with them. Of course, some are better and more thorough than others.