wildcat

New Member
My son is 7 and has been a very difficult child for about 3 years, he has recently been diagnosis'd with ODD by his dr. She has referred us to a psychiatrist but so far we havent found one that will take him as a new pt. I have always known something was wrong but the ODD diagnosis scares me to death. He can be the sweetest little boy in the world and he just seems to snap.
I don't know how to take care of him anymore, not sure if I need to be firm, ignore him or baby him when he is trying to mock me, hit me, kick me or cry or scream at the top of his lungs at video games---because the game is cheating him.

Our dr. said that some children grow out of this in about 3 years, just wondering if anyone's child has grown out of it on their own without psychiatric care.....
 
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HaoZi

Guest
If you can't grab a psychiatrist start with psychologists, they do a large percentage of the testing anyway. Most of us here don't accept ODD as a stand-alone diagnosis but rather as a symptom of an untreated underlying problem. Could be anger/frustration issues coupled with a lack of coping skills, could be a serious medical/mental health issue, but until the actual problem gets dug out and a handle on it, ODD is pretty useless. To help you while you look for more help, grab The Explosive Child by Ross Greene (your library should have it if you don't want to buy it without testing it first, even my small town library had it).
 

dreamwallaby

New Member
My son is 6 and dxd as ADHD/ODD. I have also found The Explosive Child book to be a wealth of good information. It has really opened my eyes to what my son is actually going through and not just the difficulties his behavior puts me and his teachers through. You can also visit the author's website for more info www.livesinthebalance.org
 
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TeDo

Guest
Ditto what the others said. My son was diagnosed ADHD/ODD. I have only found out in the past few months that he actually has Asperger's Syndrome. It turned out that what I had been doing to "handle" the ODD behaviors were lost on difficult child because his thought process was so different that it was all lost on him. Reading Explosive Child is what opened me up to other possibilities. I started taking a much closer look at what was going on and getting more info from difficult child about problems he was having.

Good luck.
 

crazymama30

Active Member
Read the explosive child, very good book. Also I have found love and logic to be a great help, especially at his age. Another good one is your defiant child.

why do you think you are having a hard time getting into see a child psychiatrist? Will they not even make you an appointment? Would having your pediatrician/family doctor give an office to office referral help?
 

busywend

Well-Known Member
No, I have never heard of growing out of it in 3 years. I have heard and seen that age does make things better, but usually it is when they are around 20ish.

I am thinking there is more going on here with the kicking and screaming.
 

wildcat

New Member
We seen a psychologist last year that told us that he believed he had Aspergers but our pediatrician dismissed that. She said that because he allows us to touch him and he looks us in the eyes that he doesnt have AS. She did at least put him on medicine to calm him enough to sit still in class so we thought we were on the right track. 4 medicines later, he is now on Intuniv, it works during the school day but around 6pm it is completely worn off. The violent outbursts are getting progressively worse and we don't know how to handle him. Our school has a speaker coming next month to show parents the best way to react to kids with behavioral issues and that can't come soon enough.
 
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HaoZi

Guest
She said that because he allows us to touch him and he looks us in the eyes that he doesnt have AS.

It's a spectrum. By its very nature not ALL Aspies or other Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are alike, they run the gamut like everyone else. Go back to the psychologist for screening/testing and referrals to other professionals that specialize in these things.
 

tiredmommy

Well-Known Member
Do you have a large university or children's hospital nearby? Try there, they may have a clinic or assessment center that can get you directly referred to a psychiatrist. My daughter also only carries the ODD diagnosis with no other associated diagnosis, but there probably is something flying under the radar. Right now her ODD symptoms are tied to her medical health issues. Things usually do improve with maturity, but I wouldn't want to wait if I were you. The other thing to think about is rebound... the medications are wearing off and he's having a behavior reaction. You may want to ask about an extended release or long-acting medication.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
I would trust the psychologist way more than the pediatrician. Many Aspies let you touch them and learn to look you in the eyes. My son has gotten quite good at it.
If you want an intensive evaluation, rather than just a cursory glance, I'd see a neuropsychologist. They know more about childhood disorders and they test for everything. Most pediatricians don't have an in-depth knowledge of these neurological differences. A few questions:

