Daughter just diagnosed with ADHD/ODD

[Trina710]

Well, it is official!  Both of my kids have inherited the ADHD gene from Daddy, and my daughter was just diagnosed with Oppositional Definance Disorder after over a year of up and down behavior issues.  My son is 8, and we were able to diagnose him at 5 with ADHD.  My daughter is only 4, and we were leary to diagnose her, but she is a classic case!  

My issue is that she is also ODD which causes so many issues with School, home, and church.  She is an angel one minute (the most beautiful child in the world if I do say so myself) and then she will literally just flip a switch and start hitting teachers, spitting on people, etc.  We do not model this behavior for her, and my son (although ADHD, does not have any agression).  My husband said he use to just feel the anxiety and anger well up in him when he was in elementary and his teenage years although he was never officially diagnosed, he should have been!  As he has gotten older, he has definitely learned to manage it.  He is a pastor now, and got over his ODD/Dyslexia and ADHD to graduate college last weekend!

How can I help my child?  I do have anxiety, but am not ADHD, and I'm not aggressive, so these behaviors are very foreign to me.

We are seeing a behavioral therapist mid June, but they are going to kick her out of preschool soon if we can't get her controlled.

[Corrine554]

Before just accepting this diagnosis for your children, have all other causes investigated.  Consult a nutritionist to test for food intolerances and allergies, try giving them protein in the form of fish, chicken, nuts and pulses, eliminate as much as possible refined carbohydrates, sugar and increase organic vegetables, fruits and salad, Give them a good daily dose of Omega 3 which has been proven to bring significant improvement to brain function in children and improve behaviour as well as grades and concentration (see link below), and check out for other atmospheric intolerances. Also, this may be difficult to consider, but look at possible emotional contributors and parental management.  Often even though we love our children and are caring attentive parents, our own struggles and anxiety can very easily be transmitted to children, especially young children.  to a certain degree boisterous, lively cheeky children are "normal" ...even when this can seem excessive, behavioural and management approaches by the adults around them can have drastic effects without resorting to powerful amphetemines to sedate their growing brains and budding personalities.   Remember too there is a national obsession with ADHD with as many as a third of children being saddled inappropriately with this label in any one class, Ritalin and other powerful drugs can have detrimental affects on a child's development, sense of self worth and self esteem. Its saying clearly to a child "you are defective, your personality needs to be changed" ... so consider all possible options before you just go along with this diagnosis.  There are some links below, the first a very good book, that you may want to consider.  All the best x

http://www.thereviewzone.com/

http://www.patrickholford.com/content.asp?id_Content=1362

http://www.naturalchild.org/guest/john_breeding.html