BizzyMama
New Member
Hi all, I'm new here. I hope I'm posting this in the right place, it looked the most appropriate to me.
My son, who will be 9 in April, has severe ADHD and also Childhood Onset Bipolar Disorder (COBP). He's been a struggle to deal with since he was a baby, but the last 4 years have been especially trying. He had to repeat kindergarten and is now in 2nd grade where he spends most of his days in ISS. When he's not in ISS, he never gets recess and most of the time he isn't allowed to go to the class parties. His biggest problems at school are arguing with the teacher, being disrespectful, talking and playing when he should be working, refusing to do work, having meltdowns when asked to do anything, and always needing to conveniently go to the restroom for 20 minutes whenever it's time to work. He has real trouble concentrating with distractions in the classroom and actually does better when he's in ISS. But his teacher is so overwhelmed with his behavior and so of course she's going to be mean and punish him. Now he doesn't like her, which makes him even more difficult for her to handle. I have actually been considering putting him in a little private homeschool where there is only 4 other students and my aunt (who raised me) is the teacher.
When he was 5 I took him to his first P-DR who told me that he was mentally ill, would never lead a normal life, and would probably never amount to anything. Needless to say, I quickly found a second opinion. We went through several doctors before we ended up where we are now and I'm starting to get fed up. We have tried vyvanse, concerta, focalin, adderall, intuniv, and risperdal. The risperdal is the only thing that's ever seemed to have any positive impact, even though its effects are minuscule All of the stimulants only make matters worse. And the intuniv only makes him want to sleep.
The last couple of months, he's been going into these rages, where he screams and cries for a while, sometimes hours. And the rage is always followed by an emotional meltdown. When he gets like that, I can't get through to him, it's like talking to a brick wall, and he'll tell me over and over "I'm the worst kid in the world!" or "You hate me so much, no one loves me!" And no matter how reassuring I try to be, I just can't get through. His P-DR doesn't seem to be concerned with these episodes he's having. They just want to give him more of the same medications they've been throwing at him.
Any suggestions on where to go from here? I'm considering changing doctors again but we've been going there for 3 years and my son has gotten really attached to his counselor. I don't know if it would be a setback for him or if it would be a good thing.
My son, who will be 9 in April, has severe ADHD and also Childhood Onset Bipolar Disorder (COBP). He's been a struggle to deal with since he was a baby, but the last 4 years have been especially trying. He had to repeat kindergarten and is now in 2nd grade where he spends most of his days in ISS. When he's not in ISS, he never gets recess and most of the time he isn't allowed to go to the class parties. His biggest problems at school are arguing with the teacher, being disrespectful, talking and playing when he should be working, refusing to do work, having meltdowns when asked to do anything, and always needing to conveniently go to the restroom for 20 minutes whenever it's time to work. He has real trouble concentrating with distractions in the classroom and actually does better when he's in ISS. But his teacher is so overwhelmed with his behavior and so of course she's going to be mean and punish him. Now he doesn't like her, which makes him even more difficult for her to handle. I have actually been considering putting him in a little private homeschool where there is only 4 other students and my aunt (who raised me) is the teacher.
When he was 5 I took him to his first P-DR who told me that he was mentally ill, would never lead a normal life, and would probably never amount to anything. Needless to say, I quickly found a second opinion. We went through several doctors before we ended up where we are now and I'm starting to get fed up. We have tried vyvanse, concerta, focalin, adderall, intuniv, and risperdal. The risperdal is the only thing that's ever seemed to have any positive impact, even though its effects are minuscule All of the stimulants only make matters worse. And the intuniv only makes him want to sleep.
The last couple of months, he's been going into these rages, where he screams and cries for a while, sometimes hours. And the rage is always followed by an emotional meltdown. When he gets like that, I can't get through to him, it's like talking to a brick wall, and he'll tell me over and over "I'm the worst kid in the world!" or "You hate me so much, no one loves me!" And no matter how reassuring I try to be, I just can't get through. His P-DR doesn't seem to be concerned with these episodes he's having. They just want to give him more of the same medications they've been throwing at him.
Any suggestions on where to go from here? I'm considering changing doctors again but we've been going there for 3 years and my son has gotten really attached to his counselor. I don't know if it would be a setback for him or if it would be a good thing.