Somethings gotta give! | ADHD Information
After school today I received a phone call from my sons teacher. (was holding my breath) She called to let me know that my 6yr. old son had punched a teacher, twisted a little girl's arm and put it behind her back, and almost stabbed himself and his teacher. She went on to explain that she isn't getting much else done besides correcting him.
My son has been in school since Aug. 23rd. ( 9 school days) The 1st day went alright, then he started being more and more aggressive at recess time mostly. So I called his psychiatrist and we did a slight medicine change. His behavior started to improve last Wednesday. 
Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday went off with out a hitch. This Tuesday was good also. But today all h*ll broke loose.
He has had several medicine changes since this spring. Some because of side affects others because of behavior. My son is on very high doses of medicine. He is AD/HD, Bipolar, ODD, & IED. He has one of the best child psychiatrist in the state of Ohio. His credentials are amazing. He works out of The Ohio State University Hospital.
By the time I got off the phone with my son's teacher and principal the doctor had already left for the day. So I hoping that I can get ahold of someone in the morning before school. Because I'm half scared to send him to school.
What should I do???????
It's looking like another hospital stay. I hope not!
I would give him the day off. He obviously is finding the whole school thing far too stressful. Give him a day to just regroup and see how he is. Observe his meds on a half hourly basis so you can see if there is something that is not working. School can create so much anxiety and he had to let it out somehow. A friend of mine has a 13 year old boy who had a melt down the other day and attacked a relief teacher because she was causing his stress level to explode. He is on a partial program and has alternatives arranged for when he feels his stress rising. I wouldn't send him back until I had talked to the specialists to discuss a method of attack. Hopefully you can get some answers tomorrow. The last thing you want is for things to esculate further. If school is creating that much anxiety then the school need a different approach. Recess can be very stressful for little ones. Maybe you could give him something to play with during this time, so his focus would be on something of interest rather than all the changes around him.
What changes have been made lately and when?
Happyrock39330.9882060185
Well it's been a week since we changed my son's meds. At home I've seen slight positive change, he seems less irritable at home.
As for school *screams* he can't keep his hands to himself. If it's not one thing its another. Monday he got into a fight with another boy in his class, Tuesday he was pulling on a kid shirt as he was chasing him, Wednesday he kept pushing a little girl down at recess and her knee was bleeding pretty bad, Thursday I guess recess he hit someone, and today I really couldn't tell you what happened because his teacher wouldn't return my phone calls! 
He has now lost recess privileges.
He wakes up in the morning not wanting to go to school, he wants to go back to his old school. ( We bought a house in May 
and it's in another school district in our county, their were 22 days of school left when we moved so I kept him there to finish out the school year) I really hate the fact that he is so unhappy. I'm thinking that this might just be our problem. What do you guys think?
I have a group meeting at the school scheduled for the 28th. So I'm trying to hold out to see what they can do to help us out. It's almost to the point that I don't even what to send him to school.
We should get his test results back by the end of next week. I hope everything is alright.
Thank you for letting me vent, it helps so much!
Diane, it makes my blood boil at the ignorance of displayed at times by schools. We know our kids so well - we watch, evaluate and disect constantly their behaviour/reactions etc. I like your fighting attitude - more power to you!!!!!
Now Kimi Jo, could respirdal be causing this? We had a very negative aggressive reaction to this after it had worked well for a few weeks. The worse was a week of 6 hour rages after school - one day resulting in a bat at my head. The house was torn apart ... Another friend of mine and at the time a child I was teaching was the same. Extremely aggitated, angry boy in class. At night he was evil!! He would light fires on the roof and even threw the dog down into the pool. He punched walls in and threatened his parents. This resulted in the police being called several times.
Great to see you have a great doctor. Sometimes they can see more than we can. Are you keeping an observation of the meds? We would write down observations on the half hour. Making sure meds were recorded as well. This has been invaluable to us when we began using multiple meds.
Don't worry about missing school. Your child will learn nothing when they are this anxious!! Look after yourself.
I don't think it's the Risperdal. He's been on it for a little of two years now and as he grows it needs to be upped. He was 45 lbs. the last time we increased it, he is now 60 lbs.
It seems like every year we go though this. May of 05 is when he was diagnosed AD/HD, ODD, & IED, he was admitted to Fox Run Hospital's acute unit for 3 days. June of 06 he was admitted to Bethesda Hospital's children's psychiatric ward for 3 days. They add the bipolar to his diagnoses. Now it's September, a little over a year later and we're in the same place.
We've been trying to get his medicine right for a few months now, so a year later is right. We have been blessed enough to have this doctor to give us the leeway we need to try to do it at home instead of the hospital. Our last doctor wouldn't do that.
I just not sure we can do this at home.
