Re: could the tantrums/outbursts be oppositional defiance disorder

[Guest guest]

I had my daughter tested for blood sertonin level, then for amino acid

levels. The tests showed very clearly that she has a

malabsorption/maldigestion problem. There's no arguing with chemical tests

like that -- they might spare you a bunch of waste effort, might get you

headed in a direction beyond what teachers and even ordinary pediatricians

think about.

On Tue, Aug 11, 2009 at 9:12 AM, capetalker <capetalker@...> wrote:

>

>

> We are on another roller coaster with tantrums, emotiomal

> outbursts.bossines, defiance.It has escalated worse as the summer goes onOur

> daughter is 6 and if the worry of aparaxia, difficulty focusing and learning

> aren't enough,she goes through periods(months)of really difficult behavior.

> It's almost like she's losing her mind because the resistive

> behavior,antagonizing behavior, and meltdowns seem so unreasonable.The

> school staff,even highly regarded dr.s(on this forum),opinions are

> conflicting--SHE has apraxia, but one says the behavior and focusing

> problems is adhd and wants to try ritalin,another says it's executive

> function disorder with sensory issues and anxiety,and and now the

> possibility of oppositional defiance has come into play.The most recent post

> regarding meltdowns shows alot of the younger children are going through

> this--which our daughter did, but as she gets older her ablity to

> verbalize,be more phsical and stronger willed has come into play making it

> so incredibly difficult to deal with. We were going to possibly cal the

> " ritalin " dr. this week, but I read your post about tantrums and it makes me

> feel that we're not alone,and maybe we should keep plugging through this. I

> worry because schoolstarts in 4 weeks and this will greatly impact her

> ability to learn in 1st grade. any input,nutrition suggestions siupport etc

> appreciated. Cheryl

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

who ordered the tests?And where did you have them done. Were ther supplements or

dietary changes recommended. As I said before they weren't ordinary

peediatricians but wello recognized doctors who specialize in these

problems--obviosly with different thoughts with each one. Hard facts are good

,but hten did you get specific directions to take care of the imbalances? I'd

like to do anything to help-and this testing definitely won't hurt. thanks.

>

> >

> >

> > We are on another roller coaster with tantrums, emotiomal

> > outbursts.bossines, defiance.It has escalated worse as the summer goes onOur

> > daughter is 6 and if the worry of aparaxia, difficulty focusing and learning

> > aren't enough,she goes through periods(months)of really difficult behavior.

> > It's almost like she's losing her mind because the resistive

> > behavior,antagonizing behavior, and meltdowns seem so unreasonable.The

> > school staff,even highly regarded dr.s(on this forum),opinions are

> > conflicting--SHE has apraxia, but one says the behavior and focusing

> > problems is adhd and wants to try ritalin,another says it's executive

> > function disorder with sensory issues and anxiety,and and now the

> > possibility of oppositional defiance has come into play.The most recent post

> > regarding meltdowns shows alot of the younger children are going through

> > this--which our daughter did, but as she gets older her ablity to

> > verbalize,be more phsical and stronger willed has come into play making it

> > so incredibly difficult to deal with. We were going to possibly cal the

> > " ritalin " dr. this week, but I read your post about tantrums and it makes me

> > feel that we're not alone,and maybe we should keep plugging through this. I

> > worry because schoolstarts in 4 weeks and this will greatly impact her

> > ability to learn in 1st grade. any input,nutrition suggestions siupport etc

> > appreciated. Cheryl

> >

> >

> >

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

When my son extreme behaviors, it was due to an overgrowth of the clostridia

bacteria. His pediatrician ordered an OAT test from Great Plains Lab and that's

how we found the elevated levels. We treated the bacteria with flagyl and his

behaviors went way down.

