My 5 yr old son started Kindergarten 2 weeks ago. The first week we had 2 phone calls from the teacher, the second week we had one call from teacher and one from principal, and this past Friday he was sent home from school at 11:30 am. He was diagnosed at 3 with ADHD and put on Ritalin. We could not find the right doses for him. Either he was like a zombie and did not eat or he was 10x’s more hyper and did not eat. A few moths ago we put him on an herbal supplement called KidCalm. The school wouldn’t administer it without a doctors note and I tried several doctors who would not authorize it since it had not been FDA tested. Friday he went to a new doctor who did a FULL evaluation and also believes he has Obbsessive Compulsive Disorder and Obstructive Disorder Disorder. Although he could not personally diagnose this since he is not a psychologist, he went to a book and asked about 50 questions leading to these disorders and every single one applied to my son. He is very hyper, steals,lies, totally destructive ( everything new he touches is broken of destructed in minutes), verbally abusive, physically abusive, defiant, etc…. He even also seems sad at times. The doctor put him on Concerta. He is a VERY intelligent child and can be the absoulute SWEETEST child you ever met, but he can turn in a heartbeat. He has been to 4 different daycares before Kgtn, and 2 of them asked him to leave. I’ve tried psychologists, Florida Dept of learning, books, etc…..I’ve learned to deal with it however the school is getting antsy already. His teacher is a young second year teacher and she is ABSOLUTELY Wonderful. She is more than willing to help. Here’s where I need help…..Now that you know his background, my husband and I have a meeting with the teacher, the principal, and his guidance counselor Wednesday morning to develop a plan. I want to be prepared. I don’t want them to push us around and not know what I am talking about. Not that they will, but just in case. Can somebody please inform me of the laws that apply here? Does anybody have any suggestions at all? About medicine, therapy, school, home, anything? More than willing to listen. I feel like I’m going to have a nervous breakdown soon if this does not get better soon and I’m only 25! Its hurting my health, my marriage, and know my bright sons future. Please help!
Re: Need help w/ADHD,OCD,ODD 5yr old
The earlier the diagnosis, the better. Your son is lucky. Educate, educate, educate yourself about OCD and ODD. Contact the APA (American Psychology Association) for excellent referrals and reading material. APA.ORG is the website.
Ask the doctor to refer you to mental health/pediatric mental health specialists. You need to confer with professionals who have seen lots of kids like your son—they can connect you with other parents, with support groups, with good literature. Your doctor did a good job but now you need more expertise than a general pediatrician can provide.
Re: Need help w/ADHD,OCD,ODD 5yr old
Thank you so much for your input. I appreciate anything I can get. Just so you know, we started him on Concerta Saturday and both Monday and Tuesday we got excellent reports from his school AND daycare. I know its very early in the game….but so far so good. I’m taking it day by day. Well tomorrow’s the big meeting at school so wish me luck! Thanks for your help!
Re: Need help w/ADHD,OCD,ODD 5yr old
Okay to me this a three fold problem.
1. Your legal rights are this:
A. You have the right as a parent to have EVERYTHING explained to you.
B. If you do not agree you have the right to do many possible things. If you do not agree with the schools evaluation,you may request a private evaluation. If they have NOT done an evaluation,you have the right to request that one be done. Please bare in mind if your son does have ODD,or OCD,this would need to be evaluated by a clinical psychologist. If this is suspected this would harm his educational experience and you have the right to request that they also recieve an evaluation from a clinical psychologist. A certified School psychologist is generally not a clinical psychologist. Even if the school said they can’t do the eval,this IS true,but they are still responsible to find someone who is.
These two bits of your rights,comes from Individuals with disabilities act. Or IDEA. Parental Safeguard section of IDEA discusses your right as the parent in any decision made in your child’s education,they MUST provide you with a copy of these rights before the meeting,ANY meeting.The right to an evaluation comes from the Child find section of IDEA,this section discusses your child’s right to be “identified” or in other words evaluated completely.
c. You are an equal member of the IEP team,or CST. Any decision made about your child and his plan needs your input first.
d. if you do not agree with the plan you may reject the plan. You can file for mediatrion to discuss your reason for rejecting the plan,in other words they must have your participation,unless you tell them otherwise.
This is from the section of IDEA,that discusse the IEP team and plan.
2. You did not state whether he was doing better on Concerta? I know my youngest is doing well on it. My oldest takes dexedrine,both tried Adderall. You have to really be dilligent regarding the meds and their side effects.There is SO many meds out their he doesn’t have to stick to one that doesn’t help.
3.Again I would seek out the advice of a specialist. A pediatrician can really only make guesses,unless they are a developmental pediatrician. A good evaluation is your next big step. AWithout one no plan can be adequately put into action.
Re: Need help w/ADHD,OCD,ODD 5yr old
Thank you so much. WOW! I really picked up a lot! So far is doing great with the new med. He was very whiny tonight at about 7:00 which was unusual. I’m just going to keep watching it. Thanks a lot again. Info was wonderful and well explained.
Re: Need help w/ADHD,OCD,ODD 5yr old
Good:-) He could be actually tired? My youngest before he was on concerta never got tired. He does now,it has been wonderfuly without ANY side effects.
Re: Need help w/ADHD,OCD,ODD 5yr old
It is very possible that your son has a condition called juvenile bipolar disorder. Many many children with this disorder are commonly misdiagnosed with ADHD, OCD and ODD. Visit www. bpkids.org and read up on the illness - there is also a bulletin board like this one. If this is really what your child has, then the stimulants actually make the condition worse and a whole different category of medications is needed. Many pdocs are unfamiliar with the latest research on this disorder so the website is the best place to go for help.
Adderall. My son cannot take Ritalin or Concerta (which is just timed realese Ritalin) because he gets worse. Your experience sounds likemine in Kindergarten-I spent more time at school than he did -in conferences!! Now he is starting 4th grade and most of the time all is right with the world. Finding the right meds (and dose) can be TOUGH.