1/Did he have any speech delays or peculiarities?
2/Any obsessive interests?
3/Does he have a GREAT rote memory for concrete things, such as memorizing an entire movie or learning his letters and numbers or states and capitols at a very young age?
4/Does he know how to hold a give and take conversation or does he get in another child's face to monologue at him about his own interests or, consequently, does he only answer "yes" or "no" but does not describe things in details.
5/How does he relate to his SAME AGE peers?
6/Does he make strong eye contact with strangers?
7/Any sensitivities to foods, certain materials, loud noises?
8/Can he transition from one activity to another without freaking out?
9/Did he/does he k now how to play with toys in an imaginative way?
10/An oddities or quirks?

Sorry for all the questions :)
 

wildcat

New Member
1/Did he have any speech delays or peculiarities?
The only speech delay he had was some trouble with his "L" words, not bad though.
2/Any obsessive interests?
Just lego's. He has always built things that are amazing but they have to be perfect and if they arent he will have a majir meltdown.
3/Does he have a GREAT rote memory for concrete things, such as memorizing an entire movie or learning his letters and numbers or states and capitols at a very young age?
No, he doesnt memorize anything that I have noticed.
4/Does he know how to hold a give and take conversation or does he get in another child's face to monologue at him about his own interests or, consequently, does he only answer "yes" or "no" but does not describe things in details.
He doesnt allow anyone to speak anymore, peers Occupational Therapist (OT) adults. That has begun in the last 6 months though, he used to be very easy to talk to.
5/How does he relate to his SAME AGE peers?
He doesnt have many friends at school because he is in trouble alot.
6/Does he make strong eye contact with strangers?
Yes, he doesnt seem to have any trouble with that.
7/Any sensitivities to foods, certain materials, loud noises?
No
8/Can he transition from one activity to another without freaking out?
No not at all, he has to finish what he is doing at the time or he has a meltdown.
9/Did he/does he k now how to play with toys in an imaginative way?
Definitly. He has built things for years that are way beyond hs years.
10/An oddities or quirks?
He thinks his toys, video games and his bike are against him. If he wrecks he blames the bike or if loses the video game he says the game changed the rules on him or its cheating. He wont take responsibilty for anything.
He use to have to have all his toys touching but now he makes his room into a disaster and doesnt care.
 

sunshinecan

New Member
We seen a psychologist last year that told us that he believed he had Aspergers but our pediatrician dismissed that. She said that because he allows us to touch him and he looks us in the eyes that he doesnt have AS. She did at least put him on medicine to calm him enough to sit still in class so we thought we were on the right track. 4 medicines later, he is now on Intuniv, it works during the school day but around 6pm it is completely worn off. The violent outbursts are getting progressively worse and we don't know how to handle him. Our school has a speaker coming next month to show parents the best way to react to kids with behavioral issues and that can't come soon enough.

My son 13 also suffers ADHD/ODD. We were having the same issues, the evening and the morning before he took his dose of Concerta where horrid. Throwing furniture, swearing, yelling... He was like a drunk person, it was not the time to talk to him or try to parent and deal with it. When his medications kicked in and we talked about it, he got it, was sorry, but I still knew that the evening would look the same... My doctor put him on Stratera, because it's a 24 hour medication. He's no longer on Concerta, he's now on Vyvanse. The stratera sertainly took the edge off, the trick was to get him into bed early, and really to try and keep things calm, giving him little to react to. It wasn't perfect but 100% better then it had been. The Vyvanse has helped him tons, it really helps with his impulse control which I think is where most of our problems come from.
 

zanezoo

New Member
Where did you get those questions? It sounds like you're describing my son!!!

Me: 44/depressed and about to snap
Son: 9/ADHD, AS, ODD, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), no medications. Tried Ritalin/Concerta with horrible hyper active results. Risperdon & Abilify for 3 years with no results. Younger: tried Depicote with no results.
 
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TeDo

Guest
Zanezoo, this is a very old thread. Why don't you post an introduction to your family and your son? Click on Forum and then click on General Parenting and then click on (something like) Post New Thread. Welcome to the most informative and supportive site there is for parents of kids with issues. Look forward to "meeting" you.
 
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