[ ] Re: could the tantrums/outbursts be

oppositional defiance disorder

who ordered the tests?And where did you have them done. Were ther

supplements or dietary changes recommended. As I said before they weren't

ordinary peediatricians but wello recognized doctors who specialize in these

problems--obviosly with different thoughts with each one. Hard facts are good

,but hten did you get specific directions to take care of the imbalances? I'd

like to do anything to help-and this testing definitely won't hurt. thanks.

>

> >

> >

> > We are on another roller coaster with tantrums, emotiomal

> > outbursts.bossines, defiance.It has escalated worse as the summer goes

onOur

> > daughter is 6 and if the worry of aparaxia, difficulty focusing and

learning

> > aren't enough,she goes through periods(months)of really difficult

behavior.

> > It's almost like she's losing her mind because the resistive

> > behavior,antagonizing behavior, and meltdowns seem so unreasonable.The

> > school staff,even highly regarded dr.s(on this forum),opinions are

> > conflicting--SHE has apraxia, but one says the behavior and focusing

> > problems is adhd and wants to try ritalin,another says it's executive

> > function disorder with sensory issues and anxiety,and and now the

> > possibility of oppositional defiance has come into play.The most recent

post

> > regarding meltdowns shows alot of the younger children are going through

> > this--which our daughter did, but as she gets older her ablity to

> > verbalize,be more phsical and stronger willed has come into play making it

> > so incredibly difficult to deal with. We were going to possibly cal the

> > " ritalin " dr. this week, but I read your post about tantrums and it makes

me

> > feel that we're not alone,and maybe we should keep plugging through this.

I

> > worry because schoolstarts in 4 weeks and this will greatly impact her

> > ability to learn in 1st grade. any input,nutrition suggestions siupport

etc

> > appreciated. Cheryl

> >

> >

> >

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi - I have a 6 year old daughter with Apraxia (or for some reason in Texas the

preferred term is Dyspraxia overall) and sensory processing disorder. In

reading your post, it sounded familiar. Is it Apraxia, ADHD, Executive

functioning with sensory issues, etc..... When my daughter started

Kindergarten, I had " baseline " academic testing done by a really good

diagnostician I know (she totally ROCKS :-). Anyway - the testing showed that

her working memory (short-term memory) ability was quite low. The good news is

her long-term memory is fine - so while it's difficult for her to hold

information and use it in the present (a big issue as school progresses -

learning to read, math, etc) once she gets something into her long-term memory

it's there for good and she gets it. It's just hard to get it there. The

testing also showed that she struggles with executive function skills like

sequencing, organization, etc.

Then I discovered that struggles with executive functioning skills and working

memory are common in kids with Apraxia and it is a part of the package - as are

sensory issues too. What the diagnostician told me is that if her working

memory ability stays low, as she gets older and school work gets more

complicated it'll be harder and harder to hold the necessary information in her

head to complete tasks, so she may just end up daydreaming or " drifting off " and

not paying attention. Then it ends up looking like ADD. She did say that there

may come a point in her life (if it does around 3rd/4th grade or higher) when

she may need a stimulant (ex: Ritalin) to help her hold her attention long

enough to get things into her long-term memory where they will stick.

I don't know if we'll get there or not, but I do see what the diagnostician

means as she is trying to learn sight words, etc. It is much harder for her

than my older son, who doesn't have apraxia. I think it's also very frustrating

for my daughter since the testing also showed she's smart, but it's hard for her

to learn. I know that frustration will be a part of her life as we move forward

in school.

For now we're working on improving her working memory and other executive

functioning skills like sequencing and visual discrimination. Let me know if

you want to know what we're doing (this post is running long - sorry gang!). My

daughter doesn't struggle so much with tantrums, but I would encourage you to

see if there is some sort of pattern to your daughter's behavior - difficulty

with transitions (times of year, going to and from school, etc), or changes on

the horizon she may be more aware of, frustration about something, etc....

