My ds was on Zoloft for 3 weeks...started with 1/2 tab then up to a whole. He couldn't sleep at night, woke up MANY times throughout the night, would sleep til 11, still groggy all day long til around 7 when he would zing. His Ped. 1st said to dose @ night...til the sleeping disturbances started. It did get better when we changed the dose to the morning. He's recently been diagnosed by his psychiatrist and therapist as Bipolar co-morbid Asperger's, so he's no longer on the Zoloft.

We've had an update. My ds attempted suicide last Monday afternoon. We took him to the ER....case worker came. After apologizing for our "slipping through the cracks" she convinced insurance to approve ds for an in-patient program. Ds went to Knoxville (about 2.5 hrs away) for 4 days (dh took the week off so he could accompany me on my daily treks for visitation, Thanksgiving was a sad occassion). He was diagnosed bipolar and started a new round of meds (which so far seem to be agreeing w/him). Went to our 1st therapy session yesterday....Asperger's was added to his diagnosis. After almost 2 years of fighting, pleading and crying w/the medical community, God put us in the path of people who had their eyes open to my ds to actually see what is there. Praise God on high!! We're getting the help ds needs.

As a former Cubbies leader and a hs'ing mommy of a twice gifted ds....I just wanted to thank you for not only being WILLING to go the extra mile for this child but also REALIZING the issues at hand. :thumbup:

Dobela: looked into RAD...def not the issue. My ds stresses when he has to leave my side, @ 9 yr old he still will go through the house to find out that I'm in the bathroom (he will sometimes sit outside waiting for me). He says that he only feels safe w/me @ home. We have an extremely close relationship (his father & I divorced 7yr ago & I recently remarried so 5 yrs as a single/self-employed/hs'ing mommy) and he's very affectionate (appropriately). Since last year when he confided in me about the "blackness inside" himself & my reaction to it, he's normally willing to tell me how he feels about certain situations. I don't think I mentioned this: since the lithium started he has also stopped "punishing" himself (if he didn't make a good enough grade or had "bad thoughts" I found him burning his hands and stabbing his fingers with pins). On an upnote: A friend with the ps system is coming by this evening to give me a list of child psych. that LD families are put in touch with. Praise the Lord! Hopefully some help.

Thank you for another outlook....now I'll have to research RAD. Thank you for the support.

cyber support to you and ds. :grouphug:

I didn't want to hijack a thread started by anyone, so I figured that I had better ask a question to all: Does anyone know of a good child psychiatrist in east TN? This is my reply on another thread that caused me to start this one: I know that I'm getting in on this thread late, but.....My ds9 has had all of the same type of symptoms as the original posters child. Psychologist when he was 4/5, Ped dx severe ADHD when 6 (started w/stim med....no thank you, can we say ultramania), switched to non-stim at 7, things started to call down BUT his night terrors, psychosis, suicidal talk...nada. (Ped. acts like I'm Munchausen), 8: comes after me with a knife telling me he's going to kill me, then attempts to turn the knife on himself (Ped. still has no response), start therapy (therapist claims he doesn't NEED a psychiatrist, he needs to be "thrown" into ps), therapist dx is CD....after coming close to a breakdown, I found a random thread online, outcome of the find: started ds on natural lithium aspartate (15 mg per day). 3 weeks later, night terrors: gone, psychosis: gone, suicidal thoughts: gone, mania: gone.....Ped STILL says it's ADHD and would be interested in seeing what would happen if I took ds off the lithium (response: your home address please...so I know where to drop him off during a manic episode). Anxiety & mild depression are still present but I'm still trying to make things better for him. The frustration w/the medical field is on occassion overwelming.....reaching out to families who've had our experiences salve the heart. Good luck on your journey So.....ds has been back home for education since 10/09. He's such a bright child (2/10 standardized test placement: 99% across the board), when he's willing to allow you to see his intelligence. Normally, he prefers to act like he doesn't have any clue as to what you're talking about, educationally. He just turned 9 and is doing all 5th & 6th grade work, minus math (he tested for Saxon 8/7 but I didn't want to push it, so he's doing Saxon 7/6). The whole clueless routine appears to be an attention getter (mommy will sit right next to me if I pretend that I don't know)/ control issue (that was off the hook until I found the lithium aspartate). A few days ago, I was led to the book "The Bipolar Child"....read over parts of it w/ds. He started telling me that the symptoms were "exactly how he felt". My heart just breaks for my baby and I'm reaching out to anyone who has any wisdom that I may glean, be it a medical practitioner or a natural therapy. Thank you for letting me get this out of my heart and off my shoulders.

