L
lovingmama
Guest
I have two sons who are three and a half years and four and a half years. My four y/o has had some behavior issues that have been worsening over the past year. I'm now at that overwhelmed "I'm out of ideas" point. My three y/o is starting mimic big brother's behavior. I talked to our family doctor about my concerns which were a page and a half long. He referred me to local facility that will do home family therapy. He feels my difficult child has Oppositional Defiant Disorder (I thought so, too, my 11 y/o niece battles this condition) and anxiety. My husband has always labeled our difficult child as a "bad" kid and has been verbally abusive which has, of course, worsened things. My husband did finally read an article about ODD and now understands that our difficult child is not intentionally defiant, he can't help it. This finally caused my husband to agree to therapy and parent management training. My 4y/o difficult child has Irritable Bowel Syndrome and encopresis also. He has only had a BM on the potty three times this year. I don't punish him. The first psychiatrist we talked to feels the soiling is due to anxiety, so I'm glad I haven't punished him as this probably would have made things even worse. We are now going to meet with someone new because the psychiatrist we were referred to doesn't feel my difficult child needs medication and their psychologist is on maternity leave. Our first appointment at their facility is tomorrow. Hoping for some help very soon. In the meantime, I'm focusing on the positives about my difficult child and trying to reward good behavior instead of focusing on the bad. I just wanted to introduce myself and my situation.