5yr old_major problems

Just getting back to this site. Didn't see any response or advice? Please anything would be helpful. Kristy

Hi Kristy, as a possiblity, have you ruled out any kind of food reactions? I've become an advocate since my dd (SPD and severe behavioral rages) became barely the same child since I took her off all milk products. I haven't gone gluten free, although I still consider that. Since trying and having so much success, I've read a lot about dietary interventions and they can be amazing when they work. What's so suprising is that I've learned it's not just dyes and chemicals (which thankfully the American medical community now supports) that can cause problems, but the casein in milk, gluten, certain fruits for children sensitive to phenols..and on and on. I believe it typically takes some time to see improvement, but with my dd it literally took a week. She went from daily rages, an inability to sit for more than 5 minutes unless she was watching tv...to choosing to sit and address Valentines for 35 minutes after a week with no milk! Her SPD didn't go away, but her OT saw significant clinical improvements within a month. It was really nice to have objective testing :) The Yahoo neuro reorganization group and SPD group both have lots of posters with lots of experience in trying and trying until something works. and, I have to quote my dd who was 4 at the time, when I asked her what she thought about being dairy free. I expected her to say " I miss cheese!" and she said "Happy!" so then I asked "sweetie, what was it like with dairy?" ( It was her favorite food group; she sobbed when I told her we were going to go without it for a few weeks at first) and she answered...."angry, droopy and sad." It nearly broke my heart. All the best in your journey... Susan

Post on the special needs board-you'll get more response. Besides the doc who is perscribing meds, what kind of therapy is he getting? Are you included in the therapy? Are they giving you any workable techniques to use? 6 year olds can be highly dangerous when they are mentally ill-however, it's way too early to decide he has no hope or will need a treatment center later. He might, but he might not. I would look into the food sensitivities-it seems out there but I've known people who have changed their kids lives by altering what they eat. Hope you get some answers to help your child

Thanks for your posts. I could change the diet. but then it gets tricky when my son begs for Milk. Something to think about. I don't want to put him anywhere. I have worked so hard for him to succeed with all of his challenges to give up on him. Psycs are just explaining that I may need to do something one day, just hard to think that way. He is a little boy. Right now, he is not on any real therapies, except once a month for 45 min. and all they want to do is charts. This child is so intelligent he can get around them. He is in OT for Sensory Integration once a week for an hour along with his siblings. I will post in special needs as well. thanks for all your advice on my son's current situation our families. Thanks, Kristy

Hi Kristy, one of the "red flags" for a food sensitivity that causes behavioral challenges is loving the food, so I wondered if your son loves milk (and begs for it). It's the biggest reason I put off trying a diet without it, because I knew how much my dd would miss it. What's known scientifically is that the protein casein in milk breaks down into an opiod. What's hypothesized at this point (although I've seen varying opinions even among those who agree that casein can cause problems) is that the opiod molecule gets through the intestinal wall and to the brain, causing behaviors, including "addiction" to the protein. We were lucky, my dd sobbed when I told her no milk, and then when she asked for cheese, said 'no,' yogurt, said 'no'...but she felt so much better so fast, and now has terrible rages and feels terrible if she accidentally gets dairy, that it's been fairly easy for her to stay away from milk. Please PM me if I can help. Susan

Good luck, attachment therapy can help if you can find one near you. We deal with the same things. We know foods do not cause my son's because he also has an eating disorder and goes days without eating. Though we have made some progress. It's not a fun life at all!

Do you mean another son begging for milk? The easiest thing to do is change the diet for the whole household. Not to mention, it's easiest not to eat something if... it's not in the house. I should know... I'd be a complete nutcase if I wasn't on a very "natural food" diet with a lot of things that I have to avoid. One gets used to it... mostly.Agree with pp, that if you're allergic to something, it's likely to be an addictive relationship with it, whether wheat, milk, sugar, etc. And btw, 24 hours after the last time you eat a food, if you're allergic, you have a huge craving to eat it. If you can make it past the 24 hours, the *physical* craving is gone, only mental/emotional remain.[url=http://www.feingold.org]The Feingold Diet Program for ADHD[/url] is the mother lode of info on diet modification and how it helps. Great case histories.[url=http://www.hoagiesgifted.org]Hoagies' Gifted Education Page[/url] is the mother lode of info on all things gifted. You mention he's quite intelligent. Ck that site for gifted plus other disabilities.And... 45 minutes with the wrong therapist? Worthless, or worse. Daniel A. Hughes' books/ therapies, google books or site: he gets what this type of child needs. Don't settle for people who say, "Can't be fixed."Best of success to you.

Kristy, Sounds like you and your son are struggling in a major way. He needs to be in therapy. If one of his diagnoses is severe RAD, he needs attachment therapy. Attachment therapy helps a child develop a new sense of self where they feel safer and calmer. At the same time, parents learn new ways to parent their child. It is very likely that what's being diagnosed as a mood disorder is actually a manifestation of his RAD. And, since RAD is a developmental disorder, it's also possible that addressing the RAD will address some of the PDD issues. My recommendation would be to fight and kick and scream to get him into attachment therapy with a trained attachment therapist. Attachment therapy will deal with his RAD and his PTSD, and with luck, the attachment therapist can also help with sensory issues. Susan W.