"Optimum Nutrition for Your Child's Mind" by Patrick Holford is another good book. You can find it on Amazon UK.
My daughter has been diagnosed with ADHD, ODD, Bi-Polar and Mood Disorder. She has been admitted for short term care 3 times in 4 months and is 8 years old. She steals and lies every chance she gets and I am just mentally drained. I do not know what to do next. She is on 4 different kinds of medication which does not seem to be working. She has been expelled from school twice in 3 weeks and is only 8 years old. HELP!My son is ADHD and possibly ODD and/or Bi-polar. We tried several stimulants but they made him violent at times. The best sucess so far has been a combination of Provigil (med used for ADHD), Geodon (mood stabilizer) and Prozac. He is has issues with keeping his hands to himself, but we are working on that but he has improved so much since we realized his problems in kindergarten. The stealing issue was an issue in 1st and 2nd grade, but we have pretty much stopped that. The lying is less frequent and mostly I confirm his stories, so he doesnt lie as much because of the consequences. We ground him now for outburst at school, but he is really trying to control himself. It took 3 years of different combinations of medications, but things have improved. He was put in alternative school and suspended. It was horrible! I still have problems, he will never be perfect, but I keep trying. I wish you luck!
It can be very difficult to find the right balance of meds for effective treatment of bipolar/mood disorders. Then adding the meds for ADHD on top of that is even harder. What meds is your daughter on? You might need to discuss with the doctor (is this a psychiatrist?) backing up to only the mood stabilizing meds and get that under good control and then working through the ADHD options.
You might also get the ball rolling for a behavior plan at school as part of an IEP (not a behavior contract that can have dire consequences, and only benefits the school). Refer to wrightslaw.com for good information on behavior issues and your child's rights, and links to some good things to use in behavior plans.
Good luck with this difficult time and take care of yourself.
What are consequences you give your kids? None seem to work so far for my daughter. I have tried grounding her, taking stuff away from her, time out, writing sentences, standing her in corners...........she has no remorse for anything she does or who she hurts.
She is on 12.5 mg of seraquel, 50 mg of zoloft, 27 mg of concerta in the morning and 25 mg of seraquel at night as well as the advair disk and 5 mg of zyrtec for her allergies/athsma. We have also been on depakote, ritalin, straterra, clonodine and various mg of the meds she is currently on.
Consequenses did not work for my daughter. We were taking away everything and things were just getting worse. We went to a positive reinforcement plan like ogram's marble system (first thread on the parent's forum) with the school and then moved to the marble plan during the summer. It now encompasses school and home.
With the school, we started rewarding for recording homework in the day planner, doing the homework, staying on task in the morning at school, completing school work, staying on task in the afternoon at school (there were 3 items in the morning and 3 in the afternoon). The teacher sent home a daily behavior chart with checks in the areas where my daughter did as she was supposed to. If she got at least 4 out of 6 checks, she got to choose a reward (extra half hour of tv or game time); if she did well 4 out of 5 days, she got a bonus on the weekends. My daughter helped work out the rewards.
When school ended last year, we added home behaviors and started using marbles to keep track of things. She got marbles for cleaning her room, going to bed on time, staying in her bedroom after bedtime, reading, feeding her bird, etc. She would lose marbles for fighting with her sister, talking back or rages. We made it so she would gain more marbles than lose. The marbles can be used to buy time on tv or games, later bedtime, or cash (also used as allowance). I give marbles for completed school work, As, good citizenship at school, etc. My daughter loves having marbles and her own money earned by doing what is expected of her. I even had to add a bonus list of things to earn extra marbles (money) like vacuming, laundry, yard work, etc because both of my kids like the oppertunity to earn more when they are saving up for something special like a new video game.
vickie39064.5139814815Exhausted101 I feel so bad for you and your daughter - so much to deal with at 8!
You might want to try calling the Pfeiffer Clinic in Warenville, IL (near Chicago). They also have some outreach clinics in other areas. Their number is 630-505-0300. It is a not-for-profit organization that has been conducting research and treating all sorts of mental disorders in both kids and adults for many years using vitamins, minerals, and other supplements as well as specific dietary recommendations. You fill out an evaluation form and they will contact you to make an appointment if they feel they can help. They do extensive testing and do not demand or even recommend you take your child off meds until their body chemistry has been corrected by their recommendations. This can take months and strict compliance is important.
They are helping our son who has ADHD, Dyslexia and dyspraxia but they have been able to help many people with more severe disorders such as schizophrenia and depression as well.
If you decide to see them, make a list of every unusual symptom your daughter has including digestive, behavioral, sleep issues, etc. and discuss them with them. Every symptom, even those seemingly unrelated, can be a clue. Good luck!
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