Talking therapy for 7yr old?

[jennd23]

My insurance doesn't cover play therapy, but do you think talk therapy can/will help with the anger, meltdowns, defiance, etc that we've been experiencing? I made an appointment with one who specializes in kids with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), I am just curious to see how much this will realy help. I don't mean to sound skeptical but I can't talk to him with-out him shutting down. I'm curious to see if she can.

What types of therapy do you recommend for this? ABA is not covered by insurance and ridiculously expensive (one place wanted to do 20 hrs a week @ $100 an hour! LOL!). I've heard good things about CBT....I don't care what kind of therapy he's in, I just want it to hlep. Any thoughts?

 

[TeDo]

I don't know if talk therapy will help or not at his age. The Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) will make it difficult as it is. If the therapist is reputed to be good, it's worth a shot but I wouldn't invest a lot of time if it doesn't seem to be working. You know him so you'll know if he "connects" with the therapist or not.

 

[DDD]

I'd go for it. Sure don't see how it could harm anything and there is a possibiility that she has a special talent in that area. You should be able to tell fairly quickly. Good luck. DDD

 

[AnnieO]

Just an FYI... J's psychiatrist is primarily "talk", but he uses play to get kids to talk.

 

[DammitJanet]

Most tdocs who do therapy with kids that age actually use play to interact with them. I havent seen too many 4 year olds laying on couch's with a cup of tea and their teddy bear conversing with the therapist about the past week and how they might have made some inappropriate decisions...lol.

 

[orlandog]

Kids that age would have much of the attention span needed to push though with talk therapy although it might probably be worth the shot if you really trust the skills in therapeutic communication of your doctor. It still recommended that you opt for play therapy since children this age have much more interest in play than in verbal communication.

Some would go for a newer approach such as relaxation therapy especially for children who are easily stimulated/irritated so as to have a better means of relaying the message to the children thus rendering the therapy more effective.

 

[TerryJ2]

We've been going at LEAST since difficult child was 7. Our therapist would reward difficult child by typing something on the computer, or pulling up a baseball game stat or something, and letting difficult child print it out. Of course, difficult child didn't want to give the seat back to the therapist ...

 

[Penguin]

I had excellent results with CBT when my son was 5-6yrs old, however it did take about 12 sessions. My difficult child has major meltdowns, tantrums etc but is not Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) (but Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and ODD).

We have started CBT again (difficult child now 9) due to the above problems re-emerging again. Only 4 sessions in and only seeing minor change but I will keep at it and see how we go. CBT is subsidised (as normally its $130 per hour).

Worth a shot if you can afford it.

 

[jennd23]

Yeah, I'd love to do play therapy but I can't afford a weekly session if insurance isn't footing part of the bill.

I have heard good things about CBT, is this just a certain type some use or do i need to look for a special CBTherapist?

 

[aeroeng]

Our therapist taught us how to use play therapy at home. We had a small room set aside with a variety of toys, it had to include a variety of toy weapons (which we were fundamentally against, but the home play therapy did really help). The child is told the rules, no really hurting anyone, no hitting the head, if the therapist (mom) says to stop we stop, and when the time is up we stop, no extra time. The total session last 1/2 hr, and there are 5 and 1 minute warnings before ending. Then the child can pick any toy to play with and can make up the rules. The adult must comply with the child's rules (other then breaking the hurting rule). Frequently kids who struggle with anger will pick up the weapons and "kill" the therapist over and over.

The therapist reflects what they believe the child is feeling. Reflecting is skill that took several sessions with the real therapist to learn. But basically you state what you believe the child is thinking, feeling or needs to express but can't. It starts out by just saying what the child did. "You picked up the yellow ball", and eventually deeper into the child's feeling. "Wow. you really cut off my arm quickly with that sword, you want to get rid of my sward quickly. Your afraid that if I have my arm, I might hurt you." Your first reflections are never correct, but kids find it easier to correct your wrong reflections then to format their own thoughts. When the child says, "no that's not correct .....", you state, "I was wrong it is ....".

In the play therapy many kids that harbor frustrations, will kill the therapist over and over. And as difficult as this sounds it helps them to manage their frustrations and anger. Frequently after the play therapy they are calmer, and much easier to get along with. I read articles that this helps them develop a feeling that they can have control over what is bothering them.

Thus, if you can not afford the play therapy you might be able to receive some training on ways that you can work with him.

 

[keista]

Interesting. Back in the spring DD1 did something very similar all by herself. She got fixated on a bucket of toy soldiers (NEVER showed any previous interest in such a toy before) I finally gave in and gave it to her and she played with them pretending to kill all the bad kids in school. Once and she was done. Hasn't played with them since.

 

[aeroeng]

The therapist stated that they usually stop playing with the weapons and then pick up some other toy eventually. And that this is a sign that they are well into the process of recovering. Our son is now 13, and he spends a limited amount of time killing on video games. Again I hate it, but husband believes it helps him. He goes through stages where he plays for a while, and then loses all interest.