Oppositional Defiant D/O (ODD) is not a diagnosis I would " settle " for unless

it's really clear and diagnosed by a child psychologist who really knows about

ODD - I'm a social worker by profession, and ODD can be sort of a " catch-all "

label for kids who tantrum and it's hard to tell why, or they are difficult to

handle. Sometimes Depression in children can present as anger and agitation and

tantrums - not that your child has Depression, but just to know a number of

conditions have the same appearance in terms of behavior, and sometimes it can

be hard to tease out. Only a really good diagnostician (PhD Child Psychologist

or Master's Level Clinician who does testing and reports) can really tease these

things out well. That might be worth looking into if it's going to impact her

academics. Academic and psychological testing to get a baseline for the future.

Anyway, best of luck! I'm crossing my fingers and toes as my daughter starts

first grade. I'm so upset that this month I had to drop her OT back to once a

week instead of twice and after this month stop speech altogether (it's much

better, though - more upset about OT). The school won't provide it for her,

insurance is denying everything, and we just can't afford to do both twice a

week. The feeling that what my daughter needs I can't afford right now is the

worst feeling. We're going to supplement at home, and I trust that she'll be

OK, but it's hard.

Hang in! I hope you find what works best for your daughter.

[Guest guest]

Hello,

 

I have a 6 year old and a lot of what you described about your daughter is true

with my son. We live in houston, TX and in your post you had mentioned Texas and

was curious to see if we could have our son tested with the same diagnostician.

 

We are going through the dilemma of whether or not we should repeat

kindergarten.

 

Thanks

sheela

From: socialwkr@... <socialwkr@...>

Subject: [ ] Re: could the tantrums/outbursts be oppositional

defiance disorder

Date: Wednesday, August 12, 2009, 10:30 AM

 

Hi - I have a 6 year old daughter with Apraxia (or for some reason in Texas the

preferred term is Dyspraxia overall) and sensory processing disorder. In reading

your post, it sounded familiar. Is it Apraxia, ADHD, Executive functioning with

sensory issues, etc..... When my daughter started Kindergarten, I had " baseline "

academic testing done by a really good diagnostician I know (she totally ROCKS

:-). Anyway - the testing showed that her working memory (short-term memory)

ability was quite low. The good news is her long-term memory is fine - so while

it's difficult for her to hold information and use it in the present (a big

issue as school progresses - learning to read, math, etc) once she gets

something into her long-term memory it's there for good and she gets it. It's

just hard to get it there. The testing also showed that she struggles with

executive function skills like sequencing, organization, etc.

Then I discovered that struggles with executive functioning skills and working

memory are common in kids with Apraxia and it is a part of the package - as are

sensory issues too. What the diagnostician told me is that if her working memory

ability stays low, as she gets older and school work gets more complicated it'll

be harder and harder to hold the necessary information in her head to complete

tasks, so she may just end up daydreaming or " drifting off " and not paying

attention. Then it ends up looking like ADD. She did say that there may come a

point in her life (if it does around 3rd/4th grade or higher) when she may need

a stimulant (ex: Ritalin) to help her hold her attention long enough to get

things into her long-term memory where they will stick.

I don't know if we'll get there or not, but I do see what the diagnostician

means as she is trying to learn sight words, etc. It is much harder for her than

my older son, who doesn't have apraxia. I think it's also very frustrating for

my daughter since the testing also showed she's smart, but it's hard for her to

learn. I know that frustration will be a part of her life as we move forward in

school.

For now we're working on improving her working memory and other executive

functioning skills like sequencing and visual discrimination. Let me know if you

want to know what we're doing (this post is running long - sorry gang!). My

daughter doesn't struggle so much with tantrums, but I would encourage you to

see if there is some sort of pattern to your daughter's behavior - difficulty

with transitions (times of year, going to and from school, etc), or changes on

the horizon she may be more aware of, frustration about something, etc....

