Depending upon what sort of insurance you have, you may be able to find a neurologist/psychologist by yourself. If the ins will not allow it, you'll have to use your pediatrician or family dr for a referral (which you may want to get anyway, to get a good name).
You will want to set up some testing, which will involve written Q&A and neurological testing, as well as an interview for your son, so the dr can talk to him one-on-one. (You ask for the testing, the dr ofc sets it up.)
You will write a lengthy history (sort of like the questions we've been asking you).
Typically, with-bipolar, stims make it worse. They can set the kid off and make him manic or really angry (or both). If he's not bipolar and he's ADHD because of an underlying neurological disorder, say, Asperger's, then the stims might work just fine.
Antidepressants also can make bipolar worse. However, you've got him on Abilify, which may counteract some of that.
Others here can give you more info on medications that worked better for their kids.
One issue is that many of the drugs take wks to titre up in the bloodstream. In fact, the Zoloft you've got him on wouldn't have worked for several wks. And if you take him off of it, he's got to be weaned gradually.
If you are seeing a lessening of his anger/violence issues, then maybe the drugs are working.
What sets him off? You said if he's making noise, it's okay, but if the noise comes from elsewhere, it's not okay. Does that mean a sudden noise, like a clap of thunder, or like any noise, such as other kids around him on a playground or gym?
It seems like his emotions are exaggerated, for ex., when he's happy, he's really, really happy, and when he's mad, he rages. Is that accurate?