That's great that you have the ability to do this in a hospital setting. I am in regional Australia and there is nothing for us. I have watched so many friends end up have breakdowns because of kids who are just out of control - med problems or mental health issues. It makes me so upset!!! ADHD is not a funded disability in Australian schools and I feel very little understanding of what it is about in the educational world. Good luck - you seem to have a good team around you. If you are keeping your child at home for a few days, maybe you can grab some work - when I began teaching in the infant years, I was gobsmacked at how little was actually done in a day and how exhausted they become
. We have noticed with our 14 year old son that once the pressure of school increases then everything slides and his anxiety skyrockets. As a result learning ceases. Even at 6 school can be so stressful. We have had 3 periods in the past 3 years where I have had to pull him out of school due to stress. Twice he has fallen into clinical depression and became suicidal. Last year he couldn't cope in the classroom as he became incredibly paranoid and withdrew so I ended up home schooling him. After 5 months he was able to return to school. Still we watch carefully and take pressure off when he feels stressed. All the best
Tina
So, I took my son to the doctor yesterday. The doctor says that it's his bipolar disorder. That we need to get his mood stabilizers adjusted. So we increase his Depikote to 500 mg. x2 a day. I was flooded when he told me this! That's like an adult dose, but when we did blood work in May he was right in the middle of to low and to high. So we kept it were it was. So we are going to try this and do blood work next Friday to see if the dosage is right. *fingers crossed*
We ask the doctor if we should put in the hospital and start from scratch. I really don't want him in the hospital, but if it will help him I willing to do anything! He said unless he doesn't have anywhere safe to go is the only way he would put in the hospital. So because home is safe no hospital. He said that putting in the hospital could do more harm than good. The doctor also said that from what he can see is that we really didn't need to take him off his medicine that we just need to get the right mood stabilizers. He said we could start over from scratch if we wanted to, but he didn't find it necessary.
He said we could send him back to school on Monday. He suggested push the school to get the extra help he needs or find another school.
Today is day one of the new dose. So far so good! 
This will give it a couple of days to work on him before he goes back to school. Going back to school will be the test.
Wish us luck!
I was able to talk to someone at the doctor's office this morning. Like you suggested they said to keep him home today and tomorrow. He'll be seen tomorrow at 3:45 pm.
Two weeks or so ago, we deceased his Concerta by 36mg. The doctor thought it might be over stimulating him. That did work at all. So we put the Concerta back to 72mg. That's when we increased his Risperdal by 1mg. a day. It had seemed to be working until now.
My son is very sleepy today. That is not uncommon when he explodes like that.
I really feel for you. It is so tough to send these kids to school. I have been on the fence since school started. I hate sending him, but at the same time I'm not so sure I could homeschool either. So its been tough. Today the principal called because my son was completely wigging out at school. My son said that there were ants and bugs crawling out of his desk, his socks, everywhere. I had to o get him and take him to the doctor yet again! They took him off the Daytrana for good this time...This is what I wanted to do weeks ago, but what do I know, I'm just his Mom. Anyway, when the principal didn't seem concerned about my concerns. I decided that school is absolute crap for these children and I am withdrawing my son. I could do a better job than the school of teaching my child if I did nothing at all. So I think we'll be fine. It's going to be tough to pull it off, but my son is worth it!
good luck lonergirl. I know you've been struggling with this decision.
Quite often children just need to be homeschooled until they are able to manage their anxieties and can then return. I have a family member who's son just was a social wreck at school. His psych. recommended getting him OUT. She did and homeschooled for 2 years and then when he was ready she sent him back, to a smaller school different environment, he was older, he is now thriving.
[QUOTE=Diane V]good luck lonergirl. I know you've been struggling with this decision.
Quite often children just need to be homeschooled until they are able to manage their anxieties and can then return. I have a family member who's son just was a social wreck at school. His psych. recommended getting him OUT. She did and homeschooled for 2 years and then when he was ready she sent him back, to a smaller school different environment, he was older, he is now thriving.
[/QUOTE]
That's good to hear Diane V. I worry about schooling him at home, but he is just not functioning well at school. And no one seems to care. It's crazy. I spoke to the principal today. I told him of all my concerns and he just listened quietly and then said, "Well, I just wanted to let you know what was going on with your son." I felt like I'd just been hurried through the McDonalds drive-thru...You know how they try to get you through so quick they hang your bag out the window...
It's like I'm the first mom ever to have a child with a problem.
I completely understand. School actually contacted me today to tell me I wasnt allowed to talk to the pscyhologist that did my daighters evaluation until the TEAM meeting with everyone there, and some one would call me leter today, but they are very busy with school just starting. After I had a tantrum in June wanting to be SURE we got this all set before the start of school. They are always TOO busy. I actually just contacted an advocate. It's going to cost me a lot of money, but it's the route I need to take right now. Partly to save my own sanity.oh poor thing. my thoughts are with you. Hang in there.
you are not alone!!