Oppositional Defiant D/O (ODD) is not a diagnosis I would " settle " for unless

it's really clear and diagnosed by a child psychologist who really knows about

ODD - I'm a social worker by profession, and ODD can be sort of a " catch-all "

label for kids who tantrum and it's hard to tell why, or they are difficult to

handle. Sometimes Depression in children can present as anger and agitation and

tantrums - not that your child

has Depression, but just to know a number of conditions have the same

appearance in terms of behavior, and sometimes it can be hard to tease out. Only

a really good diagnostician (PhD Child Psychologist or Master's Level Clinician

who does testing and reports) can really tease these things out well. That might

be worth looking into if it's going to impact her academics. Academic and

psychological testing to get a baseline for the future.

Anyway, best of luck! I'm crossing my fingers and toes as my daughter starts

first grade. I'm so upset that this month I had to drop her OT back to once a

week instead of twice and after this month stop speech altogether (it's much

better, though - more upset about OT). The school won't provide it for her,

insurance is denying everything, and we just can't afford to do both twice a

week. The feeling that what my daughter needs I can't afford right now is the

worst feeling. We're going to supplement at home, and I trust that she'll be OK,

but it's hard.

Hang in! I hope you find what works best for your daughter.

[Guest guest]

EXACTLY! thank you so much for your response. As these terms of executive

function dificulties ,poor working memory,sensory problems, sequencing

problems,etc. etc. were told to us-and in piece meal- it wasn't all fit into one

explanation and WHY and how those problems will then present theirself. You

expalined her difficulties so well.As for the tantrums and breakdowns there is

more going on though, hunger ,fatigue,stress(like something new wether it be

vacation or a dental cleaning)definitely provokes things to be worse.Maybe it

isn't ODD but some imalance in blood sugar,metabolism? I don't know, but you

descrbed my daughter to a " t " with the learning and memory. We also have OT cut

back to 1 time per week at school because they were so concerned about her

missing out on academics, so we bartered and I said to drop pt to only 2 times a

month and to add those missed days on to ot. I just wish there was another way

to get all the therapy they need because it probably is more important than the

academics. AND yes I would like to know what you are doing to work on her

sequencing and working memory. Thank you again. Cheryl

>

> Hi - I have a 6 year old daughter with Apraxia (or for some reason in Texas

the preferred term is Dyspraxia overall) and sensory processing disorder. In

reading your post, it sounded familiar. Is it Apraxia, ADHD, Executive

functioning with sensory issues, etc..... When my daughter started

Kindergarten, I had " baseline " academic testing done by a really good

diagnostician I know (she totally ROCKS :-). Anyway - the testing showed that

her working memory (short-term memory) ability was quite low. The good news is

her long-term memory is fine - so while it's difficult for her to hold

information and use it in the present (a big issue as school progresses -

learning to read, math, etc) once she gets something into her long-term memory

it's there for good and she gets it. It's just hard to get it there. The

testing also showed that she struggles with executive function skills like

sequencing, organization, etc.

>

> Then I discovered that struggles with executive functioning skills and working

memory are common in kids with Apraxia and it is a part of the package - as are

sensory issues too. What the diagnostician told me is that if her working

memory ability stays low, as she gets older and school work gets more

complicated it'll be harder and harder to hold the necessary information in her

head to complete tasks, so she may just end up daydreaming or " drifting off " and

not paying attention. Then it ends up looking like ADD. She did say that there

may come a point in her life (if it does around 3rd/4th grade or higher) when

she may need a stimulant (ex: Ritalin) to help her hold her attention long

enough to get things into her long-term memory where they will stick.

>

> I don't know if we'll get there or not, but I do see what the diagnostician

means as she is trying to learn sight words, etc. It is much harder for her

than my older son, who doesn't have apraxia. I think it's also very frustrating

for my daughter since the testing also showed she's smart, but it's hard for her

to learn. I know that frustration will be a part of her life as we move forward

in school.

