Hi Kakie, I have an almost 9 yr old son who was diagnosed ADHD earlier on this year and has been on med's since but were not sure if meds are as effective anymore so thats being monitored. I beleive my son displays traits of ODD, OCD and Anxiety. Accademically my son does well but socially............he gets nowehere and is never invited for playdates/parties. I am always being told how there is cnflict between the boys in the class and my son is in the midst of all the conflicts. I've had other parents approach the teacher wanting things done so my son stops his "annoying" behaviours. The teachers trying and me and my family are trying (but feel were getting nowhere). The ODD side, I have done the checklist of the symptons and my son pretty much displays them all. However, I have often heard it could be realted to the ADHD and if treated properly with the med's, most times the ODD symptons disappear or are easier to address. The OCD, my son insists on washing his hands more than what I consider normal. He is very worried about germs and other stuff. The anxiety, he stresses and worries about things more than what I consider to be normal. We have an issue at the moment with him picking his sores/skin and it's horrible. He picks his bottoms lip and it gets swollen and bleeds. His sores take forever to heal.........I am going to see a ADHD Physc in a few weeks so Im hoping to she can help us out big time. I suffered from Tics all through school years and I wouldnt be surprised if my son gets this as well. He hs had several "tics" or "habits" which he has had for several weeks and then they abruptly stop but same as me, another one formed later.
Sorry to ramble on but I just would like to let you know you are not alone (even though it feels that way). I take my kids into the schoolyard daily (smaller size school compared to some) and I do feel very alone, I feel as though teachers, parents etc all looking at me judging me because of my son.
I couldn't even imagine how hard it must be to have 2 children with ADHD and I do hope you can get the treatment that's necessary.
Just another thing, I've done alot of reading about the ODD (defiance disorder) and prior to my son being diagnosed with ADHD, we just thought we had the naughtiest child around and because he was so difficult, we did discipline him rather harshly (ie: lots of time outs, yelling, removing privilleges) but all the books say dont be too harsh on ODD kids as it can have detrimental effects on them and to discipline them a different way to your "regular" child.
Wishing you good luck and any other Q's pls feel free to post here or vent away. There is alot of great advice on this board from other people.
Marlene
Our DS, age 7, has been diagnosed with ADHD (severely Impulsive and hyperactive), SPD - stimulis seeking, and Tourettes Syndrome. He also meets the criteria for ODD --but, we feel that it is probably more reflective of his untreated ADHD (he can't take stimulants due to Tics, dark thoughts, kill talk and aggressive behavior). They sure do have a mixed bag of stuff to deal with! Poor little guys.