So we know... now what...

[justtotallyspent]

So after an exhausting month long rage we managed to get an appointment with the specialist to have our almost 5 yr old tested for add/adhd/odd/etc. An emergancy appointment none the less. His extreme rage towards people and animals we couldn't wait on the 4 months waiting list.We going knowing what we are going to hear.... yes he is now diagnosis's with adhd/odd/cd. He is going to be a strong willed child that is not going to except no as an answer nor is he going to nice and pleasent when he doesn't get his way.So now what... wait on a GP appointment.... the specialist requests that we start a drug trial.... but he wants the GP to do the writing of presciptions so we can go to him with changes..... wouldn't be a problem if we didn't have to wait another 2 weeks to get a GP appointment.SO FRUSTRATING....... another 2 weeks just to start something... all the discussions have been done... type of medications.. amount of medications... etc. etc...... but we have to wait 2 weeks for the piece of paper. I don't know if I can handle another 2 weeks.Just hoping this first medication helps and not make it worse..... hmmmm wait and see I guess..... going to be spending many more days screaming into a pillow...

 

[Blue Nude]

Thinking of you and sending warm wishes. Best of luck. What medications did the doctor recommend for GP to prescribe?

 

[trinityroyal]

Justtotallyspent, first off, welcome to a fellow Ontarian. There are a few of us around here.

Now, I'm rushing off to a meeting and don't have time for a detailed post. I will post more later. For now though, a few questions:

1) What sort of specialist provided the diagnosis of adhd/odd/cd? It's unusual for a child that young to be given a diagnosis of cd.
2) With regard to ADHD, many conditions present with a similar range of symptoms. Docs and specialists often start with a diagnosis of ADHD because of the inattention, hperactivity, etc. But other conditions also have a similar profile. An analogy is that, if you see hoof prints in the sand, you're going to assume that the animal who made them was a horse, not a zebra. Only when you have other evidence to rule out horses, do you start thinking about zebras etc. Well, a lot of our difficult children are zebras. Many of us have started with a diagnosis of ADHD and gone down the road from there. Autism spectrum, bipolar, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) etc. can all present with similar behaviour profiles. Treatments for ADHD can often make other conditions worse, so it's something to look out for in trying to tease apart your child's troubles.
3) ODD is a diagnosis that specialists often give, but is most often describing a collection of behaviours resulting from an underlying condition. Not an entirely useful label on it's own, but useful in pinpointing some interventions that might work.

Has your son seen a neuropsychologist? This type of testing can often provide a much more detailed picture of what's going on with your child, which can point you in the right direction for further services and interventions.

Not sure what part of the province you're in, but please feel free to PM me. If we're in the same area, I might be able to point you in the direction of services etc.

Trinity

 

[Mamaof5]

Another fellow Ontarian giving you a big, warm and fuzzy welcome (NOR actually, Northern Ontario Res). I know what you mean about the wait times. I've spent almost 2 years with my 4.5 year old trying to get her on the medications they recc and yet still I am on a wait list for the very limited pedi docs we have here. In fact the pedi doctor comes in from Sudbury for his patients. 2 long years....

It's nuts, my oldest is also ADHD\Sensory Integration Disorder (SID)\ODD with learning difficulties and possible dyslexia. Still waiting for even a mention of medications. He's in counselling which is somewhat helping but he's hit a bit a plateau with the counselling now. It's been about 2 years for him too since he started the assessments and going through the testing. My 6 year old is just starting out!! Is that going to be another 2 years I wonder?

At least the school is putting him in the SPED class without the testing in place (6 year old) right away and doing an IEP\BIP for both boys. I recently had a tiff with this school (3rd day in for my autistic daughter) about her poor treatment and the teacher saying that she only wanted her there for 1 hr 45 minutes a day, that was all the teacher could apparently "handle" of my daughter. PFfft...so now she's transferring to a school for exceptional children an hour away from us...

*sigh* I know how you feel...all too well. We're right there with you!

 

[justtotallyspent]

They are prescibing aderral, it was a specialist from CHEO's mental health dept. that did his assessment. He specializes in children with ADHD. The school is also working up an IEP for him to help he get some one on one help with writing which he struggles with. He is in counselling with a child phychologist that meets with him and us and him to give him an outlet to express what he is feeling. We have been in couselling and meet with a phych for about a year and a half. It is ADHD/ODD diagnosis with CD tendensies. We are working on only dealing with the ADHD in hopes that it will help alievate the other symptoms. As for a neurophych we are on a long waiting list that we couldn't even get on without a prior assessment. The options are very limited in this area, and more limited due to financial restrictions. So hear we wait again in hopes that atleast with medication and continued counselling things will get better. They finally rushed everything because in our last meetings with counsellers he was showing his severe aggression towards them and talking about how he can hurt others and animals because no one feels pain. They were worried because he has been in trouble 3 of the first 4 days of school for aggression towards students and teachers and then also with our counseller, so I guess it could be a blessing in disguise atleast they did something instead of just wait until with can get you in somewhere.............