>

> For now we're working on improving her working memory and other executive

functioning skills like sequencing and visual discrimination. Let me know if

you want to know what we're doing (this post is running long - sorry gang!). My

daughter doesn't struggle so much with tantrums, but I would encourage you to

see if there is some sort of pattern to your daughter's behavior - difficulty

with transitions (times of year, going to and from school, etc), or changes on

the horizon she may be more aware of, frustration about something, etc....

Oppositional Defiant D/O (ODD) is not a diagnosis I would " settle " for unless

it's really clear and diagnosed by a child psychologist who really knows about

ODD - I'm a social worker by profession, and ODD can be sort of a " catch-all "

label for kids who tantrum and it's hard to tell why, or they are difficult to

handle. Sometimes Depression in children can present as anger and agitation and

tantrums - not that your child has Depression, but just to know a number of

conditions have the same appearance in terms of behavior, and sometimes it can

be hard to tease out. Only a really good diagnostician (PhD Child Psychologist

or Master's Level Clinician who does testing and reports) can really tease these

things out well. That might be worth looking into if it's going to impact her

academics. Academic and psychological testing to get a baseline for the future.

>

> Anyway, best of luck! I'm crossing my fingers and toes as my daughter starts

first grade. I'm so upset that this month I had to drop her OT back to once a

week instead of twice and after this month stop speech altogether (it's much

better, though - more upset about OT). The school won't provide it for her,

insurance is denying everything, and we just can't afford to do both twice a

week. The feeling that what my daughter needs I can't afford right now is the

worst feeling. We're going to supplement at home, and I trust that she'll be

OK, but it's hard.

>

> Hang in! I hope you find what works best for your daughter.

>

[Guest guest]

Please try dietary intervention before medication. Like I said, we completely

alleviated this problem in our son with elimination diet trial and error to see

what was causing the behavior.

>

> We are on another roller coaster with tantrums, emotiomal outbursts.bossines,

defiance.It has escalated worse as the summer goes onOur daughter is 6 and if

the worry of aparaxia, difficulty focusing and learning aren't enough,she goes

through periods(months)of really difficult behavior. It's almost like she's

losing her mind because the resistive behavior,antagonizing behavior, and

meltdowns seem so unreasonable.The school staff,even highly regarded dr.s(on

this forum),opinions are conflicting--SHE has apraxia, but one says the behavior

and focusing problems is adhd and wants to try ritalin,another says it's

executive function disorder with sensory issues and anxiety,and and now the

possibility of oppositional defiance has come into play.The most recent post

regarding meltdowns shows alot of the younger children are going through

this--which our daughter did, but as she gets older her ablity to verbalize,be

more phsical and stronger willed has come into play making it so incredibly

difficult to deal with. We were going to possibly cal the " ritalin " dr. this

week, but I read your post about tantrums and it makes me feel that we're not

alone,and maybe we should keep plugging through this. I worry because

schoolstarts in 4 weeks and this will greatly impact her ability to learn in 1st

grade. any input,nutrition suggestions siupport etc appreciated. Cheryl

>

[Guest guest]

Does she have any seasonal/environmental allergies? Not feeling great is a big

trigger for a lot of kids. Could she have any sensory issues? My daugter has

both allergies and sensory issues. She is also 6 - when her ears have some fluid

in them it impacts her vestibular system and she feels " off " and more anxious.

We were told by the OT that the more out of control kids feel in and of their

bodies the more controlling their behavior becomes. Appraxia is another

challenge thant can add to the frustration level for sure. We do omegas, vitamin

E and allergy shots, plus OT and we are seeing gradual, pretty steady

improvement. My daughter also wears a Hugs pressure vest at times, it makes her

feel more grounded and together. If she wears it before bedtime she seems to

sleep better. A book that also helped us a lot is The Explosive Child, there is

also a website.

