born drug addicted, 5 yr old with- poss ODD

[fivetimes]

I have an adopted 5 yr old daughter. She was born drug addicted to meth. She displays some ODD behaviors, sometimes she seems bi-polar. I have been trying to get some help for her since she was three and I am getting no where. It is very frustrating. I have read about the neuro-pych?? don't know what that is or where I can get someone qualified to diagnose/help, not to mention pay for this help. I have already spent quite abit on useless "sessions". My health insurance will only sent to a marriage/family therapist. She is a very difficult child and requires lots of attention, she can't play normally by herself, like with dolls. She does puzzles and colors. I need professional advice. She wets her pants alot, I believe it is attention related. I have had her since she was four months old, but at 4 months, I don't believe she was held while fed. She went from the hospital to foster care and was taken away from the foster mother. Bio mom did display ODD behavior. Can anyone provide advice/ direction/ help???

 

[BusynMember]

Hi. Welcome. Sorry you have to be here. Did you get medical insurance and a subsidy when you adopted? That really helped us get good help for our son. We adopted a drug exposed little boy. The drugs alone cause neurological damage in many cases and the kids are three steps behind before they are even born. They are difficult children and require a lot of interventions and it's hard to diagnose them the way other kids are diagnosed because of the possible neurological damage. Also, there could alcohol problems because if birthmom took meth, she drank too and that can be devastating. For a good outlook, the kids really need a lot of interventions on a lot of fronts. The ODD is probably because of other problems...ODD rarely stands alone.

I took my son for intensive neuropsychologist evaluations...he puzzled everyone...he has symtpoms of autism. We also took him to a major clinic that really understands drug affected children. It's in Chicago. They probably have a clinic for drug affected children in all major cities.

Since your child was exposed to meth in utero her behavior likely has something to do with that. I'm going to post a link about what meth in utero can do to a child, but the best thing you can do is to take her to a specialized professional. There are many psychiatrists who don't understand the effects of drugs on children...it's not their field. Same with counselors and definitely educators.

I would see if there is a clinic you can take her to where the doctor in charge understands drug/alcohol affected children. My next choice would be a neuropsychologist to see if there is any deficits in functioning. That way you can make good choices for your daughter. My son is sixteen now and doing well, although he is on the autism spectrum. He was born with crack in his system.

Ok, here's a link about meth exposed children. It's bare-bones, but everything else I found was very technical:

http://www.adoptive-parenting.com/drug-babies.html

 

[fivetimes]

I'm new to these types of posts, so I don't know if I am doing this right, but I have a question for midwest mom. She does have medical, which is the state healthcare, plus we have our own medical insurance. This does not seem to help. When I go to her insurance doctor, they send me to a useless child psychiatrist/pyscologist/therapist. They don't want to help her, they want to help me deal with her behavior! I can only go to my insurance plan, medical is not taken in most places. I don't know how to get the help I need. Where do I go and how do I get it paid for? How do I find a neuropysch? How do you know if you go to a clinic that they do know what they are talking about? So far the ones I found that do know what they are talking about won't see me because I don't live in their county. I would appreciate any direction to help me find assistance for her. For two years now I have been telling the "professionals" that the time to help her is now, while she is young.

 

[susiestar]

Welcome!! Sorry if things have been a little slow here on Early Childhood. You may also want to post on the General forum.

MWM has a lot of great info. She is far more informed on this than I am.

I would say that there is a LOT about the brain that we don't know. Just because an MRI at 1 didn't catch anything doesn't mean that there won't be something caught in the future. Often our children don't get the right diagnosis until after several years of therapy and treatment. At one point I was told that it takes approx 7 YEARS to find the right diagnosis. I think this is a low estimate and that it can take a lot longer. It all depends on the docs.

The one thing to remember is that YOU are the expert on your child. Docs can be the experts in their fields of study, but that is different. If your instincts say something is wrong then keep after it until you are satisfied. The big mistakes all happened when I ignored my instincts and went along with things.

Hugs!