How to talk with teen about his results....

[Mamaof2]

Or do I have his psychiatric doctor do that? I have the report. I don't understand all of it therefor I can not explain all of it. My son is 14 y.o. I can tell him his primary diagnosis. I can help him find stuff online about it. He'll probably debate that he doesn't have ODD.

He has asked a few days before I got the report if I got it. I'm not sure if I should bring it up, or not. I don't want to hide anything from him. I want him to know it's still a process that we need to go through. My other concern is his father is not on the same page as I am. He's currently over there for the weekend. I'm a bit nervous he might have said something to him but in a very negative way and son will not want to continue to continue this process without me pushing him to go. Ugh. So far he's been a very willing participant with the tests he has taken and seeing doctors. I really hope his father hasn't thrown a wrench into this..

Can ya tell I'm stressed yet. Laugh.

 

[klmno]

That is a good question. It requires a lot of thought. All I can tell you is that I didn't try to explain the medical or learning implications of everything to my son. I did start spending some time with him just to talk. Those times were spent just relaxing so he might be more open to talk to me and with me telling him that I didn't think he could concentrate whole-heartedly at school right then, so I wanted him to have some help. My son has a mood disorder- I guess the explanation should differ a little depending on the problem.

 

[smallworld]

I would recommend waiting until you have the interpretive conference with the psychologist so you will better understand the results. The psychologist may also have some tips on how to explain the results to your son.

You should also be aware that ODD is generally not the primary diagnosis, but rather a result of the underlying condition (in your son's case, mood disorder). When the mood disorder is treated, the oppositional behaviors should subside.

 

[totoro]

For us it was easy. K was 5 and we didn't explain any of the tests we just explained what Bipolar was. We explained what the roller coaster ride going on in her head was. How she was like a volcano, and now we knew why and had an idea of how to help her.
But she was having hallucinations and suicidal ideations... so she wanted to know why and what was going on in her head. She is an ultra-ultra rapid cycler and she feels it.
If you are concerned and you like your doctor, maybe you can do it together? Or research it online together. Remember ODD is a symptom of something or a co-morbid diagnosis, it usually goes with a diagnosis. Like you have Bipolar Disorder with one of your symptoms being ODD, or it is Co-morbid with BiPolar (BP).

 

[totoro]

Yeah what Smallworld said!!! LOL

 

[Superpsy]

I would have the psychiatric explain the results to difficult child. The psychiatric should be able to explain the results in a way that difficult child should understand and relate to. It also gives difficult child an opportunity to ask any questions he wants.

 

[smallworld]

I think it really depends on the teen. My own son dislikes any professional who must come in contact with him so it was better for us as his parents to explain his test results to him. But we did it only after we had a very good understanding ourselves of what the test results meant.

 

[Josie]

My child is not yet a teen so that might change my opinion but I think I would skip explaining the part about the ODD diagnosis. Like many here, I believe that is only a symptom of whatever the real problem is. Mostly, I could see my daughter using that as an excuse for defiance.