I think you can call your school district and ask for an evaluation now, before he starts school. Request a Comprehensive Evaluation (behavior and educational evaluation, and minimal medical testing). Did you get a complete private evaluation? What type of doctor diagnosed? You are bringing up SID and a mood disorder as possibilities, so perhaps you need further testing/evaluations. You can't help him if you are not sure what the problem is.
Strattera is a non-stim medication for 6 yo children. Has your doctor discussed it with you? Is Abilify a non-stim?
My son (6yrs old) has been diagnosed with ADHD and ODD. We had a similar story with being kicked out of day care due to biting, kicking, tantrums...you name it. My son's now in 1st grade and doing very well so far (keeping my fingers crossed) but he has three different paraprofessionals working with him the entire school day to keep him on track. The school has to provide this service. He has an IEP also. You definately need an evaluation of your son...I wish you the best of luck!Also..you may want to ask doctor about Clonidine. It really helps with severe hyperactivity and impulsiveness. For my son, the Clonidine is what really helped him first. He was put on it at the age of 3 1/2 by his pediatrician because he was fearful that he would hurt himself or someone else. I remember sitting in his office and breaking down and sobbing while my son was basically climbing the walls in the examination room. I know it's hard. Also, is there any physical activity that you could do with him in the morning to help get some of that energy out? I've seen a private school here in St. Louis that used those big bouncy ball things that you ride on (sorry don't know the technical name) that the kids bounced around on before beginning class. Apparently it really tires them out and helps them settle down. You may also need to be hooked up with an occupational therapist for your son. They can help with any sensory integration problems that may be present as well! The school should provide any services like that that he may need so don't worry about the insurance.If your son has sensory issues and possible OCD, you need to have him evaluated for high-functioning autism. I'd recommend a neuropsychologist, found at children's and university hospitals, who can assess for many childhood disorders, including but not limited to ADHD (and I personally think you're looking at more than ADHD). For mood issues, your son needs to be evaluated by a board-certified child psychiatrist. Psychologists aren't medical doctors and aren't the best at diagnosing mood issues (anxiety, depression, mood disorder).
I personally wouldn't trust the school district to get the diagnosis right. You need the right medical professionals to make an accurate diagnosis. Good luck.
Nobody has ever suggested a full eval, and he's been to multiple doctors in two different towns. The school district in our previous town wouldn't do anything for him unless we were willing to have the label of emotionally disturbed put in his record. We weren't willing to do that at the time. This new district hasn't been any better so far. I've talked to the appropriate people, and have played phone tag, and still have gotten nowhere. The district knows what they'll be dealing with--I've told them everything. He did take one test that tested his ability to focus on something--there were pictures that flashed on a computer screen for several minutes and he had to hit the spacebar everytime a particular one popped up. He passed it--but I don't see how--I was watching from a distance!
Abilify is an antipsychotic med for mood disorders apparently. His Head Start teachers had a big rubber ball for him to bounce on during circle time. They also used sandbags to place on his lap. He likes me to squueze his hands all of the time, too. The school district seems to take a let's see what happens when he gets to school approach. I'll give them another call. Thanks.
we also found that an extra teacher who just focused on our son helped,she helps him concentrate and at the same time prevents him from hurting other children.
our son also has behavioral therapy,play therapy and now massage therapy.also he is not doing great,he is better than he was.we also found his behavior improved when we tackled his sleep problem.
he is 4 and also has problems with no sense of danger to himself or others like your son but in uk they don't medicate until 6,so i just watch him like a hawk 24/7.luckilly he is only at nursery for 2 hours so we don't have such a big problem yet.
It's so sad that school districts vary so much in the way they go about helping children with disabilities. My husband and I moved from NC to St. Peters, MO and sacrificed my house their to get my son into a place that had much better services for him. By no means am I suggesting anything that I have done..lol. You said that he wants you to squeeze his hands all of the time...to me, (and I'm certainly no doctor) sounds more like sensory integration disorder, like he needs that input on his hands to calm him. I totally agree with not leaving it up to the school system to diagnose your child.
THE CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST SAID THAT WITH ADHD KIDS THEIR MIND GO THE SAME PACE THAN A COMPUTER(OR SOMETHING SIMILAR) SO YES HE WOULD PASS A COMPUTER BASED TEST.
To Mother Of Five....
Don't know if this is any consolation to you but...my son (6), whenever he hasn't had his meds yet in the morning, he crawls around like an animal on all fours, will run around, jump up and down CONSTANTLY, will hide under tables, whine, etc., etc. After his meds...he's totally fine. Everytime anyone would "test" him, he always tested as mentally retarded although I knew there was no way it was possible. He just wasn't able to attend enough to their testing to show what he really knows. He's in 1st grade now and his teacher is totally amazed with how he is keeping up with all of the other kids and even doing a little better than most in areas like math. All this with a significant speech delay. Certain ADHD meds can actually aggrevate the constant talking, and whining. May want to speak to his doc about that. He just may not have the right med yet or, like you said, even the right diagnosis. Hang in there.
you seem to have almost the exact same problem i have...... my son will be six in november, when he was little he seem perfect in every way, then it seems like when he turned four, my whole world turned upside down, he started acting much like a one yr old, wouldnt sit still very long, jumping up and down constantly, i hated to take him anywhere. in the store he would run around, crawl under the tables, and the clothes racks, and he constantly whines whines whines, his normal every day talk is whinning., and he repeated every thing over and over, if i responded to a question he had, it was like he didnt hear me, and by the way, his hearing is fine. he would say something over and over. took him to phsycologist in november of 05, they said he had ADHD, and defiant disorder and was developementally delayed....and his IQ tests showed he was slightly above mentally retarded... but they stated he WASNT retarded.... i am so frustrated, cause he is on ADHD medicine and that seems to calm him down, but he talks constantly, and throws tantrums, and whines, and just acts like he is 2 years old instead of almost 6. i really feel like he has something else along with the ADHD, but i feel helpless.......................