New to Board | Autism PDD
Sorry I was off the mark. It's great that he says sorry afterwards.
My son was on the Risperdal for aggressions etc and I found that he
became more aggressive rather that less. He was more touchy too.
Does he scream at school? If they are having the same problem maybe you could work together on a solution.
I found with David too that he needed to self monitor his level of
frustration. We made up a thermometer on cardboard showing levels of
emotion, calm, tense, upset angry etc and we would ask him how he was
feeling every 15 minutes or so. He would then be able to focus on how
he was feeling and then do some calming strategies. Quite often our
kids are getting tense and upset and are not even aware until it is too
late. We had to do this at school a few years ago as we had worked out
that his outbursts were due to his difficulty in coping with the
environment.
I still think that the books may be useful. Even though David would
apologise later for his outbursts he still needed to work out better
ways on handling things and the books did help.
Shelly,
Hi and welcome!
I also have an ODD child. Jared was Dx when he was 6. He was unable to follow directions unless given by a personal aide wich wasn't availiable. He wouldn't transition I got calls that my son wouldn't come in from resess and other actities.
The school called me into a meeting to discuss holding Jared back to mature. In the meeting the special services director said it was a shame Jared was so disruptive that he missed basic reading skills. The teacher and I both imediatly corrected her. Jared was reading on the required level but his disruptions were costing other students.
My son handels requests first by ignoring, then asking WHY?, then argueing, and last a huge tantrum with screaming and sometimes violence.
We have also had ADHD as a Dx but I finally conviced his Drs. that it didn't fit him. Bipolar has been thrown in alot but I have a child phyc. who doesn't think this fits but maybe in his future. He was given a morality test at age 6 wich he passed with flying colors so I know he knows right from wrong.
Shelly I have alot of questions because Drs. are very reluctant to even evalutate Jared for spectrum disorders even though his 4 y/o brother is HFA. How did you get Drs. to test for a PDD? Also is your son above average in intellegence? Is he very hyper-active? Mine is not hyper but is above average intellegence.
Nelle
PS. We went down the Risperdal route to with no sucsess even when they upped his dose. Jared couldn't sleep on it and ate everything in sight.Nelle
[QUOTE=Shel81495] Definitions for abbreviations: http://www.autism-pdd.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=731& PN=1 Hope this helps!
WELCOME!!!!!!!! I really don't have any answers for you.........but am always willing to listen.........I have a sone who is PDD-NOS......he is also very verbal and he can be oppositonal though he doesn't do any screaming........he too thinks he should always get what he wants...........He is almost 10...good luck and God Bless Welcome to the board Shelly! I have a teen who was diagnosed with ODD when she was 7 (although now at 17 I am hearing its possibly bipolar, although she has every sign and symptom of ODD on a daily basis) My son has autism, so I have some experience with both but not in a combination in one child. I know screaming, screeching, or other vocal noises can be a characteristic of autism. It does sound like your son's has a purpose though. You say he is verbal and can talk like we do but does he UNDERSTAND what is being said to him and what he is saying? It could be a frustration over not understanding why he can't have a toy a snack or whatever. OR possibly he thinks NO means NEVER? Maybe he needs something said like Not now but after dinner. so it doesnt sound so final where he fears never getting something. It sounds like your son may have low frustration tolerance and trouble with transitions as well. You mention he was recently diagnosed ... have you tried a schedule with him? Alot of people with little kids (most non verbal) will do a pecs board to help the child see what needs done. As the child looks at what is next and takes the card to do the task they feel in charge of the next task by dropping the card in a designated place. This way they are able to predict what is going to happen next which reduces anxiety. If this is a possibility with your son of what may be causing his problems I would suggest a few things. First Consistency and PREPERATION are important. Let him know with as much advance notice what is planned and needs done. ESPECIALLY about any changes like a trip to the store, a doctor appointment and so on. Put them on a calander he can see so he will know to expect them. Give him as much advance notice of any changes. Use a timer for transitions. Example in the home ... try to make bath and bed time at the same time every night and make it routine meaning always do it in the same order so he can predict what is next. Use a timer if he gets 15 minutes of "free time" between getting out of the tub and having to climb in bed have the BEEP be "the rule" meaning the rule is when the timer beeps we need to do the next thing. My son is almost 10 and can not be outside alone due to safety concerns... I dont know if your son is outside alone or not but maybe having a wrist watch if he can tolerate it on him or a stop watch that clips to his belt loop or one that can hang around his neck or something that can be set somewhere nearby.... but try setting a timer or alarm for a certain amount of time and when he hears the beep he knows he needs to come in. It may help reduce his frustration that he has to transition when he is having fun playing. On the ODD side of things.... my daughter UGH! She expects things to be handed to her on a silver platter. Shes nice when she wants something but as soon as the answer is no she is WICKED, She cant handle a NO answer to anything! She is very controlling and takes no responsibility for anything. If she says black and I say white... if I turn around and agree its black she decides no its gray. She hates praise, yet will say how I don't love her and never give her attention, or do anything for her... yet when I try to spend time with her she doesnt want it. She wants to make it impossible for me to be there for her so she can complain about it. I just wanted to extend a warm welcome to the board. As I'm sure you've already seen, it's full of great and supportive parents and is the place to go for comfort, listening, and info. Look forward to further chatting with you. Amber Welcome Shelly. Sorry I dont have a lot to say about help for your son. My son has pretty severe autism and is developing a lot of negative behaviors. I am trying with all my might to find someone willing and capable of helping us with behavior modification- sure does seem nigh on to impossible to find the help here in my state. I cant really help you, but I can offer my cyberfriendship and understanding.
