I have a ten year old son with multiple mental/behavioral disabilities. Does anyone know where I can find help

Question

he has seem six differant Psychiatrist and none of them have been able to help him. He is declared disabled and is on disability Medicaid. The medications he is taking right now cost around $ 1200.00 each month. And he is not doing very well. He attends Special Education Classes, and rides the Special Co-Op Bus. But he was not allowed to ride the bus home one night when he tried to go out the emergancy doors at the back of the bus. And in the past three weeks he has been suspended twice. His last Psychiatrist told me that he doesn' t know what else to do to help my son; and he gave up. I do restict what kinds of food he eats and monitor everything. Just nothing seems to help. So I am hoping that maybe one of you will possible know someone else that has been in my shoes. Therefore, I might be able to get much needed help or answers to my many questions. Why do all the Web-sites only give information on one mental illness. My son has two and possible three.

Answer 1

I am very sorry that you have had to endure so much. I understand that your child has problems but I doubt that any of the drugs he's taking is doing any good. If anything, it's scrambling his brains even more. If I were in your shoes, I would throw out all the drugs except those he may need to fight infection (that is if he has a cold or something) and take him to the countryside, the mountains or the beach where he can be completely away from the dirt and filth of the city for a while. No TV, no video games, no electronic equipment. Let him roll around in the dirt, go hiking, smell the flowers, swim with the fish, chew on hay, whatever. It will take some time and constant supervision and guidance on your part. Modern medicine hasn't helped him, so why not go back to Mother Nature and see if she can heal him.

Answer 2

I would suggest starting with your son's social worker. He attends special ed classes so I am assuming he has a social worker at the county human services agency where you are located. The social worker can request to have an outside agency assess your son's behavior and help develop a behavioral plan. There are agencies out there such as Behavior Wizards, Solutions Inc, etc that actually observe people on-site at home, work, and/or school and then develop a plan specific to the person's needs.

It sounds like you have already done all you can do with medication part and you said you are already monitoring his diet.

Maybe the social worker could also request that your son have a mental health social worker. It makes things a little more complicated dealing with two agencies, but I have found that there are advantages as both agencies specialize in different areas.


I wish you the best.

Answer 3

I'm not a doctor, so don't take my "professional" word for anything. That being said, I hope that I might still be able to give you some "practical" advice. How much medication IS he taking? One thing to keep in mind is that many medications can have potentially harmful side-affects, physical or psychological, if taken in conjunction with certain other medications. In addition, taking "too much" medication can also be problematic, especially if taking more than one drug to treat the same problem. Is somebody who is qualified to do so actively looking at his entire medication situation to make sure he actually NEEDS to be taking that much medication and that there aren't any drug-interaction side effects? This could, potentially, be partly what is causing his behavioral issues. My advice would be to find somebody you've never seen before who is licensed as a neuropsychologist (I'd actually suggest a neuropsychiatrist, but I'm not sure there is such a thing) and tell them that you want a thorough assessment of the situation. Hopefully, turning some fresh light on the subject will get you more informed and useful answers. I wish you the best of luck.

Answer 4

I'm sure you are doing the very best you can in a difficult situation. Have you considered a group home that specializes in behavior intervention? Please realize that your child is as uncomfortable as you are. If you could place him in a setting where trained staff could work with his behaviors and self help skills he might be more successful. If you have other children, the disruptive behavior of a special needs sibling can negatively affect them. Reach out for help through your local mental health clinic, your primary care physician, DHS, DCS, CPS, and any agencies in the area that work with these issues. As your son goes into his teen years he will likely become impossible for you to care for. Do not feel guilty for seeking placement for him; it's often the kindest, most effective thing you can do for both your child and the rest of your family.

Answer 5

Call you local social services, alot of times they can either connect you to other specialists that can assist you, or they may have one on staff. Just be sure to keep in contact with your childs special education teacher..