new to this site

[kathryn481]

I am so glad I found this site!! It was nice to see that we are not alone. Me and my husband adopted 8 childern that we fostered. They are age 5-14 yrs. 2 bio brothers, a brother and sister. and a brother and 3 sisters. Most of them have issues. D & C the brothers are both odd, poss.BiPolar (BP) with severe behaviors.C just got out of a long term treatment center on the 3rd, he is trying to tests the limits but not too bad, he is 8. His brother D is 7 yrs he is odd, mild mr, desruptive disorder, he was in a neuro-psychiatric facility for 9 months which didn't seem to be very helpful. I finally got to see a developmental center thru children's hospital and they are going to do a neruo psychiatric evaluation on the 9th. Thanks to this site I was able to ask about it from reading all the threads, so many of y'all had suggested it. If you could tell me what to expect from this, I am hoping that they will help me find out how his brain ticks. D is the most severe of all our children and takes alot of our time. He can be so sweet and then blow in the next min.

 

[Shari]

The neuropsyche evaluation done on my difficult child was probably limited compared to what most others here have received. It was 4 hours, or slightly longer, and consisted of a team of people, not just a neuropsyche, but also specialists in language and an Occupational Therapist (OT). The neurophsyche's part of the exam was a lot of thinking/reasoning testing and such, similar to an iq type test.
As I say, I feel our experience was different than what most receive, tho, but hopefully this is a place to start.
PS Welcome to the board.

 

[klmno]

Welcome! If this is complete neuropsychologist testing, it will take many hours but will just be questions and answers or computer tests or "block tests"- nothing too stressful. Is it going to be done by a psychologist with a phd? It sounds like it might not hurt to have a psychiatrist do an evaluation too. How old are the boys being tested?

Well, you sure took a lot on your plate!! You must have a lot of energy!!

 

[kathryn481]

D will be 8 next month. He has had a psychological exam last oct. he has an IQ of 66, plus language deficet kind of like processing or trying to find his words. It sounded like he is seeing a Neropsychiatrist.

 

[Marguerite]

Get your hands on "The Explosive Child" by Ross Greene.

Also, keep an open mind about the IQ - he's very young, with problems. Those tests weren't designed to be given to kids with serious learning problems especially if there were also language issues, communication issues or attention problems at time of testing.
Both my boys 'failed' their first IQ tests. They've since tested as way above average (top 1%). It's bizarre, probably both results are inaccurate.

Marg

 

[house of cards]

Welcome, this site does have a wealth of knowledge. It is also a great place to vent. Hope you find helpful answers. I thought I was in deep with 8 kids, but I only have 6 that aren't adults. How is the noise level at your house?

 

[kathryn481]

the noise level can get quite loud, just the 2 brother and sister, they are 6and 7 get totally wild and feed into each other on activity level they both take clonodine 0.2 mg to sleep.

 

[Hound dog]

Welcome to the board.

I'm glad you're going for the neuro-psychiatric evaluation. I hope all kids with problems have IEP's in place with the school.

As for the 7yr old, you might also want to have him evaled by a pediatrician neurologist and if it hasn't been done, have his vision and hearing checked. (I like to rule out physical possibilities)

You certainly have your hands full. Looking forward to getting to know you and your family.

Hugs

 

[kathryn481]

yes they have IEP's, the 7 yr old has had an eye and hearing exam all are normal. Really except for the the two brothers most of them are doing well in school.