ADHD and somatization

[pattislp]

Hi,

It seems my lot in life is to advocate for parents of children that are unhappy with the former district I worked with. So a few weeks ago a mom at my church called me about her 13 year old daughter who is on Paxil and Concerta for anxiety and ADHD She has a 504 at school but she isn't doing well and lately the child has been staying home from school. They try to take her to school and she starts raging..sometimes she gets to the point she starts throwing up... I am beginning to think she is Bi-Polar because this is SO MUCH more than just Anxiety and ADHD...

The whole family is hostage to this child now...They will cater to her just to have some peace...When she didn't' want to go on the family vacation she went to stay at her grandma's and she was fine... At other times...they will let her stay in her room to chill out, play her video games because she says the meanest things to their other 4 children. Her oldest sister is off at college and can't stand her 13 year old sister, her brother is 17 and he has a difficult time dealing with her. She has a wonderful 9 year old sister and a 4 year old brother who are also dealing with her mood swings. The avoidance, the anxiety, the rages...There is a history of this behavior with this girl when she was about 6 years old...She would scream at her mom "I HATE YOU!!"

I can tell the mom and dad are at the end of their rope. She has a psychiatrist that she is seeing on Tuesday... but the mom was asking me tonight about getting an educational advocate because they need more help than just a 504 and the child has been out of school for 2 weeks. The family will probably get Sarbed "(truancy board)...so

I told them to get a Signed document from her Psychiatrist that she is in crisis right now and requires home study due to her emotional liability. I am going to do some testing to see what I can come up with in regards to a language disorder...I know she definitely has difficulties with social langauge...

But what else can I suggest to them to get help for their child?

[Mayleng]

First they should find our Immediately if they are dealing with BP. The meds she is on can make the Bp worse. If it is BP, she needs to be put on a mood stablelizer
Until they get a correct dx they will just be going around in circles. It's a good idea to get her Pysch to get her homebound status till all this is sorted out.

[ohmama]

Ditto to what Mayleng said! I hope they do get it sorted out very soon. This teenager has learned to use her illness and knows it gives her power ("the whole family is hostage to this child now").

Once she gets the right meds she will also need to relearn her relationship in the family and that she cannot rule things. That's going to be difficult for everyone. I hope she has a good psych because that will make all the difference. Does she live near the Amen Clinic? A brain scan would be great as then they could see for themselves in living color what is going on in her brain. It is very hard to find a psych who hits the nail on the head right away by only using the symptomatic diagnosis. It is easily blamed on parenting or behavioral problems and plans are drawn up without taking into consideration the neurological background of the behavior. The scans give you a definite advantage when the case is difficult like this one.

[pattislp]

They don't live that far away from the Amen Clinic in Newport Beach. When she was younger...I am almost positive they went there but I will double check. They said when she was younger they thought she was bipolar and she started with Depakote which made her calm but really quiet...and they didn't like giving her powerful drugs like that. So they stopped giving her Depakote and then a different psyche said she wasn't Bipolar and started her with Paxil to treat the anxiety...but the ADHD behavior was there...So they did Concerta and the ADHD subsided..they also said...even with this medication things haven't been "Great" just "tolerable."

They had her on the MAXIMUM dosage of Concerta 74 and then backed it down to 54 and have increased the Paxil, the raging and somatization are out of control.

I have known this family for about 6 years now...and knew their child was quirky and ADHD but I had no idea how much pain and suffering they have been through. The fact that they approached my husband and I for help means they have really swallowed their pride to admit her problem is more than they can handle.

My husband and I were talking last night...and he knew things about this kid that I didn't even know as the dad had shared things with him over the years...which further cemented our belief that this is mental illness they are dealing with.

My husband wondered if someone in the family also suffered with mental illness and also observed that this particular child looks different than their other children...she also has a sad look on her face much of the time...which is similar to her mom's...but he thought perhaps it is just her facial structure...I said..."it could be genetic or possibly a syndrome too.

It just broke my heart when my husband and I looked at both the parents and said..."You will get through this...and it will get better..." The dad looked at us and said..."I don't know...because right now I can't imagine it will ever change but we will appreciate any help you can give us."