vidaloca1011
New Member
Hello! I'm so happy to have found this group. Reading through your posts has made me feel like I'm not alone! Here's what I'm dealing with right now. My daughter is 4 1/2 and has always been difficult. We had her tested by a psychologist at 3 because she was kicked out of her daycare for being to aggressive. The psychologist told us that she scored in the 99.7 percentile for language ability (!) and that she was a gifted child with an adjustment disorder. We have worked with a cognitive behavior therapist on Parent/Child Interaction Therapy, which has had some success, and cranial/sacral therapy with a highly recommended chiropractor (we ended that a few weeks ago when it became obvious that daughter was not making any further improvements). Last summer, we consulted a behavioral pediatrician who diagnosed ODD with possible ADHD (she was clear that no one could diagnose ADHD until daughter was at least 6) and recommended medication. At that point, we were desperate for help and decided to try guanfacine (Tenex), which worked wonders for a week and then turned her into an animal with no impulse control whatsoever. We then tried Abilify, which has helped greatly, but we are very uncomfortable with her on such a powerful medication. We got a second opinion and a third from two psychiatrists, one of whom we are now using, because the behavioral pediatrician wanted us to continue upping her medications anytime she hit a rough patch until she was old enough to diagnose with something. Both second opinions told us to get her off Abilify and that it was inappropriate for someone so young. The psychiatrist we are seeing now advised us to put her on omega - 3 supplements and use valerian at bedtime. We have seen great improvement with the omega-3s and some help with going to sleep with the valerian. She advised us to begin to pull her off the Abilify, which we started almost two weeks ago. She was on 3mgs and we are dropping down 1mg every two weeks. This last week has been a little more difficult and this weekend has been nightmarish. All of her horrible behaviors have returned - throwing tantrums and screaming at the top of her lungs whenever she doesn't get exactly what she wants RIGHT NOW, hitting & kicking us, and generally not responding to any discipline we do. Her lack of impulse control and her unwillingness to consider things like perhaps her foot hurts because she's been kicking the door or us, not because we hurt her, is unbearable. She is nearly angelic in public or at preschool, but as soon as we arrive home, the beast emerges. Suggestions?