[mybpboy]

I have a 9 year old son recently dx'd with pediatric bipolar. Other dx's are ADHD combined, SPD and ASD.

He takes 10 mg Adderall XR, 5 mg Adderall and 1.5 mg of Risperidone in the morning, 5 mg Adderall at 2:30 pm and 1.5 mg of Risperidone and 3 mg melatonin in the evening before bed.

After fighting with his elementary school for years he's at a special school that can handle kids like him. His teacher e-mailed me today because his behavior was out of control. He kept yelling "Rocket Power!", wouldn't sit at his desk, kept wanting to sit next to her, kicked her, and just being rude and nasty to the point he was pulled out of her class and may have to do in-school suspension tomorrow.

I was thinking of going GF but wasn't sure how much success people have had with it.

I'm also wondering if there is some kind of therapy or something that would help lessen his stimming, meltdowns, etc.

Thanks for letting me vent.

[BlueInanna]

Hi and welcome I too have kids with adhd and other dx's. I'm not sure what ASD, SPD are though, and GF? Are you ok with how the school is handling him? 9 is so young, it's so hard to watch them struggle with this stuff. When my son was around 10 or 11 and constantly pulled out of class, it was really bad for his self-esteem. I read a lot of books back then that sort of helped like Lost at School & Learned Optimism.

I finally had to home school, and then tried a therapeutic boarding school... things went very downhill. He's now 17, what seems to help the most is keeping the house calm as possible, and when things are tidy he's calmer too, he now has straight A's and doing independant study.

Any activities you guys could do? Will he do any sports or swimming maybe?

Hello,Mybpboy, and welcome.

Having tried psychotropic medications for your little son and feeling somewhat discouraged by your efforts and his response to them, I would suggest that you
Google the following website for helpful additional methods of treatment:

http://www.Alternativementalhealth.com/SafeHarbor

When the site pops up go down the list to "Index of Safe Harbor Articles-Alternative Mental Health" and click that site. It offers helpful information about trying to use orthomolecular science in the relieving some disorders that are chemically caused.

Extensive testing might help you son locate some key problems biochemically that
can be corrected and give him relief.

I wish you much success in whatever route you follow to assist your son.

[mybpboy]

ASD - Autism Spectrum Disorder
SPD - Sensory Processing Disorder
GF - Gluten-free

[faerie_moon_x]

I have no advice on this but wanted to welcome you to PC.

I hope you can find support and answers here!

yes... welcome!

[Victoria'smom]

Hi, my son has several similar dx's. We have not tried gluten free diet but have known a couple of families that it worked well for adhd in conjunction with Med. We home school our son so school wise I haveno suggestions. I will say karate has helped and therapy.

I just have to hand it to you parents that care enough to stay on top of what's happening with your kids and are willing to get them the help that they need.

not every parent does that, you know. mine didn't. my life would have been so much better if they did. So pat yourselves on the backs for being there for them and doing what you can for them! I applaud you!

[Anika.]

There is quite a lot of support in favour of gluten free for autism, add, schitzophrenia and bipolar. Worth a good try I think for sure. Nothing to loose with that.

I have had a lot of success with this and bipolar. Maybe it is something you could try as a family, which makes it more inclusive rather than exclusive. If you have any questions about gf you can always ask me. It can seem overwhelming at first.

Therapy sounds like a good option, and as suggested by MM something like karate or even yoga, kids can really benefit from. There is a 9 year old boy in my yoga class, he is really doing well with it. Activities like karate or yoga, something that helps us learn how to discipline the mind and as well as calm it could really help him I think.

[mybpboy]

Thank you so much for the warm welcome, support and suggestions!

I like the idea of yoga. We tried taeqwon do (sp?) but he was kicked out because he couldn't behave.

My husband's disabled so I have to work in order to keep the roof over our heads so there's no chance we could homeschool him. I've read 'Lost at School' and 'The Explosive Child' and was even fortunate enough to hear Ross Greene speak and talk with him about my son but it sounds like I need to go back and read them again.

I've mentioned the GF diet to my husband but he thinks it would be very hard for us to do. I've told him it's hard because of all the junk he likes to eat. I think it's time the doctor and I sit down with him and let him know that this is something we need to try because, like pp has said, a lot of people have had success with it.