hi, my son is nearly 17 diagnosed wit adhd since he was 5. was on ritalin til the age of 12 then changed to strattera but was takin off strattera because of aggresiveness. he was put on equazim xl for the last year but found it didnt help him at all . the meds made no difference to the way he was behaving as he has terrible behavioural probs.has been back on the strattera for the last 3 months and had seemed to be doing fine . the last year has bbrought terrible times to us as a family. he is terribly aggresive ,has punched me on 2 occasions and thinks he is a law onto himself . has been getting behavioural management counselling , seeing a clinical psycologist, and nothing seems to sink in . he thiks its al one big joke . tue night last he took my husbands company car (unknowingly to us as it was 3 am and wre sleeping)and went for a spin in it and crashed the car . thank god he wasnt hurt.....but the car is a write off . nobody was with him. he panicked walked home and staged that we had a break in . n. (to pretend the car was robbed. )but to our horror the whole proper story unfolded as the day wor on after we called the police . al he got was a formal cautioning as here in ireland ur not an adult til 18.. now we find out that we have to hand out 24,000 euro to pay for the company car as it was our son who stole it .the insurance would have covered it if a stranger had taken it . we are in a terrible way ...i no everybody keeps telling us he is lucky to be alive but the sad and frustrating thing is he doesnt see the seriousness in t whole situationand isnt a bit remorsfull . we are at our wits end with him . he is out of controll . have went down every avenue to controll him but he still does what he wants when he wants .please please is there anyone here that can give us some advice??????
Hello- Wow, you have really been totally stressed out as a family! I am so sorry!! First- obviously your son is presently out of control and that needs to be addressed. I don't know how the medical system in Ireland works BUT this is an emergency and so I think if you call his doctor and/or clinic and ask for an emergency appointment. It sounds as though his meds are not working correctly and may need to be worked with. INSIST that he be seen- perhaps, even if the police would not do anything, they can give you a copy of the report that you can take to the doctor.
Next, have your husband contact the insurance company again and speak to a supervisor. Insurance should cover the loss no matter who the driver. Put your requests in writing to the insurance company and even the doctor and keep copies.
Finally, you have this forum to get support, to vent, and find other families that have also gone through similar crisis. I know they will post and offer suggestions a lot better than mine.
My prayers and thoughts are with your family. Please keep us posted.
Randy
Wow!! I'm sorry to hear all that you're going through. Our dd is only 9 so we have not had to go through any of the teen stuff yet but have you tried some scare tactics?
Just a thought because I've heard of parents using some of these techniques. Try involving the police and asking them to take him to the jail for just an hour or so. Just long enough for the seriousness of his actions to truly set in. Or even make him face family who lost a child to reckless/dangerous behavior or a car crash. I knew one guy that actually took his teenage daughter to Juvie and made her stay the night (he had it already set up with them) so that she would have a full view of where she was headed. Needless to say she straightened up.
I would also get him in to his doc ASAP and see about some counseling. It deffinitely doesn't sound like his meds are working because of this impulsive behavior but his lack of remorse is what is even scarier.
Good luck and I really hope you can find some help for your family and your son.
hi there, thank ye so much for responding to me. ya have tried scare tactics, involving police etc . but unfortunately it was no use .his psych rang me tis morn and was very sympathetic to us on the phone and an appointment has bbeen arranged for him tis wed so we see how that goes. i did mention about t meds not workingand she said that t meds only worke mainly on focusing and concentration. also this wasnt impulsive behaviour as we found out he had planned it all ,he had texted his friends an hour earlier t meet him nd go for a spin . thank god they didnt turn up as can you just imagine what could have happened. u no wat?adhd is one thing but when it is mixed wit t teenage hormones its like a bomb waiting to explode . god i hope we pull through this one . again thanks for listeningIt's great that the psych is getting you in. Good luck!!
The teenage years can be so scary. I know I was a hellraiser when I was that age, I can just imagine what my parents must have went through.
Just keep your head up. You'll get through this!!
Shar4711...I am so sorry that your son and family are having such problems. My kids are still very young, so I can't give any advice. I do think that the other posts were about what I was thinking, and I think its great that you are seeing a psych soon. Just wishing you luck. Take care of yourself through all this too...