Puppet on a string

[TeDo]

difficult child has had a VERY tough day. Many meltdowns over tiny little things (a pattern I've noticed at school since Risperdal was increased but never at home). Finally gave him a prn clonidine. After he'd calmed down, he sat on my lap and cried. He wants to be normal and he wants me to help him. I told him he is who he is and that I will always help him any way I can but I don't always know how. Then I asked the magic question "How does it feel when you act the way you do?"

His reply: "It feels like I'm a puppet with someone pulling the strings" His other analogy was like he "is a computer and someone far away has the remote". I found these interesting and intuitive. He feels very strong and genuine remorse for the way he has acted but feels so helpless to stop it. He feels like someone else is in control and there is nothing he can do but apologize afterwards.

I am planning on putting a call into the psychiatrist first thing tomorrow but given the way things have been going at school (now that I've seen it myself), I am reluctant to send him to school tomorrow.

 

[4timmy]

It is very good that he can express how he is feeling so well! My difficult child had similar issues with Risperdal in 5th grade so we took him off of it. He still has meltdowns but he was harming himself then. He can't really tell us how he is feeling when he has the meltdowns, but now we know it's sensory integration that causes his anxiety. He usually has meltdowns when he feels pressured, when things unexpected come up (transitions he's not ready for at school, etc.) He's very hard on himself, and like your difficult child, is remorseful. I'm not sure if it's appropriate to keep him out of school, however, I've kept my difficult child home at times when I think he needs a break from the stress he feels. I worry about the message that sends. My difficult child is 12 and soon to be 13 and is going through puberty too, so now he has the added stress of the Junior High years. I try as hard as I can to remain positive with him but there are days I blow it. Hang in there!