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Sharing our success with dd4 (behaviors and meds)

Tap

By Tap,
in General Education Discussion Board

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Tap

Tap

Posted
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For those who don't know....

 

DD4 is adopted and is drug-alcohol affected. There is also a heavy history of mental illness on both sides of her bio-family.

 

She has had about 100 sessions with an OT, 50 with a behavior therapist and now has a psychiatrist as well....all at barely 4yo.

 

She has extreme violent cyclic behaviors. She was always in a bad mood, always irritated and ready to lash out at the drop of a hat. There is a lot more but I won't go into it, just know that she was way beyond the normal range on her behaviors. I always pictured her like PigPen from the Charlie Brown Comics. With a horrible angry grey cloud swirling around her, and very rarely was she ever able to stick her little nose out.

 

Ffwd 1 month. Her psychiatrist had us try a tiny dose of Risperdal on her. Her dose is .35 of an ml, or about 8 drops of liquid medicine if that makes more sense. I was very, very reluctant to try it, but knew I had to do something for her. Her little brain seemed swallowed in chaos so much of the time. OH-MY she is a different kid! She was a different kid in the first days on the med. She is happy, honestly and truly happy. She giggles and plays and is generally pleasant. She has started playing with toys (she never would before) and her imagination is coming out all over the place. She can be redirected (she was like an anvil before) and can take 'no' for an answer. She is starting to show a range of emotions that she never had before (she was always a 1 or a 10, mellow or angry, with nothing in between. She is a typical 4yo as far as her behaviors are concerned. She still has some lingering issues (sensory) and some learned issues (hitting) but now they are isolated outside her behaviors and we can see them sooo much clearer to work on them.

 

There have been so many people here who have helped me over the past 3 years to deal with her struggles. So many people have shared their personal stories with me, helping me along the way. I just wanted to say thank you! Thank you! THANK YOU!!! for all your support and to give you all an update.

 

 

I know the road isn't going to be smooth ahead of her and her needs will change and grow with her age and experiences. But for today, just that teeny-tiny dose of medication is all it is taking to give her a break from the chaos that usually consumes her little brain.

 

 

Thanks again!

 

~Tap

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Alenee

Alenee

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:grouphug: I bet it feels good to just be able to take a deep breath. :) My dd has similar issues. We found a med that is working well for her, at least for now, and there just aren't any words to describe how wonderful it is to see our her smiling. I'm so happy for you!

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jelbe5

jelbe5

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Thank you for sharing. My son has autism and we are considering this med as he is becoming older and bigger. Your post is encouraging. I used to work with mentally ill adults an I saw firsthand how the right med at the right dose could be such a blessing.

 

Adrianne in IL

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