My heart and tears go out to you and your son. My ds had a similar experience w/a ps teacher (put in ps last year by recom. of therapist, he stayed for 2 mo...2 mo too long)...teacher thought it was funny to ask ds, "What's wrong with you, did your MOMMY (3rd grade) forget to give you your meds this morning?" DS is supposedly ADHD but has BP symptoms. Not trying to hijack the thread, just attempting to give comfort from someone who's been there also.

I know that I'm getting in on this thread late, but.....My ds9 has had all of the same type of symptoms as the original posters child. Psychologist when he was 4/5, Ped dx severe ADHD when 6 (started w/stim med....no thank you, can we say ultramania), switched to non-stim at 7, things started to call down BUT his night terrors, psychosis, suicidal talk...nada. (Ped. acts like I'm Munchausen), 8: comes after me with a knife telling me he's going to kill me, then attempts to turn the knife on himself (Ped. still has no response), start therapy (therapist claims he doesn't NEED a psychiatrist, he needs to be "thrown" into ps), therapist dx is CD....after coming close to a breakdown, I found a random thread online, outcome of the find: started ds on natural lithium aspartate (15 mg per day). 3 weeks later, night terrors: gone, psychosis: gone, suicidal thoughts: gone, mania: gone.....Ped STILL says it's ADHD and would be interested in seeing what would happen if I took ds off the lithium (response: your home address please...so I know where to drop him off during a manic episode). Anxiety & mild depression are still present but I'm still trying to make things better for him. The frustration w/the medical field is on occassion overwelming.....reaching out to families who've had our experiences salve the heart. Good luck on your journey

We use "Graded Lessons in English" by Reed & Kellogg. They have an entire series for grammar, spelling and rhetoric. You can download the book for free on google.com/books. I couldn't find the answer key on google/books but I also throw in A2 (their yahoo group provides all of the answer keys). Good Luck

I've lurked on this forum for awhile, but not really posted (obviously). I also hadn't browsed this board before but due to recent questions/concerns that have arose, felt the need to do so today . I've been hs'ing a special needs child for 2 yrs now (bipolor, ADHD, comorbid w/anxiety). I knew he was advanced for our geographical region (East TN)...but didn't realize until recently just how advanced he really was. Most of our friends w/ kids are in ps, so I knew there was NO comparison. Then, last month we joined our first co-op......that's when it really hit me. DS is 8 (3rd grade ps), signed him up for 3rd grade classes....what a mistake, that I will not be making again. Of course, he loves co-op but realizes that there is no educational value involved for him. It's been a wake-up call for both of us. He has come to the realization that he can't talk about what he does at home because he gets blank stares in return. I've had ONE chat w/another mom, she posted on another hs'ing forum about our conversation (slight inferiority complex). I don't have a superior attitude but, MAN!! I see mom's posting on forums about how their d_ received a 70something% on a standardized test and all these parents are Hip Hip Hooraying. Why can't we relish our children's abilities also? Are there no bragging rights allowed without it appearing that we are trying to make other parents/children feel inferior? I don't feel like I have much of a sounding board, locally, when I have questions or just feel like telling someone, "Hey, guess what we did today?". This has been weighing, rather heavy, on me for the last month or so. Thank you all for being my sounding board. I relinquish the podium for the next fired up parent of a smart kid.:leaving:

We use Graded Lessons In English.....excellent grammar book (used in the late 1800's and early 1900's), meant to be used for 2 years, free on google books. I only require bite sized pieces of the lessons to be done alone....we normally do grammar orally. I can definitely see his lightbulb come on when he "gets it".

Definitely a 4. I love my ereader, my ds is more enthusiastic about reading on it also. His book taste leans toward a rather thick book (he's 8) and visually, he feels overwelmed. On the ereader, he doesn't pay attention to the page number because he realizes that it changes with font size. Go figure :)

My ds was on concerta for less than a month (dr. switched from Ritalin).....ds is bipolar/ADHD/anxiety....concerta put him in a terrible depression. We went med free for awhile to clean him out. Now he's on homeopathic lithium (does wonders) and strattera (God send). 40mg strattera (strongest dose) and he's fully functioning....none of the ugly, robotic fog that we had on ritalin or concerta. Good luck.

My ds uses TT, no workbook. I ask him to write all the problems out NEATLY in his math notebook. I can definitely tell when he's not followed directions (we're still working on that one). I believe that TT has a placement test......ds is 8 and he's half way through TT5 with an A (he's a math kid, now just figuring out how to rub some of that into his WS). Good luck.