ODD or Anxiety Disorder anyone??

[JoiseyMom]

DS7 is ADHD and on meds. They haven't been as effective recently, and his case worker at school feels strongly that he has an Anxiety Disorder. They did a Conner evaluation and she gave us a name of a pyschiatrist she feels is great.

Well we went to our pediatrician who feels it is more likey ODD and gave us a different pyschiatrist to see (who is not taking new patients and I have to call the ped back this morning), and a script for meds to dry. He also gave the name of a therapist.

I really don't know if I want to add more meds to the mix.

DS will melt down in class, be argumentative, and not want to isten when he is upset. He also is socially immature. We have him in a social group. The kids in his class don't want to be friends with him, since DS always feels he is right.

DS is very very bright and academics are not effected.

Any advice?? Thanks!

 

[debbi801]

No real advice. But, I will say that when my 7 yr old DS (an Aspie) was on ADHD meds, he had lots of ODD and anxiety symptoms. If you look at some of the side effects of the meds he is on, you might be surprised. My DS was on Focalin, Adderal, Vyvance, and concerta. Each of them caused him to be over-the-top angry, have worse tantrums than he usually has, he had paranoia, and was worried about everything.

We finally took him off all ADHD meds and it made a huge difference. Now, I have him on a low dose of an old anti-anxiety med and that's it. Ideally, I would like to eventually have him off everything. But, until he gets better of coping with his anxiety, the anti-anxiety med works for us. He still has all the ADHD behaviors, but those are preferable for us than the ODD behaviors. The school is just learning to adapt and has decided that if he wants to figit and bounce up and down in his seat or squeeze on a squishy ball while he works it's fine.

GL.

 

[bookwormde]

To me it sounds like your child is a candidate for full evaluations for autism spectrum characteristics and to see which if any he has and if they would reach the clinical levels for a formal diagnosis of Aspergers. Even if he does not get a formal diagnosis the information is valuable for clinicians who work with children with these characteristics.

A psychiatrist is probably the worst route to go since they treat “diseases” and are not properly trained to diagnose and prescribe for neurovariations, and if it is autism spectrum characteristics you just end up “treating” the alphabet soup set of co morbidities with very powerful drugs instead of working on the core of the issue.

To get a proper evaluation, typically it requires that it be done by a major medical center with and Autism team or a private practice group that specialized in Autism/Aspergers and who’s members are vary current in the state of the art.

The good news is that if it turns out to be spectrum neurovariation or clinical Aspergers that once the proper clinical and educational (non academic) supports are put in place the anxiety levels generally drop to a small percentage of past levels the co-morbid behaviors disappear almost entirely.

If you wish to educate yourself about this I suggest Tony Attwood’s book “The Complete Guide to Aspergers” C2007 available on Amazon for about $25. He is the preeminent international clinician in this area. For a 6-10 hour read you will be able to make a much better judgment as to which clinical direction to take with your child.

If you have any specific questions in this area there are lots of parent on this board who has been where you are now and have made significant progress so feel free to ask

bookwormde

 

[JoiseyMom]

To me it sounds like your child is a candidate for full evaluations for autism spectrum characteristics and to see which if any he has and if they would reach the clinical levels for a formal diagnosis of Aspergers. Even if he does not get a formal diagnosis the information is valuable for clinicians who work with children with these characteristics.

A psychiatrist is probably the worst route to go since they treat “diseases” and are not properly trained to diagnose and prescribe for neurovariations, and if it is autism spectrum characteristics you just end up “treating” the alphabet soup set of co morbidities with very powerful drugs instead of working on the core of the issue.

To get a proper evaluation, typically it requires that it be done by a major medical center with and Autism team or a private practice group that specialized in Autism/Aspergers and who’s members are vary current in the state of the art.

The good news is that if it turns out to be spectrum neurovariation or clinical Aspergers that once the proper clinical and educational (non academic) supports are put in place the anxiety levels generally drop to a small percentage of past levels the co-morbid behaviors disappear almost entirely.

If you wish to educate yourself about this I suggest Tony Attwood’s book “The Complete Guide to Aspergers” C2007 available on Amazon for about $25. He is the preeminent international clinician in this area. For a 6-10 hour read you will be able to make a much better judgment as to which clinical direction to take with your child.

If you have any specific questions in this area there are lots of parent on this board who has been where you are now and have made significant progress so feel free to ask

bookwormde

Thanks so much for the advice..but we don't think that is it. We have an excellent pediatrician and neurologist and if anyone thought it was that we would have gone that route. He is most definitely ADHD, and I know some of the issues of his meds might cause the other issues.

I think I will discuss with my husband taking him off the meds for school, and see what happens. I have him off meds at home and he is just hyper. The anxiety we never see at home. The anger and tantrums we do.

The meds my pediatrican suggested I do NOT plan on giving him. They are an anti-psychotic!! I do not like what I have read. The therapist that was recommened sounds really good from what I read on his website, so I want to see what he has to offer.

 

[kymmyk13]

My DD4 had ODD,OCD,ADHD, anxiety disorder, speech delay and is delayed with her cognitive skills. Hang in there, things got better for us upon diagnosis 1 1/2 years ago but if you know what it is you can work with it. My DD goes to a special needs preschool at our elemntary school and she received speech therphy and occupational therphy there. I also take her to therphy with a nurse pactitioner who specializes in ADHD and anxiety issues(this is for me as much as for her, we talk about how to deal with her and issues we may be having at the time). Seek as much help as you can get. ODD is a fustrating and exhausting disorder to deal with. Good luck and let me know if there is anything I can do to help. that is her to the left with her big sister.

 

[bookwormde]

It is good that you have good clinicians, you are likely correct if there are no notable social differentials, as that is one of the primary characteristics the evaluation would have determined and is a key incicator. I would still suggest reading Attwood since it gives a good underlying understanding of the broader challenges that children with differences face.

Sound like you have a good handle on the nature of the medications also so you can make informed choices, Good luck with your “journey”.

bookwormde