Any Success with ODD Oppositional Defiance Disorder

I am so overwhelmed after only one month of our 11 year old foster son in our home. he has been picked up at school 4 times in three weeks. threatened to kill his teacher, to take the gun from the schools police officer, has been regularly restrained and kept in a "safe room" at least every few days at school. he has never made any threats against family except once to "report" a family member for threatening him (this was not even true) because "adults need punished too". he has his times of being a complete joy, kind sweet, sensitive. we have no children, this is our first foster placement . has anyone seen a turn around for kids with this diagnosis ? I want to know if there is any hope for more than this? He does take medication, and see a therapist one hour a week. we also work with him in the home. Right now our largest stretch was 6 days without extreme school issues. Thanks everyone for your advice.

What medicine is he on and what is his diagnosis? He probably has anxiety. A stimulant will not help him, it will make him worse. Anxiety presents like aggression in some kids. Try a non-stimulant anti-anxiety med. Celexa is one. Liquid vitamin B also helps anxiety. Good luck!

I haven't seen any signs of anxiety but he does take Stimulants. his medications are: Guanfacine, Methylphenidate and ariprazole. which i don't have much control over as a foster parent although i can suggest my ideas to his doctors. Today he had a terrible episode at school and is in the psychiatric ward :( we are needing news for that.

OK. First, since he's in foster care, odds are he has some type of anxiety. If there's a family history, his may be on a larger scale. Stimulants are not helping. at all. What are the other meds for? Fight and see if you can put him on a non-stimulant anti-anxiety med. I had to beg a "child professional" 3 times for my kid. The change was immediate. Liquid vitamin B works but the taste is horrible. Also, try essential oils for relaxation. Good luck!

THANK YOU for all of your suggestions. Liquid vitamins and essential oils will definitely be a help because i don't need permission to use those. I have been adamant about a need for med change (though not sure which direction to push just "THESE ARE NOT WORKING" and have been trying to get a change for over a month. These people are ridiculousI will definitely ask these questions about his med management. I have also had a lot of success personally with light therapy for depression/anxiety . So if thats part of his issue light therapy could be helpful and worth a try. Also something i can do on my own without agency/county interference or approval.Thank you for all of your inputs

If he's not in therapy already please help him get there. All foster kids are dealing with trauma. They need evidence based trauma therapies to help them. Everything going on at school is just re-traumatizing him. Poor kid :( IDK why the system medicates these kids first and doesn't treat the trauma intensively. Look up the work Kolk has done on developmental disorder and look for trauma informed treatments for you kiddo. Please advocate for him and don't give up. He needs you. Good luck.