7 year old identical twin boys...adhd and behavioral rages...is it something more

willow424

New Member
Hi All,

I'm new...

I am a single mom with identical twin boys....almost 8. They were adopted from Russia when they were 2 weeks shy of 4. They spent virtually their whole toddler-hood in an orphanage. They were both diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 5 1/2 and have been on a wide vairety of medications ever since. None of which seem to work for long. They both have some learning issues and speech, pt, Occupational Therapist (OT) issues as well. Though they are moderately well behaved in school and have always been very well mannered to other adults, home has always been HELL! More and more recently, one of my guys has been prone to violent rages when he doesn't get his way. He can be violent, dangerous and hurtful to me, his twin and even the dog. He's also attembpted to run away. His attitutde has also become very disrepectful at most times and both are beginning to show some behavioral issues in school and public. Both boys are medicated and in counseling. I've initiated the process for psychiatric evaluation but a neuro psychologiacal is not covered by insurance and I can't afford the $3000-$4000 pricetag at this time. My other guy struggles more in school and hurts himself when he gets frustrated. He cries a lot too. I feel that they are both very immature. Neither one is responsive to time out, though one will still do it...the other one has to be physically pinned down until he calms. I'm not going to be able to do that for much longer. One of the boys, though tough, is manageable and the other is often beyond my control. The weird thing, is that 6 months ago, they were opposite. The now unmanagable one, was the calmer one. As twins, they seem to switch personalities and functional abilities quite often. I've had them genetically tested; fragile x, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS),etc. and all came back normal. I do know their ibirth parents lived an "unhealthy" life style.
I don't really know where to go from here and am very fearful about how and what they will grow up to be. I joke that I'm saving for college tuition or bail!!! Lately, I'm leaning toward the latter.

Thoughts???
 

buddy

New Member
Hello Willow! I'm an adoptive mom to an aggressive child too. Do they have a diagnosis of attachment disorder by any chance? They were in that orphanage for all of the critical time that kids develop the ability to attach and trust, to care for others, etc. Have you checked any websites related to that?

IC always knows the link to a page where I listed a bunch of them but I can connect you with a few quickly....

http://www.radkid.org/
http://www.attachment.org/letter-to-teachers/

my favorite: http://attach-china.org/

Sorry you are going through this....It is hard enough having ONE but to have them both swapping out you never get a break from it.
Do you have any school or county support for kids with special needs? If they are starting to do this in school it is important to have them get in Special Education before they are "managed" inappropriately.

If your insurance wont cover a neuropsychologist, you might try searching for a developmental pediatrician and they can do an evaluation, often they have a full team that they work with so you get a broad evaluation too.

Can you pursue an Occupational Therapist (OT) (occupational therapy) evaluation and S/L (speech language communication) evaluation on your own...will insurance cover those? Especially since they were raised in an orphanage and have a questionable birth history, they may have fine motor and sensory integration issues that need to be addressed. As they develop and grow it can cause variability in their symptoms which may be setting them off behaviorally. I hope you can get some answers to make sure you are getting the help you need and all the support you and they deserve.

We have several adoptive parents here who have kids with similar issues. Actually several newer members so I hope they drop in and share with you. Some have found some good help and therapy that is working for their kids. It is a rough road and it makes it hard to be a consistent, loving caregiver when you are being hurt by your own kids...not just the physical but the words are really hard to take sometimes, even if we know they really dont get it. You are not alone in this. There are many of us. Keep checking in.

HUGS, Dee
 

willow424

New Member
Hi Dee,

Thanks for your ideas. Both boys have been receiving speech, Occupational Therapist (OT) (for fine motor and sensory issues) and pt, counseling since the age of 4 and or 5. They are in the "Special Education" system at school, and are placed in a general education setting with related support services for now. AS to the attachment issues...I don't feel that that has ever been an issue, but who knows. How do you ev en get that diagnosed? thanks for the links. I'll do a little more research.
Behaviors in school areen't to the point of outburst or violence, but more like disrespectful and getting involved with the wrong kids more often. And actually, they both feed off of each other which often causes problems when they are together in after care program or on the bus.