HTH,

>

> We are on another roller coaster with tantrums, emotiomal outbursts.bossines,

defiance.It has escalated worse as the summer goes onOur daughter is 6 and if

the worry of aparaxia, difficulty focusing and learning aren't enough,she goes

through periods(months)of really difficult behavior. It's almost like she's

losing her mind because the resistive behavior,antagonizing behavior, and

meltdowns seem so unreasonable.The school staff,even highly regarded dr.s(on

this forum),opinions are conflicting--SHE has apraxia, but one says the behavior

and focusing problems is adhd and wants to try ritalin,another says it's

executive function disorder with sensory issues and anxiety,and and now the

possibility of oppositional defiance has come into play.The most recent post

regarding meltdowns shows alot of the younger children are going through

this--which our daughter did, but as she gets older her ablity to verbalize,be

more phsical and stronger willed has come into play making it so incredibly

difficult to deal with. We were going to possibly cal the " ritalin " dr. this

week, but I read your post about tantrums and it makes me feel that we're not

alone,and maybe we should keep plugging through this. I worry because

schoolstarts in 4 weeks and this will greatly impact her ability to learn in 1st

grade. any input,nutrition suggestions siupport etc appreciated. Cheryl

>

[Guest guest]

First, I think my daughter was steadily mis-diagnosed by every doctor she

visited. They focused on hearing problems because she had visible ear

infections. I finally heard two people in a week, a student and a 5th-grade

teacher, say she might have mild autism, and with that to focus my bleery

eyes I read up, found out that autistics' serotonin levels are often wrong,

and asked my daughter's pediatrician to order a blood (plasma) serotonin

test. It showed something was clearly wrong, something hadn't been

diagnosed. With that in hand the ped suggested a follow-up amino acid test.

That also showed something wrong (valine way low). I later learned that

simply noting that my daughter's stool floats could have shown she wasn't

digesting fats right.

My daughter's blood was drawn for the tests in San Francisco and tested by

Quest Labs. I have no insurance; costs for the two tests plus a third for

heavy metals was a bit north of $300. No, I exaggerate, cost was actually

around $200 -- the doctor's office goofed the amino acid test and got a

limited one instead of an extended one.

I bought the book Autism: Effective Biomedical Treatments, used on

Amazon, and am starting to go carefully down the list given there of steps

to take and supplements to add. By using the 5-day trial for each step and

supplement, recording everything carefully and watching for changes and

being ready to stop or do a 3-day challenge, I can follow the book's first

steps without a doctor. So I'm moving ahead very gingerly on my own hook.

It's both cheap and immediate.

Getting to see either a traditional autism specialist or a licensed DAN!

doctor has been unbelievably hard. I'll go to both a standard and a DAN!

doctor as soon as one of each will see us. I'm hoping their knowledge plus

what I've done so far will help them give prescriptions for further tests,

supplement proportions, and under-medical-supervision-only things to do.

On Tue, Aug 11, 2009 at 11:57 AM, capetalker <capetalker@...> wrote:

>

>

> who ordered the tests?And where did you have them done. Were ther

> supplements or dietary changes recommended. As I said before they weren't

> ordinary peediatricians but wello recognized doctors who specialize in these

> problems--obviosly with different thoughts with each one. Hard facts are

> good ,but hten did you get specific directions to take care of the

> imbalances? I'd like to do anything to help-and this testing definitely

> won't hurt. thanks.

>

>

> >

> > >

> > >

> > > We are on another roller coaster with tantrums, emotiomal

> > > outbursts.bossines, defiance.It has escalated worse as the summer goes

> onOur

> > > daughter is 6 and if the worry of aparaxia, difficulty focusing and

> learning

> > > aren't enough,she goes through periods(months)of really difficult

> behavior.

