ghostmom1299

New Member
NEW INFO AT BOTTOM
I am a single mother of 3 children with special needs 2 have adhd, and 1 has adhd with ODD and Conduct disoder his odd is fading but the conduct disorder is becoming more and more disruptive. I am supposed to be trying to get work and dealing with him is there any other parents out here that work and deal with children on a daily basis and can offer me some help as i dont know where to turn and feel that if i dont find some stability that not only is he going to get worse. He is going to give me more health problems then i am already dealing with and that i am going to end up in a mental place before he does due to all of his behaviors and me alone not being able to deal with it anymore?
if anyone can offer help it would be appreciated as i am alone and get no help from family they dont think there is anything wrong with him and that he is just a boy but its not he has been diagnosed by physcologists and all but they still wont help or listen to me
the son with the adhd with-odd was diagnosis at 4 1/2 yrs old by a physcologist in arizona and was just recently changed from odd which is fading over to conduct disorder by his physiatrist this passt monday, he is now 9 1/2 yrs old and is currently takeing adderall Xr 25 mg and tenex 1mg in the morning and is taking 1mg tenex at night along with 50 mg of trazadone as far as his behavior

i will give a few examples of things he has done in just the past 3 days of the worst things:
1)he was told he could have tv back and so he went to the shed to get his tv and instead of doing what he was told he got the lawn mower out and tipped it upside down and dumped gas out of it and then got the weed whacker out and proceeded to use it on the bathroom screen and has totally mutilated it
2)slugged sister in the face and gave her a bruise on the bridge of her nose and cheek just about broke her glasses in half
3)used a tennis racket and decided to hit rocks with it and hit sister in the hand with a rock gave her a bruise and a mark on finger from that
4) cut his leg on a knife he said it was an accident but from things inteh past month i know it wasnt had to have stitches and the dr that treated him didnt buy his story
5) he picks any fight he can with anyonehere whether it be me or his sister or brother he took the vacuum hose and yelled into it once he put it to his sisters ear,
6)he bullies her whenever he can he doesnt mess with his brother as much as his brother has about 35 almost 40 pounds on him however he is older then his siter but he picks on her as they are closer in size and he knows she wont fight him back,
7)he has destroyed boxes of food by opening it and dumping it all over the place
8) he has been caught in the bedroom alone with his siter and they both had no clothes on
-- all of this is just in the past week he has done this

NEW INFO- went to the physiatrist and he didnt do anything but increse his adderall from 25 to up 30 and said he will see him in a month and told me not to let him be alone basiclly a constant vigil to make sure he doesnt try it again and that he shouldnt go to daycare til we get everything resolved - so i went to where im working on getting a job at and told them and they said that they had to have a note from the dr so i called back and his therapist said that the dr didnt say he couldnt go but to just have him watched close and that isnt possible at daycare as she watches more then just him she has her limit of 6 and there are 6 kids at daycare how can see keep him in site all day with 5 more running around ?
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
ghostmom

Hello and welcome to the board. :grin:

If you haven't already, you might want to pick up a cop of The Explosive Child by Ross Greene. It has helped many of the parents here.

If you can give some background info such as who gave the dxes, medications, any IEP's at school, interaction with peers/siblings, and such it helps us get a better picture of your difficult child (gift from God) and offer better advice.

I'm wondering if your difficult child with the ODD and conduct disorder has ever been evaled for bipolar disorder?

Yes, there are many working parents here who have difficult child's with those dxes. It's late at night, but they will be along I'm sure.

Tie a knot and hang on. You've landed in a wonderful place.

((hugs))
 

kris

New Member
welcome to the board. hopefully you will find some guidance of value here.

some questions....does your son see anyone regularly besides a psychologist...like a child/adolescent psychiatrist? who prescribes his medications?

has he ever been tested by a neuropsychologist (they do specialized testing for psychiatric disorders). it can help in having his issues better defined.

have you ever discussed with-his prescribing physician any of the medication that can inhibit his violence? there are a few that have proven helpful.

how old are your children. do either of the other two have issues? any mental health issues swinging from the family tree....depression, bipolar, etc.

it would be very helpful if you could do a profile signature. follow this link & it will take you to directions, a list of our abbreviations, & other helpful info: http://www.conductdisorders.com/community/forums/site-help-and-resources.7/.

kris
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Hi, and welcome. I have sort of the same questions as Kris.
1/ Who evaluated him?
2/ Has he ever seen a neuropsychologist for an intensive evaluation or ha he had a mutli-disciplinary evaluation? In older kids (older than five) I prefer NeuroPsychs. They often catch things others don't because they do extensive testing.
3/Has he been tried on any medications?
4/Are there are mood disorders or substance abuse issues on either side of the family tree? (It would help if you did a signature like I did below)
5/Any neurological problems in the family? Any form of Aspergers/autism?

