Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New profile posts
Latest activity
Internet Search
Members
Current visitors
New profile posts
Search profile posts
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Forums
Parent Support Forums
General Parenting
New diagnosis -- school questions
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="DogLover" data-source="post: 225530" data-attributes="member: 6537"><p>Thank you all for the feedback. It's helpful.</p><p></p><p>MidwestMom -- No, I don't feel as though difficult child just has ADHD or ODD. Problem is, I don't know what he <em>might </em>have. It's difficult to know what to question or what to push when you really don't know what you might be dealing with.</p><p></p><p>The NP testing lasted 4-5 hours. We have not gotten the narrative summary report, but did recieve copies of the test results (scores). The PhD who did this testing is reputable and his practice exclusively involves troubled children. He performs forensic testing/evaluations for court cases. Based on the brochure summarizing his services and expertise, this guy knows his stuff. He works at a clinic that is one of the most reputable in town, which is a large metropolitan area. I'm not sure where else we would go.</p><p></p><p>I don't know about developmental delays because I was not invovled when he was very young. However, according to difficult child's dad, there were none. (Not sure how accurate that is, though, my SO sometimes just doesn't see the forest for the trees.)</p><p></p><p>Yes, he is often moody. </p><p></p><p>He has received Special Education teaching for the reading/writing disabilities since 1st grade. However, they do not go further to address social skills, note-taking, etc. He just goes to the Special Education room a couple times a week to do his Reading and that's about it. They don't even send homework home, which I find odd. I would think that for a child with a reading Learning Disability (LD), they would encourage reading at home and suggest books appropriate to his level. They don't -- I have yet to see a reading assignment sent home (in the 3 years I've known this kid).</p><p></p><p>smallworld -- We think he may have gotten a bit worse since the Straterra was increased in dosage -- more agitated and defiant. He currently takes 40mg. He took stimulants when he was younger but they caused tics. I'm not aware of any other medications (other than the Abilify that was recently started).</p><p></p><p>He does not do well either academically or socially. His grades are C's and D's, although he did get a B in Social Studies. See my original post for other comments about his academic skills.</p><p></p><p>Socially, he has very few friends (only 2 -- one a kid two years older than him who is a problem kid and we discourage difficult child seeing him, the other a nice kid with RAGING ADHD -- he's always moving). We have watched him at a few school/sports events we took him to and he never really hangs out with or engages other children. He'll say hi, but generally sticks to himself. Other kids don't approach him, either -- I suspect because he is the "bad" kid in class. difficult child has had numerous discipline referrals related to arguments or disagreements with other kids (he is sometimes overly sensitive -- even just a look will send him into a defiant/angry episode). Additional information regarding his school performance is also noted in my original post.</p><p></p><p>I'm not aware of any speech or developmental delays. But again, I was not in the picture then and his dad has selective memory. So who knows what really went on in difficult child's early years.</p><p></p><p>He is sometimes sensitive -- the microwave beep, for example, really irritates him. He always stops it at 1 second so he doesn't have to hear it go off. He always takes all his clothes off the minute he gets home and walks around the house in his boxers. However, I would not say he is overly sensitive to stimuli.</p><p></p><p>There is alcoholism, drug abuse, and possibly mental illness with his mother. We don't know for sure exactly what, if any, diagnosis she has been given. There is alcohol abuse with his paternal grandmother. His dad has no substance or mental health issues at all, and I'm not aware of any other issues in the family.</p><p></p><p>No math disability was identified by the school, just reading and writing. There is not much detail on the IEP, it just says difficult child performs below the expected level in reading/writing.</p><p></p><p>I'm honestly not sure if the Learning Disability (LD)'s were confirmed by the NP testing. We only have raw scores, no summary. The psychologist verbally reviewed the results with us but never actually gave a diagnosis until I asked "so what's going on." I specifically asked whether difficult child shows indications of Bipolar or Asperger's. He did not feel the testing revealed enough depressive symptoms to warrant a Bipolar diagnosis. The testing also showed that he has an ability to empathize or see things from another's viewpoint. Given that this key characteristic of Asperger's appears not to be present, the psychologist felt this disorder could also be ruled out based on that. It wasn't until I came right out and asked "Is this ODD?" that he said yes, he believed it was.</p><p></p><p>My sense was that the psychologist was not prepared for our meeting to go over the testing. He had not yet spoken to difficult child individually. He hadn't connected yet with difficult child's former counselor. There was no written summary of the test results available. He seemed reluctant to offer up any specific diagnosis or impression until I came right out and asked. He did not offer suggestions or ideas of where to go next -- he basically just offered us 2 book titles. In a nutshell, I had the sense that he just wasn't prepared for the meeting. I do believe this psychologist is knowledgeable and experienced, but something about the appointment had me wondering if we were truly getting the whole picture.</p><p></p><p>The problem we have is...what do we do now?? We're struggling to even know what questions to ask, either of the school system or the psychiatric doctors. I guess we expected that the psychologist would lay out a plan for difficult child that would give us some direction (and hope). All we got were some test scores and two book titles.</p><p></p><p>jal -- Your comments are of particular interest to me, as this is what we are thinking our difficult child may need. But again, we don't know how to get the ball rolling. Who do we talk to? What do we use to justify the request? What if they say no? We just really don't know where to begin. </p><p></p><p>JLady -- Thank you, we are trying our best to do what is in difficult child's best interest. Problem (again) is that we don't necessarily know what that is. We don't know what our options are or who to turn to for help or guidance. I'd be curious to know what help you found and what medication he is on?