FredGeorge
New Member
My wife and I are trying to figure out how to help our 13-yr-old difficult child, fostered since 2 days old, adopted at 3. Mom drank during pregnancy. No confirmed diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)/Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE), but all the signs are there, shared by birth brother, also our difficult child (15 yrs). Other kids in picture: 9-yr-old difficult child boy, also adopted, also from mom who drank and did drugs--no apparent Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)/Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE), but sensory issues, and 9-yr-old difficult child girl with DS.
All four are on Vyvanse for ADHD. Won't go into details on other kids in this post. Our daughter was last to go on medications because she was the "normal" one for so long. Realized she was slipping in under the radar because she was compliant--though serious and shy--and her early test scores did not qualify her for an IEP. Then middle school hit. Self-absorption, moodiness, extreme sensitivity to slights, overall sense of entitlement, mean to siblings, disrespectful to parents. On the other hand, shy at school and respectful to all other authority figures. Worries about everything, has to have everything in her order, her way, although doesn't engage in ritualistic Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) behaviors. Meltdowns at home are regular and over-the-top. While she is not generally aggressive, when she loses control, she will push or shove siblings--mostly in a "get out of my way" fashion. has kicked holes in drywall of bedroom. Got the picture?
So, our quandary. Some of the above symptoms might sound like adolescence (she also just started her periods this summer--with bad PMS--just keeps getting better and better), but it's like adolescence on steroids. She's been on Vyvanse to help with inattentiveness in class (she's the ADHD girl who doesn't look like "ADHD") and we've been trying her on Intuniv to try to help with the impulsive nature of her outbursts, but we're not seeing a lot of improvement, which makes us wonder if the Intuniv is even the right direction to go. We had previously tried Celexa and stopped that because it appeared to make her symptoms worse. To my untrained eye, it appears she's developing symptoms consistent with ODD, and what I've read talks about the need for a multi-pronged approach: therapy, medication. So we will investigate some individual and family therapy options in the area, but we're also going to be asking our child psychiatrist (wonderful) if he thinks we need to be looking at more of a possible anxiety angle we previously have not. Our younger son is on Zoloft, and it has helped him tremendously.
So I am asking for general feedback but also if there are some other medication regimens we could be exploring or asking about.
Thanks.
Me: 53-yr-old adoptive dad
wife: 56-yr-old adoptive mom
difficult child 1: 15, with ADHD and impulse issues, taking Vyvanse and Abilify
difficult child 2: 13, with ADHD, impulse and outburst issues, taking Vyvanse and Intuniv
difficult child 3: 9, with ADHD and sensory integration issues, taking Vyvanse, Zoloft, and Risperdal
difficult child 4: 9, with ADHD and Down Syndrome, taking Vyvanse
All four are on Vyvanse for ADHD. Won't go into details on other kids in this post. Our daughter was last to go on medications because she was the "normal" one for so long. Realized she was slipping in under the radar because she was compliant--though serious and shy--and her early test scores did not qualify her for an IEP. Then middle school hit. Self-absorption, moodiness, extreme sensitivity to slights, overall sense of entitlement, mean to siblings, disrespectful to parents. On the other hand, shy at school and respectful to all other authority figures. Worries about everything, has to have everything in her order, her way, although doesn't engage in ritualistic Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) behaviors. Meltdowns at home are regular and over-the-top. While she is not generally aggressive, when she loses control, she will push or shove siblings--mostly in a "get out of my way" fashion. has kicked holes in drywall of bedroom. Got the picture?
So, our quandary. Some of the above symptoms might sound like adolescence (she also just started her periods this summer--with bad PMS--just keeps getting better and better), but it's like adolescence on steroids. She's been on Vyvanse to help with inattentiveness in class (she's the ADHD girl who doesn't look like "ADHD") and we've been trying her on Intuniv to try to help with the impulsive nature of her outbursts, but we're not seeing a lot of improvement, which makes us wonder if the Intuniv is even the right direction to go. We had previously tried Celexa and stopped that because it appeared to make her symptoms worse. To my untrained eye, it appears she's developing symptoms consistent with ODD, and what I've read talks about the need for a multi-pronged approach: therapy, medication. So we will investigate some individual and family therapy options in the area, but we're also going to be asking our child psychiatrist (wonderful) if he thinks we need to be looking at more of a possible anxiety angle we previously have not. Our younger son is on Zoloft, and it has helped him tremendously.
So I am asking for general feedback but also if there are some other medication regimens we could be exploring or asking about.
Thanks.
Me: 53-yr-old adoptive dad
wife: 56-yr-old adoptive mom
difficult child 1: 15, with ADHD and impulse issues, taking Vyvanse and Abilify
difficult child 2: 13, with ADHD, impulse and outburst issues, taking Vyvanse and Intuniv
difficult child 3: 9, with ADHD and sensory integration issues, taking Vyvanse, Zoloft, and Risperdal
difficult child 4: 9, with ADHD and Down Syndrome, taking Vyvanse