For the most part, CD isn't diagnosed until after 18. in my opinion, he is exhibiting signs of things that could be attributed to disorders far more treatable than Conduct Disorder. ODD and CD are most often diagnosed by Psycologists, but if you went to a Child Psychiatrist or neuropsychologist (or both--we did both), I'd bet you'd get a different diagnosis, which could lead you in a more positive direction. ODD rarely stands alone nor does Conduct Disorder--often it is the result of an untreated psychiatric or neurological problem. Look at your family tree for clues and almost everything is genetic. Hope to see you around more.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Oops, want to add that Adderrall or any medications for ADHD can make kids with undiagnosed mood disorders far worse. Even my son, who is on the autism spectrum (high functioning) flipped out on Adderall. The same goes to antidepressants. I'd be seeking another opinion. Sounds like the ADHD medications aren't doing squat, so maybe it's not ADHD at all, but a mimicker. Also, is it possible your son was sexually abused by anybody? I ask because I adopted a child who, without our knowledge (call us clueless or stupid or both) sexually abused our two younger kids repeatedly before he was caught and threatened those kids to the point where they were terrified he'd kill them if they told us. Sexually abused kids are apt to act out sexually. HOWEVER, childhood bipolar mania also causes hypersexuality...you have a lot to look into. If it were my kid (and we've been through the mill) I wouldn't trust a plain psycologist to diagnose this child. in my opinion, as a layperson/battle scarred mom, he sounds WAY more than ODD and he's too young for CD--I'm guessing he has something else. I'll attach a few links you can read, if you like, just to see if anything fits. But don't try to diagnose yourself. Trust me, we can be soooooo wrong. (((Hugs)))
http://www.jbrf.org/
http://www.childbrain.com
http://www.childbrain.com/pddassess.html (online test for Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD))
 

branbran

New Member
Hello and welcome. I am not an expert by any means, however, I find it very hard to believe that a 9 yo can be diagnosis with Conduct Disorder. I have a 16 yo daughter who was diagnosis Bipolar about 3 years ago, by 8 different docs, was in the hospital 8 times and now is in an Residential Treatment Center (RTC). The doctor in the Residential Treatment Center (RTC) tried to tell me that my difficult child has Conduct Disorder and not BiPolar (BP). Well I was scared to death and of course came here to post about it. I (like always) received many supportive replies from all of the wise mom's on this wonderful site. Most said that the CD is just a result of poorly treated BiPolar (BP) and quite frankly, I believe that to be true. I have done plenty of research about CD and found that it is very rare to receive that diagnosis before the age of 18. Has your child ever been on any mood stabilizers? I wouldn't get caught up in the "labels" right now, he is still young and you just don't know what will happen in the future. My advice is to do research on your own, you have to be a step ahead of the docs, I have found that the more I know the better. After all we are our children's voice and the doctor's are only human and quite capable of making mistakes.

Good luck. You will be in my prayers.
 
F

flutterbee

Guest
We are not professionals here and cannot claim to know more than those educated and trained in the mental health field and those that see your child in a clinical setting. Conduct Disorder is in the DSM for a reason: because it does exist and it does exist in children. In order for a diagnosis to get into the DSM, a consensus has to be reached among those in the field. It is imperative, however, that you become an advocate for your child and work closely with the mental health professionals in order to insure an accurate diagnosis (diagnosis). That road is often long.

I would start with the parent report. How is his behavior at school? Does he have an IEP in place?

This is a long journey. Be sure to take time for yourself.

Welcome to the board. I'm glad you've found us.
 

Steely

Active Member
Welcome..........

I just wanted to mention that I would be quite concerned for your daughter's safety at this point. It sounds like your son has not only physically assaulted her, but possibly something inappropiate sexually happened as well. If I were you, I would admit your son to a pyschiatric hospital ASAP so that he can have a complete workup, so that your family can be temporarily safe, and so that you can consult with doctors on how to best get your son stable.

We will be thinking of you, and hoping for this to turn around soon.
 

kris

New Member
i have to admit i have a hard time when a young child is given a CD diagnosis.... on the other hand that does not mean it can't be fact.

i will reiterate my earlier advice. a thorough neuropsychologist evaluation should be performed. he should also be seen/evaluated by the best child adolescent psychiatrist you can find. a thorough medication evaluation & re~evaluation are also in order.

kris
 
G

guest3

Guest
Um does he have an IEP? I would make sure he does so the school system will ick up the tab for residentital treatment if it becomes necesary. Also medications don't always help but has he been tested for food allergies>? That can bring on ODD/CD like symptoms.

I would (and have myself) call the police the next time he has a very violent out burst or is a danger to himself or others. You have to show him you mean business and you need otprotect your other kids.

Lastly; I know how weary all this can make you feel and you have 3 I only have 2!

Blessings Ianav
 
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