</p><p></p><p>I wish there was an easy answer to this!! Thanks again for all of your comments.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="DogLover, post: 225530, member: 6537"] Thank you all for the feedback. It's helpful. MidwestMom -- No, I don't feel as though difficult child just has ADHD or ODD. Problem is, I don't know what he [I]might [/I]have. It's difficult to know what to question or what to push when you really don't know what you might be dealing with. The NP testing lasted 4-5 hours. We have not gotten the narrative summary report, but did recieve copies of the test results (scores). The PhD who did this testing is reputable and his practice exclusively involves troubled children. He performs forensic testing/evaluations for court cases. Based on the brochure summarizing his services and expertise, this guy knows his stuff. He works at a clinic that is one of the most reputable in town, which is a large metropolitan area. I'm not sure where else we would go. I don't know about developmental delays because I was not invovled when he was very young. However, according to difficult child's dad, there were none. (Not sure how accurate that is, though, my SO sometimes just doesn't see the forest for the trees.) Yes, he is often moody. He has received Special Education teaching for the reading/writing disabilities since 1st grade. However, they do not go further to address social skills, note-taking, etc. He just goes to the Special Education room a couple times a week to do his Reading and that's about it. They don't even send homework home, which I find odd. I would think that for a child with a reading Learning Disability (LD), they would encourage reading at home and suggest books appropriate to his level. They don't -- I have yet to see a reading assignment sent home (in the 3 years I've known this kid). smallworld -- We think he may have gotten a bit worse since the Straterra was increased in dosage -- more agitated and defiant. He currently takes 40mg. He took stimulants when he was younger but they caused tics. I'm not aware of any other medications (other than the Abilify that was recently started). He does not do well either academically or socially. His grades are C's and D's, although he did get a B in Social Studies. See my original post for other comments about his academic skills. Socially, he has very few friends (only 2 -- one a kid two years older than him who is a problem kid and we discourage difficult child seeing him, the other a nice kid with RAGING ADHD -- he's always moving). We have watched him at a few school/sports events we took him to and he never really hangs out with or engages other children. He'll say hi, but generally sticks to himself. Other kids don't approach him, either -- I suspect because he is the "bad" kid in class. difficult child has had numerous discipline referrals related to arguments or disagreements with other kids (he is sometimes overly sensitive -- even just a look will send him into a defiant/angry episode). Additional information regarding his school performance is also noted in my original post. I'm not aware of any speech or developmental delays. But again, I was not in the picture then and his dad has selective memory. So who knows what really went on in difficult child's early years. He is sometimes sensitive -- the microwave beep, for example, really irritates him. He always stops it at 1 second so he doesn't have to hear it go off. He always takes all his clothes off the minute he gets home and walks around the house in his boxers. However, I would not say he is overly sensitive to stimuli. There is alcoholism, drug abuse, and possibly mental illness with his mother. We don't know for sure exactly what, if any, diagnosis she has been given. There is alcohol abuse with his paternal grandmother. His dad has no substance or mental health issues at all, and I'm not aware of any other issues in the family. No math disability was identified by the school, just reading and writing. There is not much detail on the IEP, it just says difficult child performs below the expected level in reading/writing. I'm honestly not sure if the Learning Disability (LD)'s were confirmed by the NP testing. We only have raw scores, no summary. The psychologist verbally reviewed the results with us but never actually gave a diagnosis until I asked "so what's going on." I specifically asked whether difficult child shows indications of Bipolar or Asperger's. He did not feel the testing revealed enough depressive symptoms to warrant a Bipolar diagnosis. The testing also showed that he has an ability to empathize or see things from another's viewpoint. Given that this key characteristic of Asperger's appears not to be present, the psychologist felt this disorder could also be ruled out based on that. It wasn't until I came right out and asked "Is this ODD?" that he said yes, he believed it was. My sense was that the psychologist was not prepared for our meeting to go over the testing. He had not yet spoken to difficult child individually. He hadn't connected yet with difficult child's former counselor. There was no written summary of the test results available. He seemed reluctant to offer up any specific diagnosis or impression until I came right out and asked. He did not offer suggestions or ideas of where to go next -- he basically just offered us 2 book titles. In a nutshell, I had the sense that he just wasn't prepared for the meeting. I do believe this psychologist is knowledgeable and experienced, but something about the appointment had me wondering if we were truly getting the whole picture. The problem we have is...what do we do now?? We're struggling to even know what questions to ask, either of the school system or the psychiatric doctors. I guess we expected that the psychologist would lay out a plan for difficult child that would give us some direction (and hope). All we got were some test scores and two book titles. jal -- Your comments are of particular interest to me, as this is what we are thinking our difficult child may need. But again, we don't know how to get the ball rolling. Who do we talk to? What do we use to justify the request? What if they say no? We just really don't know where to begin. JLady -- Thank you, we are trying our best to do what is in difficult child's best interest. Problem (again) is that we don't necessarily know what that is. We don't know what our options are or who to turn to for help or guidance. I'd be curious to know what help you found and what medication he is on? I wish there was an easy answer to this!! Thanks again for all of your comments. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Parent Support Forums
General Parenting
New diagnosis -- school questions
Top