I would suggest doing the IgG food test, you can also ask for the Poop test. Yes its gross but it will give you an exact picture of what is happening in her gut. Once the doc knows, he can put her on the right probiotic to help her start to heal. Then they start adding the other things after 5 days or so until all the protocols are happening at once. These kids cannot express themselves, they can't tell you they are in pain because, they don't know any different. they have always been this way. We did try abilify with our DS but it wasn't the right med. We are now on Focalin XR which is working ok for now. If your insurance won't cover it, start saving up for about $200.00 to finance it yourself. The poop test for the bacteria in the gut is about $350.00 out of pocket. I know this because my insurance didn't pay. but its worth it. really, really, really worth it. Put her system right first before looking for other meds. Once her system is working correctly, you will be able to better judge what else needs to be done. Good luck and stay positive!

Our ds was diagnosed with ODD as well. The rages, meltdowns, etc. get exhausting. We tried some meds with awful consequences. We took him off of the meds and have just been working with a therapist. The therapist is more for my husband and myself. Coaching us through the battles, techniques, explanations for behavior, etc. It is exhausting!! I get odd looks and comments because I am seen drinking red bull in the mornings, but at least its more socially acceptable than a pint of vodka at 9:00 a.m. Having to be "on" 24/7 is draining. Two things that are working for us currently are 1. using his currency (xbox, legos and dog) to our advantage ie. do this or no ____, for the minor things this works well. The second is patience. when the meltdown does happen, do not talk to him, leave him be until the rage is gone. Then go back and in a matter of fact voice as if the rage never happened, repeat the question, request, comment. Beyond that......I got nothin. Just another mom in the trenches. You have my sympathies. Take care, stay positive.

I would look in your area for a phsycologist who can do a full battery of tests. This will tell you exactly what's wrong and where to concentrate your money and time. You should also look into an eye exam with a real optomotrist ( i know i spelled that wrong, but i am moving on). Between these exams my ds was discovered to have audio processing issues, visual processing issues, dyslexia, dysgraphia, ADHD, ODD, and more I am probably forgetting. You can go through your school district (its free) and no you don't have to accept their recommendations or help. You simply sign a piece of paper saying you are going with a private therapist. However, that report / IEP will stay in the system forever, and ever. You can google homeschooling and learning disabilities and get some great sites. A few that I like referring to are NATHHAN, A blog The Renegade Scholar, and of course the Well Trained Mind forums. Don't be put off of a site simply because it doesn't sound exactly like what your dd is going through. There is so much cross-content into other areas that it really makes sense to search through all of them. And I agree with the previous poster, start with phonics and phenomes. Do the basics, go over the sound the letter makes. Games like find 5 things in the house that start with the sound /b/ (buh). You can do the same for the end sound, etc. Hope this helps a little, gotta run, my little guy needs my attention. Stay positive.

We had our ds do a sleep study and found out he had apnea. They removed his tonsils and adenoids and we did see some improvement in behavior. Good luck!

DH was watching the Alaska State Troopers on Nat Geo the other night and the officer of the moment was in the Grocery store, and picked up a gallon of milk and showed the price as $10.00....I nearly fell out of bed! At that price, it would be cheaper to buy the cow and milk it yourself, maybe sell the remainder....goodness what an awful business this is.

If you haven't done a sleep study on him, I would suggest you start there. Sleep deprivation is a major behavior trigger. Just because it looks like he is sleeping doesn't mean he is in REM sleep and possibly has some sleep apnea. We had our sons sleep study done (for the very same reason, we didn't want to jump on the meds bandwagon right away if we could avoid it), we found out he does have mild sleep apnea. Not enough to warrant meds or a breathing machine, but enough to have an effect on his behavior. We ended up having his tonsils and adenoids taken out. There were other mitigating factors for the surgery, not simply because we wanted to avoid meds. His breathing at night has improved alot. You could also try mountain dew (if he's a soda person) or tea or coffee. The doctors tried to explain to me how the mega dose of caffeine benefits the ADHD'er but frankly by then my eyes were glazing over. I was too exhausted and just went with the meds. Maybe you could google ADHD and Mountain Dew and see if there is any info on it out there. We finally ended up with a med. It wears off by the early afternoon. We also have a very very short acting med (literally lasts about an hour or two) for the evenings when he has to go to scouts or religous school. Frankly, you can give it a try. If you don't like it, stop it. Most of these meds have no backlash for ending immediately. They cycle through their systems so quickly.

It really is a great program. We did see progress with DS. Having said that, we were using a private Reading Tutor who would charge us $80.00 per hour (that is cheap in our area). She was certified in using the Linda Mood Bell product line. When we moved, I located a "center" and asked what they charged.....$1,000.00 a week with a mandatory 12 week commitment. Needless to say that is a little out of our price range. I hope you have better luck!! It truly is a great program, just way to expensive for us. Hope this helped.