Possible ODD in my child.

[Lulu81usc]

My very sweet and loving son has taken a turn for the worse. He has been active and challenging for a while but the silly, happy little boy who was known for his hugs and affectionate behavior has showed aggressiveness and hostility. We do not spank often and we read stories, play games, have talks about what is good behavior and what is not. Basically environmental factors do not raise any flags. He started an early childhood development program this year. We thought it was going to be a good transition to kindergarten but not so much. The teacher thought he needed adjustment time so she waited over a month to tell us that he was not participating and acting out. After many conferences that seemed to be occurring more often we learned that he was not getting better. To be fair, his transportation from elementary to daycare was over an hour long and he is 4 years old. Eventually it was deemed unsafe for him to ride the bus. We had no choice but to pull him from the program since we both work full time jobs. He went back to daycare full time and I thought the return to normalcy and no dreaded bus ride would help. Now the daycare is calling me to pick him up and his behavior has gotten progressively worse. He is being put into a younger class for nap time,
hitting teachers, choking other kids,etc. the thing is they say he used to be happy, energetic and goofy but now cries at the drop of a hat and shows aggression. While my husband did lose his job, we have not suffered a major setback and just told our son that daddy wanted to work at a better job. The asst director leveled with me about her son and mentioned ODD. I love him and only want to have one more but I owe him the help that he needs. He loves to cuddle, tells me how much he loves me and I know it is something more than typical active boy behavior. I need help. Kindergarten will be here soon so I need to act now! he is starting to suffer and wears a label that will follow him.

 

[BusynMember]

Hi and welcome

You say he has always been sweet an affectionate. You didn't notice ANYTHING t hat didn't seem right?

 

[Lulu81usc]

No! This behavior has been disturbing and we cannot wrap our heads around it.

 

[Jamieh]

I don't have any advice. I am just trying to figure out what is going on with- my son. But I know how you feel. My son has always struggled in preschool. He isn't aggressive tho and I can see how that would be very concerning not only for you but for the other children. Have you talked to his pediatrician about any of this? Maybe have the preschool write out all of their concerns and you do the same. It could be helpful if you go to his dr about it. That was the first step we took with- our son. We are still trying to get evaluations done and figure out the best plan of action. ((hugs)) I completely sympathize with you. It's so hard when your child struggles in school.