Road Map

I am a single mom. I have 3 kids, my oldest, 10 years, is diagnosed ADHD, OCD, ODD and NOS Mood Disorders. He is an amazing boy and he has taught me so much about life, love, and how to pick battles!
He was born with fists clenched. He stopped eating and drinking from 7-9 months old and started eating again with medication. He was the most colicky and clingy baby I knew. He started talking full sentences by 10 months old and was obsessed with outlets and plants to the point I had to leave the house. He couldn't handle play dates without grabbing kids and pulling hair. In Kinder is where his teacher told me that he stuck out like a sore thumb and was not able to play on his own or with others. Prior to Kinder, it was my parenting style that was the problem, according to most friends and most family. When I tried spanking, he hit back with full aggression and at age 3, told me he's "gonna take that knife, stab you in the heart and twist it Mommy". I had no idea what to do and felt helpless. Our journey started right then with "professionals", diet changes, increased exercise, but my baby was still very unhappy and getting outwardly more aggressive. For the next 3 years, until he was 8, we were passed from therapist to therapist, even still I was following all of the super nanny therapy tactics with a 100% type A personality. My twi little kids and I had enough, our home was bursting at the seams and I had no idea what each and every single moment would look like.  

Until a close friend enlightened me and I realized that I was running a psych ward in my own home with all of the job titles of a whole hospital. Realizing, on top of that, I had to bring my other 2 little babies to work everyday in our psych hospital of a home. I then agreed to try medicine trials, not a very safe thing to do with an already aggressive child. It wasn't until after we tried 12 different medicine trials, a psych ward medicine wash visit, a 6 week day treatment program far from home, a dead family hermit crab, broken spirits, broken objects and a broken family, we found Vyvance. He has been able to control his body the last 2 full years at school but was losing it and was getting older and bigger AND very aggressive after school when medicine wore off. It has been 4 weeks since an anti-anxiety medicine was added. We have a happy, wild, pre-teen at home now. He does Neurofeedback 2 times a week and we have PCIT Training every other week (Parent/Child Interaction Training) and I couldn't be happier!!! We all simply want our kids to live Safe, Happy and Healthy lives. 
I started a support network of families in 2012 called Pediatric Treatment Network. These parents have helped me so much, we have learned together. I no longer felt alone.  
I write Pediatric Parent Plans to provide a road map for other parents that may be looking down a twisted road like mine. It takes a village thankfully. Thank you.

Alison

( Please note thehiddenillness shares opinions and thoughts from others which are solely the thoughts of the author and do not necessarily represent my own.)