Oh wow. I had my son at home all summer and let him play on the computer, watch TV, etc and he was a happy kid. He also has ADHD, ODD, and possibly mood disorder- but giving him some room to just do what he wanted really helped. While finding a school for him this fall , he was home for about 2-3 weeks while other kids were in school and still a happy camper. I found a school for him where the other 10 kids in the class have learning disabilities and he is getting the classroom experience and social interaction. It's a private school and very flexible. The kids can move, wiggle, and do what they need to deal with emotions. The teacher is amazing - it's a very special place for kids who are not mainstream. If you can afford this type of school, I would recommend it.
If a private school isn't an option (there are good ones for kids with learning disabilities and emotional issues) then I would home-school him with lots of HELP. Use tutors, sitters, community center programs, etc. to keep him learning something. But I honestly feel trying to get our kids to fit into the mold of public schools is often too hard on everyone. Best of luck - we're here for you.
kimi jo- I would immediately put him on at least 1000 mg of omega-3 high-EPA fish oil. Here are the studies:
http://www.autismconnect.org/news.asp?section=00010001&i temtype=news&id=5940 -- shows a reduction in aggressive behavior. EATON HALL STUDY.
http://www.durhamtrial.org/primary%20results%20new.htm-- shows a reduction in hyperactive/impulsive behavior. DURHAM-OXFORD STUDY.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/health main.html?in_article_id=449119&in_page_id=1774 -- significant reductions in ADHD symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA STUDY.
I would also put him on 6X his body weight of magnesium. I bumped the magnesium studies on the Alternative board. It reduces hyperactivity.
Well it's been about two and half weeks since the medicine changes.
He is still aggressive at school. This past week I received a call from the school. Apparently, he was trying ti take a highlighter off the teachers desk, she had told him no that he couldn't have it, but directed him to were he could get one. She kept telling him no and to have a set, he started taking things off her desk. She told my son to have a set or he was going to have to go to the office to see the principal. He refused to sit down or go to the office. The teacher had to carry him to the office where he proceeded to tell them that "they suck", "this school sucks", "the teacher suck" and told the secretary to "shut up". The secretary told him not to talk her like that , that her kids don't talk to her like that and neither was he. Shortly after he calmed down and was able to go back to class. The secretary called me to let me know what was going on and said she had seen my son in the hall right before she called me. He had apologized to her and was really sincere. Later that day I found to out that he apologized on his own with no prompting. I told the school that no medicine changes could be make right now and that I would talk to him about his improper language but, I couldn't control his impulsiveness.
On one hand I was upset that he was talking to people like that but on the other hand I am very proud of him for using words and not hitting any one.
We went to see his doctor on Friday. I had his teacher write a note to the doctor so he could see what was going on at school. No changes were made because the lab hadn't sent my son's test results yet. 
After they told me that the blood work would be there. So we go back this Friday to find out the test results and see what changes need to be made.
Well wish me luck.
Kimi, I just started reading this thread today, and I whole-heartedly agree that changing schools might have been a huge trigger for your son's behavior. My oldest son, who has no behavioral issues whatsoever, had to deal with two school changes due to moving, one in fourth grade and one in seventh. The seventh grade move was a disaster! He had always been a great student, in gifted-and-talented classes since first grade. Wow, was he ticked about having to move! He stopped turning in homework, left books at school, stopped reading for fun(which he always loved to do) because some kid teased him about his books being as thick as dictionaries, and was moody and sassy at home. It took months for us to catch the behavior, because the new teachers weren't familiar with his history until his grades had gotten so bad that someone finally thought to check out his transcripts and realized that something odd was going on. Anyway, I'll bet that if you can get him involved in lots of groups in the new school, find a few families who might have children with similar issues that you could have over to your house, and just generally support him during this hard adjustment, he'll come around. Good luck!
Also, I wanted to chime in about meds. While meds can be very helpful and vital for some things, not every difficulty can be addressed by a medication change or dosage change. Sometimes personalities are what they are, and we have to work with what our children have.
I have been reading all of these posting and I'm sad all over again. My daughter gets into a lot of trouble at school and she has not been diagnosed. She don't have any friends and like kids of a younger age. She is 12yrs old on on the path of being kicked out of school. She does have a counselor and has an appointment Wednesday. I have so much to tell her. She has been suspended 2 and is still at home today. She assaulted the teacher and call him names. What I don't understand is that she picks her victims. It's not everybody.Tashika
I'm so sorry to hear your having so much trouble. When you go to so her counselor on Wednesday I would ask them to get her an appointment with a psychiatrist. It really sounds like she need help. A counselor is a good start but it sounds like she needs more.
Best of luck!