> > > It's almost like she's losing her mind because the resistive

> > > behavior,antagonizing behavior, and meltdowns seem so unreasonable.The

> > > school staff,even highly regarded dr.s(on this forum),opinions are

> > > conflicting--SHE has apraxia, but one says the behavior and focusing

> > > problems is adhd and wants to try ritalin,another says it's executive

> > > function disorder with sensory issues and anxiety,and and now the

> > > possibility of oppositional defiance has come into play.The most recent

> post

> > > regarding meltdowns shows alot of the younger children are going

> through

> > > this--which our daughter did, but as she gets older her ablity to

> > > verbalize,be more phsical and stronger willed has come into play making

> it

> > > so incredibly difficult to deal with. We were going to possibly cal the

> > > " ritalin " dr. this week, but I read your post about tantrums and it

> makes me

> > > feel that we're not alone,and maybe we should keep plugging through

> this. I

> > > worry because schoolstarts in 4 weeks and this will greatly impact her

> > > ability to learn in 1st grade. any input,nutrition suggestions siupport

> etc

> > > appreciated. Cheryl

> > >

> > >

> > >

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

We have had improvement on her behavior in the past 2 days since I posted by

using magnesium drops. We have been using a chiropractor/nutritionist for a few

years who does hair analysis and then mineral balancing. Some may think it's

crazy(including my husband) but I feel it helped her a few years ago when she

was always tired easily. He had us, 2 nights ago, give magnesium drops (

something he had her take with other supplements in the recent past) and she

woke up in a more pleasant way the next day. She got more irritable in the

afternoon havig a meltdown over not wanting to get rinsed at the beach before

she went into the pool, and then trying to say things that she would do later to

be bad--all in screaming tears(she started doing this when she gets so

upset).She also was pretty reasonable yesterday even when faced with things that

would have set her off. Obviously, there is an imbalance,I'm wondering why he

didn't recommend this weeks ago when I called him, AND since this was something

he had us use about 2 months ago,with other electrlytes and minerals if this

isn't what set her out of balance in the first place? THere is more imbalance

underlying this. Now, maybe it isn't oppositional defiance disorder, but

biochemical imbaalnce(who knows what specifically and how do you find out

exactly)the apraxia, sensory problems, executive function problems, etc.

compounding to make her so miserable. She is not on a specific diet,2 years ago

we did a casein gluten free diet for about 6 months. ..big sigh,,this is so

scary.I think we we call the pediatrician, to see if they will refer us for some

blood work( they will never do it their selves because they said they wouldn't

know what to do with the results.) We wnt to a DAN 2 and a half years ago, but

didn't do anything or follow up becauce my husband and I walked out with two

bags full of tests we both ahd to carry--( have her poop in these 2 ,urine

sample in these, collect poop for the next week in this,etc.) it was too

overwhelming ,so ignorantly we did none of it. I get so sick ofAlways having to

do something,so sometimes I feel like she just needs to be a kid having no

" things " to take,no therapy to go for etc.--Until things get so bad and scary

like her behavior and I realize there's never going to be time for us to

breathe. -thanks for all the help. Cheryl

> >

> > We are on another roller coaster with tantrums, emotiomal

outbursts.bossines, defiance.It has escalated worse as the summer goes onOur

daughter is 6 and if the worry of aparaxia, difficulty focusing and learning

aren't enough,she goes through periods(months)of really difficult behavior. It's

almost like she's losing her mind because the resistive behavior,antagonizing

behavior, and meltdowns seem so unreasonable.The school staff,even highly

regarded dr.s(on this forum),opinions are conflicting--SHE has apraxia, but one

says the behavior and focusing problems is adhd and wants to try ritalin,another

says it's executive function disorder with sensory issues and anxiety,and and

now the possibility of oppositional defiance has come into play.The most recent

post regarding meltdowns shows alot of the younger children are going through

this--which our daughter did, but as she gets older her ablity to verbalize,be

more phsical and stronger willed has come into play making it so incredibly

difficult to deal with. We were going to possibly cal the " ritalin " dr. this

week, but I read your post about tantrums and it makes me feel that we're not

alone,and maybe we should keep plugging through this. I worry because

schoolstarts in 4 weeks and this will greatly impact her ability to learn in 1st

grade. any input,nutrition suggestions siupport etc appreciated. Cheryl

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