Oh wow sounds like my son. In first grade he would go hide when the recess bell rang! He hated going inside. Mat just started 3rd Grade and at the end of 2nd grade tested at a 4th grade reading level. Which is pretty nice since he couldnt read ANYTHING at the start of first grade! He does have above normal intel. He is a VERY active child.. I can't really say he is Hyper anymore. He is on an anti-depressent as well.
He was never ACTUALLY tested for PDD. His Psychiatrist made the diagnosis after several sessions with him I guess. I didn't even know about the diagnosis until another dr asked me about it over a year later! We are having testing done for AS in November at a different hospital. They are doing Psych. Eval, Speech Pathologist, Psych. testing and even an edu. Consult. at the University Hospital. I can't wait to have a REAL diagnosis and PLAN I can trust! I just called the Univ. Hospital because his social worker said I should and told them that I wanted the testing done and they set me up. But he was already diagnosed with PDD by another Dr. I just don't trust the dx!!
By the way- could someone email me and tell me what some of the abbreviations stand for?
DH-
And is DS diagnosed son?
NT- normal? I'm new and couldn't figure all of them out! LOL!
THANKS!!
Shelly
By the way- could someone email me and tell me what some of the abbreviations stand for?
DH-
And is DS diagnosed son?
NT- normal? I'm new and couldn't figure all of them out! LOL!
THANKS!!
Shelly [/QUOTE]
My son is 13, Autism ADHD etc and very bright. He does the screaming
thing too. Luckily he doesn't do it unless he is very wound up but when
he does, wow! He knows it is inappropriate but does it just because he
can and because he wants us to know how annoyed he his.
Does he do the screaming at school? If it is part of the ODD then it is
very hard to treat. He really needs a consequence for the screaming
that will make it not worth his while. Unfortunately there is very
little we can take away that works. I really think he will need some
sort of medication to "chill him out". Medicating is a big step but
until he calms down a bit you can't put other strategies in place.
My son also hits us when he is not getting his own way. But when I tell
him he will miss out on school (he loves school better than anything)
if he continues in his behaviour he stops straight away. He will refuse
to do anything I want sometimes just for the sake of it. Reminding
about school gets him back on track LOL. I hate the long holidays
because then I haven't much left to use. Though his Deputy Principal at
school has told him if he is naughty for me then she will keep him out
of school for as many days as I say. That worked a treat. His
behaviour is so much better now because of that.
At the moment your son can express his anger anyway he likes because
any consequence we can use he won't care about. I also found that when
I read my son a story about tantrums, "Let's Talk about Throwing
Tantrums" by Joy Berry his tantrums reduced by 50% overnight.
There is also one called "Let's talk about Accepting No". They
are social stories aimed at the six year old level but I think
quite useful for older kids on the spectrum.
I ended up buying the whole series and found it extremely useful. When
it is written they often think it must be true but when we say it of
course we are trying to control them! I think if you can get hold
of them at your library they would be helpful but at Amazon they are
out of print. Maybe you could get them on ebay. I bought mine through
scholastic on a direct order plan.
I could pm the text if you want.
Good luck.
hey shelly,just posted about screaming.which carlo does alot.we do a lot of preporation for trips and so on,also we use a visual scedule with him. tkae care and again welcome.mom2carlo
My son was diagnosed with PDD (thats all they tell me) in march of 04 but I didn't find out until May of this year. We have been dealing with a lot since then. He is 8 years old and in a regular school and gets really good grades but his behavior has always been a problem. Mat was diagnosed in aug of 03 with ADHD and ODD. He screams a lot when he doesnt get his way or when asked to do something that he doesnt want to do.
The doctors never seem to help me a lot and I was wondering if anyone here would have any suggestions on how to curb his screaming? Sometimes I just ask him what he is doing or where he is going and he screams back the answer as loud as he can. And always has a very mad look on his face. He doesnt smile a lot.. We are taking him to a University Hospital for a second opinion in November.
I'm just glad we ALL have a place to go and talk to others that deal with this. A lot of people dont understand what I go through or why Mat is the way he is. Not even the school which has always treated him like a criminal. This is the first year we seem to have some hope of them helping him.
Anyway,... thanks for listening!
ShellyCheryl,
You said something about medicating him. He is medicated. He is currently on Chlomipramine for the ADHD/OCD and Risperdal 1.5 mg for the violence and tantrums. Hasnt worked and we started at .25 mg and now upto 1.5mg. And the tantrums arent from the ODD I wouldnt think because afterward he will say he is sorry for screaming at us or hitting kicking ect. I don't think an ODD child would be sorry for it. And again he screams that he hates that he screams.. LOL Its frustrating watching him go through this and frustrating that I cant help him. We havent foung a calming method that will work with him yet. If I tell him to think about why he is screaming he just screams louder.. I don't know with all the disorders out there that are so much a like it is sooo hard to figure out what will work for him.
Thanks for all the replies everyone!!
ShellyJust wanted to say Welcome. This is great place to be!
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