I'll be sure to check back in. Any insights are welcome.
 
T

TeDo

Guest
Glad you found our little corner of the world but very sorry you had to. I agree with Buddy about possible Ractive Attachment Disorder. ADHD does not involve the level of aggressiveness you are describing. A possibility is that the medications could be causing the aggressiveness. That has happened on two different medications for us so far. It might also be that they aren't even ADHD at all but maybe something else and then ADHD medications won't help and can even make things worse. You really need a thorough evaluation. If not a neuropsychologist, a reputable child psychiatrist would do for now. If things get to where you just can't handle it anymore or if the aggressiveness gets worse, call 911.

Do they have IEP's at school? If not, you need to get that process started ASAP. Have you reached out to the mental health unit at your local Social Services agency? They usually have various services available that might help you. It's worth a shot.

I am so sorry you're going through all this. There is a wealth of experience here and even more support. We will all help you as much as we can. Take what works and leave what doesn't. Also keep in mind that the unusual suggestions just might be the ones that work so be open-minded. (((HUGS))) to you all.
 

Malika

Well-Known Member
. AS to the attachment issues...I don't feel that that has ever been an issue, but who knows. How do you ev en get that diagnosed? thanks for the links. I'll do a little more research.

Hi Willow and welcome. Sorry to sound arrogantly categorical, but with the history of your boys, it is almost impossible to see how attachment could NOT be an issue. It defies belief that children could spend almost the first four years of their life in an institution and not have attachment problems. My son spent just the first three months of his life in an institution and he is insecurely attached (although my divorce from his adoptive father and multiple moves in his early life also doubtless play their part in that.)
Sounds a silly question but... do you talk to your boys about Russia? How does language play into this - presumably they came to you speaking Russian? How good is their English now? What connections, if any, do they still have with Russia? It must be destabilising to be taken from one culture to another at an older age.
I am sure others will have more in-depth questions and suggestions. You have all my sympathy and admiration; times two is not easy...
 

Wiped Out

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Welcome Willow,
Glad you found us but sorry you needed to. It sounds like you have a lot on your plate. It's so important with kids like ours that we take care of ourselves and find some "me" time which I know is easier said than done but it is important. Another thought about the health insurance not covering the neuropsychologist, you might want to check into the Katie Beckett program. It varies from state to state but was designed to provide medicaid for children with disabilities. It does not look at the parents income only the assets of the child. We have really good health insurance for him and ourselves but with the multiple hospitalizations and medications the Medicaid has been very helpful. It also covers a lot that regular insurance wouldn't.
 

keista

New Member
Welcome. Glad you'll be getting a full evaluation on them. Do you know if this will include development? Two things you said made my perk my ears and think in a different slant - they "have always been very well mannered to other adults" and "hurts himself when he gets frustrated" I'm thinking possibly Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) doesnt' hurt to look into it while evaluations are being done.
 
B

bigbear11

Guest
Hi Willow,
Welcome. I am new here myself and came for very similar reasons. My 9yo girl is adopted from Russia as well... although we brought her home at 14 mos. She too can be very violent... we will go weeks with great behavior and then BAM 3 days of hell in a row. I can't say that I have any insight but it sure is great to be able to reach out to folks that are going through similar things. I used to feel so alone... no one seemed to understand what we were really going through but everyone on this board does.
One thing to consider is reaching out to a Childrens Hospital in your area (not sure where you are from). Many have an International adoption clinic that has experience with kids like ours. I have recently gotton TRex scheduled for an appointment with the Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE) clinic within our International Adoption Clinic. We do have gone thru lots of medications but none seem to really make that much difference. I am hoping that we can find out what exactly is going on.
 
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