Introduction

hersheyb79

New Member
Hi, I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm new here, I'm so glad to have found a place where people will understand my struggles!

A little about me:

I'm a stay at home mom/foster mom of 4 great kids. 2 are mine, 1 is a foster child (but has been with us a long time, so DS in my heart), 1 is an adopted child. My struggle is actually with my bio son. He's 5 and we're in the process of getting him accurately diagnosis'd so he can get help. His preschool told me in January if we didn't get him a diagnosis of some sort that he would be expelled from primary school before Christmas break...kinda tough to hear. It's funny, we've been foster parents for a while, and it is easier to find and get services for our foster kids who are on Medicaid than our bio kids who have private insurance. I needed to get both DS & FS an appointment with a psychiatrist, and FS they got in within 2 days, DS had to wait 2 months :(

So I'm navigating the land of diagnosing a 5yo with some kind of mental health disorder. The psychiatrist won't actually give us a diagnosis right now (he said he will before the end of the school year). I saw on his computer when he left the room for a minute that he has DS listed as ODD, ADHD, Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD), and possibly bi-polar. There were several other things listed, but I was afraid he'd see me peeking and turned the monitor back. He started him on Risperidone on 3/8. It's done nothing for him. I don't know how long it takes to work, it was supposed to help with his rages which occur 10-15 times/day and seriously impact our ability to function outside the home.

Thanks for any advice or kind words you can give me. It's been a rough day, with him raging for most of it. We have to go pick up our oldest 2 from a birthday party in about 20 minutes and I'm not looking forward to the cycle starting again.
 

nvts

Active Member
Hi! Welcome to the crowd! Sounds like you're dreading the pick up of the older 2! I've been there...man, have I been there!

Could there be possible sensory issues involved? Is he over sensitive to any sounds, textures, tastes, etc?

Trust me, you're in the right place - lots of strong shoulders to lean on, lots of hugs and tears with you. TONS of experience - you'd be amazed at some of the stuff that our group has been through!

You'll get more responses after the weekend...probably because we're all running crazy with the difficult child's! lol!

Again, welcome to the crowd!

Beth
 

4timmy

New Member
Welcome! You have found the gold mine of experience in this forum. I have to say I think it's totally cool that you "peaked". I hate that we can't get straight, honest answers from our doctors because of the **** they have to deal with. I'm sure you understand it's a tough diagnosis in children so young. I wish I would have found this forum when my difficult child was young.... you are in the right place!
 

hersheyb79

New Member
Could there be possible sensory issues involved? Is he over sensitive to any sounds, textures, tastes, etc?

He saw an Occupational Therapist (OT) from the ages of 2-3 for Sensory Integration Disorder (SID). Once he turned 3 they didn't re qualify him for services (the EI team).

My huge issue is that when he has been re evaluated since then each time they tell me he's to academically gifted to be qualify, that his behaviors have to be impacting his learning in order to qualify for services again.

He is very tactically and auditory defensive. Not so much with tastes or textures. I think that sensory issues are still a big problem, and thankfully his preschool has an Occupational Therapist (OT) on staff. I wish there was a way I could get him private Occupational Therapist (OT), I think it would be so beneficial for him.

I was dreading the pick up of the other 2. He does really well when it's just him and the baby, but the extra noise and interaction of the big kids really screws him up.
 

Malika

Well-Known Member
How confident are you that the diagnosis of ADHD is correct? I confess I know very little about bipolar disorder, which is very rarely diagnosed here in children... Why is the doctor not sharing his diagnoses with you? Must be something to do with the system in the States.
The child psychiatrist I have seen once with my son told me very cheerily when I expressed hesitation about Ritalin "Oh, these drugs don't work on children who don't have ADHD".... So is the fact that the medication your son is on (like Ritalin??) is not working a sign that it is not a correct diagnosis?
Has your son always been "difficult", since babyhood? Complete stab in the dark but is any of his difficult behaviour related to having to share you with your adopted and foster children?
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
I would have him retested, maybe privately. Although foster children do get services fast (I did foster parenting too :) ) they do not get the best doctors, unfortunately. If you have insurance, you may have a longer waiting period, but you have more and better options.

The Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) would qualify him for services. That is pervasive development disorder, which is autistic spectrum disorder. That would automatically qualify him for early education services, which have greatly helped my son. They were a Godsend. Here is an online test for Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)...it's interesting to take it and see where your child falls. On the autism site I frequent, the parents feel it is extremely accurate as long as the parent answers honestly. Maybe take a look:

http://www.childbrain.com/pddassess.html
 

Malika

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the link. I did the test for my son, who came out as "no Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)". But I am not sure what pervasive development disorder refers to... presumably this does not cover such things as ADHD?
 

hersheyb79

New Member
How confident are you that the diagnosis of ADHD is correct? I confess I know very little about bipolar disorder, which is very rarely diagnosed here in children... Why is the doctor not sharing his diagnoses with you? Must be something to do with the system in the States.
The child psychiatrist I have seen once with my son told me very cheerily when I expressed hesitation about Ritalin "Oh, these drugs don't work on children who don't have ADHD".... So is the fact that the medication your son is on (like Ritalin??) is not working a sign that it is not a correct diagnosis?
Has your son always been "difficult", since babyhood? Complete stab in the dark but is any of his difficult behaviour related to having to share you with your adopted and foster children?

I'm not totally positive of the diagnosis...it's just what was on the screen when I peaked. He's only on Risperidone right now, the P-DR only wanted to start him on one medication at a time very slowly so we aren't causing any problems.

He is being tested privately. Our private insurance is terrible. In my area the Medicaid doctors are really fabulous.

No, this isn't a result of our foster/adoptive kids. He's been difficult his whole life, it's just the older/bigger he gets the more difficult he becomes.
 

nvts

Active Member
Hey! Why not look into a brushing regimin for him as well as a weighted vest...sometimes these things can help him settle down and feel a little more controlled and connected. You can find them both on-line and could help make a difference!

Beth
 

hersheyb79

New Member
Thanks, we use a weighted stuffed animal because he didn't like the vest, and we brush. He's actually to the point that at school he asks to be brushed if he's getting worked up. So that's a good sign.
 
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