My Baby's Gone!!

[TerryJ2]

Xlagirl, {hugs}. been there done that.
Wouldn't it be nice if we could "fix" our kids like an automotive tuneup? Or do PET scans and immediately get a diagnosis? There are places that do that, but it's all still experimental, and until you can get a really good diagnosis, I am not spending that kind of money just to help a dr gather data. Sigh.
Having said that, I do think he'll get help, especially with-the suicidal attitude. I woudn't worry too much about stims being stopped. After all, he's in a psychhosp and that's what they're supposed to be good at. They can handle it.
He sounded like he was being very brave. I know your heart is breaking but this is sort of a growing up thing and he will get through it and will improve.
I posted some details about our experience on the other thread if you want to go back and read it again.
Be sure to bring a notebook and spouse or friend to the family mtng to help you take notes and pay attention. Sometimes there's a huge information dump and it's hard to remember it all. It makes sense while you're there, and then the next day you wake up and think, "Was that 10 mg or 5 mg? And what did they say about what kind of therapy?"

 

[JJJ]

Xlagirl,

How are you doing today? Were you able to see your baby? My Tigger has similiar diagnosis and until we treated the sensory issues, we got nowhere fast. His rages also got more intense around 8 but now at 11, he has had 2 rages in the last year. I cannot stress enough how important it is to work with an Occupational Therapist (OT) on the sensory stuff. Tigger is now almost completely medication free (down to just Clonodine after being on Depakote+Seroquel+Trazadone+Vyvanse+Clonodine).

I hope you are holding up okay.

 

[xlagirl]

JJJ - I sure hope that we can get some follow up care for his sensory issues. Because those are part of his triggers for the rages. No always, but some of them.
I did get to see him. I went to visit him yesterday (on Saturday) and I bought him a stuffed elephant to sleep with. He smiled so big when he first saw me arrive, and then when the nurse brought out the elephant, he was sooooo happy. He gave it a big squeeze!
He was worried that the other kids might tease him for having a baby to sleep with, but I tried to reasure him that a lot of kids sleep with babies.

Terryj2 - They had taken my boy of of the Focalin stimulant when he 1st got there, but today they called me and decided to add Concerta and also increase his Abilify. My son has been on Concerta before and it seemed to work okay. (better than Focalin anyway)
They also said that my son was on very low doses of the Abilify (10MG 2x a day) and Focalin (10 MG a day).

She asked me if he's ever tried Risperdal, and I said No. I have read on this board that some people had problems with Risperal, so I'm a little concerned.


Jal - Thanks for explaining about the theraputic school. I understand now. I hope my son can do soemthing like that soon. I would love to get him involved with other kids to help with his social skills, but I have been fearful because of his aggression.
Your difficult child sounds a lot like mine..... with the video games, anger, and his high IQ. I really think that our special little guys are the little geniuses of the world!!
So Prozac works good for your difficult child? Nobody's mentioned that to me before... I will keep that one in mind.
Yes, xlagirl has been my online name for along time now. I used to live in Hollywood and LA but I moved out of state to Oklahoma for many years, and now I am back living in Riverside, CA.

Valentine - OMG! I am so sorry that your little guy has been gone so long! I know how hard that must be. You are truly a fighter and such a strong person to endure such a long absence from your child. ((HUGS))

Tia - I brought my son to the psychiatric hospital when he was calm and not raging. I picked him up from school and drove him straight to the psychiatric hospital. On the drive there, I explained why we were going there and how it would help him.
He was amazingly calm through the whole process. He was being so brave!
I call him every morning and night during the scheduled telephone hours, and I went to visit him yesterday too. He seems to be doing good. He claims to have had one fight with another kid so far. His only complaint was the food. He has sensory issues and has a limited diet. He stated that he was really hungry in there so I stopped to talk with the nurse before I left to discuss his nutrition. She will discuss it with the doctors and try to get him on a special menu.

So even though it's hard, I am confident that he is doing well in there and it's the best place for him right now.

 

[susiestar]

The food can be a problem when they have sensory issues. When Wiz was in the psychiatric hospital they didn't want to put tomatoes on the list of stuff he cannot have because he loves pizza and lasagna. But he gags on anything with bits of tomato in it or with a tomato base (like chili or spaghetti sauce). He ended up barfing up a few meals so they worked it out and stopped offering him foods that made him gag. I warned them, LOL.

Before he leaves the psychiatric hospital, ask that their Occupational Therapist (OT) teach you the brushing therapy. It helps a LOT for the Occupational Therapist (OT) issues. It helps the brain rewire itself somehow. It helped my youngest handle his issues to the point he has not missed a single day of school this year (4th grade) due to being overwhelmed from sensory stuff. In kdg he missed at least 1 day a week because he was too overwhelmed and his class only had 14 students. Even in 2nd grade he missed at least 10 days a quarter.

It is super important you have an Occupational Therapist (OT) teach you how to do the brushing and joint compressions. Doing them incorrectly can cause real problems. It is fairly simple once you have done it a time or two. Takes less than 2-3 minutes to do the entire thing. Read The Out of Sync Child and The Out of Wync Child Has Fun for more ways to help.