[Perfect7]

Our dd has major issues with changes in routine unless we've told her ahead of time (helps a little), her clothes can't be too loose or too tight and forget about tags, and loud noises cause her to cover hear ears and cringe. The medication also helped tone these things down. A REALLY REALLY good book that put it all together for me was "Bipolar Kids" by Rosalie Greenberg, MD. They talk about how bipolar is very similar to ADHD, ODD, OCD, and ASD, stuff I really didn't find anywhere else. They sensory issues are more pronounced in the depressive phase. I've frequently commented about how my daughter with bipolar disorder has more autistic traits than our son who carries the autism diagnosis, ha ha. I really think you'd like the book.

[atouchofheaven]

i just ordered "the bipolar child" and am expecting it this week. the sensory stuff during the depressive period makes sense. i can never say my son is always sensory defensive because it changes so often. sometimes he is really picky about things touching him, and other times he jumps all over the place and doesn't notice a thing. ditto about change and transitions. i find that i have to give my son multiple warnings when something is going to occur. and also about loud noises. except my son won't cover his ears, even though i tell him to. instead he just yells to drown it out. really annoying since we have a 5 month old in the house. if she sets him off, then he yells and makes her even worse. i'm suprised the neighbors have called CPS on us. lol. anyway, i've started documenting every "episode" and general moods everyday to show the psychologist. and i've even video taped his rages. we also bought an infared night camera for his room because i'm curious how his sleep is. it seems very disturbed. so i'm hoping to get a lot of information from that.

anyway, thanks for all the input. i'd love more tips from readers if you have them.

[rm2000hg]

I have sensory integration disorder. I never had any rages or angry behavior as a child but I was very difficult about all sensory stimulation (vomited when smelled chocolate, or any hot foods... even tomato sauce on the stove, would try to walk around outside with my eyes closed even if it meant walking into things, i would only wear a certain kind of pants and tank tops b/c i couldn't handle sleeves, spent an insane amount of time trying to get the seams of socks lined up and both sneakers tied to the same tightness). I drove my mother nuts. When I was in high school I did take ADD medicine and it helped to focus but made me more emotional. As I got older, the sensory stuff did get better. Unless I was tired or stressed out, I could handle the sensory problems. I ended up working at a really stressful job and it was almost like all the coping skills were busy with the stress and the sensory issues flared up again... BUT I found the greatest medicine. I take Gabapentin which is used off label for all sorts of things. It was originally prescribed to me for anxiety but I found that it really works wonders on sensory issues. It seems to just dull the nervous system. I used to feel like all the neurons were just firing way too much so everything was bothering me but with the gabapentin everything just feels a little less intense. I don't know if this is helpful since it is such an off label use, but when I looked it up two years ago, I couldn't find any info on it being used for these purposes but now it is mentioned as being useful for treatment of autism and bipolar so I think it is becoming more accepted and more popular.

[marykath]

To answer your question, we have found that there is always "more" going on.
At first we thought she's emotional and anxious because of her multiple moves and her developmental delays. We got early intervention services and an attachment therapist. Things improved a bit. Then we started to notice sensory issues, so we got OT. Now that some of the sensory issues are improving we can see through those to the other issues, like OCD and ODD.
It's kind of like peeling a strange fruit layer by layer.
Now we are seeking out a pediatric neuropsychologist evaluation. We have been waiting for this for quite some time. I'm hoping this eval will give us some more answers, possibly to the bipolar question. I should say, though, that while she has a lot of characteristics common to bipolar kids, the encourging thing for us is we haven't really seen any cycling. We keep a journal of "eposides" and these things seem to come out based on the situation...anytime we're in a hurry, anytime she must wear shoes, anytime she doesn't like what's served for breakfast, basically anytime she is not in control.
We also see a therapist who works w/ a lot of sensory kids once a month; she helps us w/ specific behavior concerns.
Do you ever really know the whole picture? I think it's all about learning the "tricks" that work w/ your child. For us, we don't do too much, go too many places. I save errands for my husband's day off. We do go swimming almost every day for an hour or more (deep pressure for the sensory stuff) and keep very physically active. We really watch her diet - no food dyes or corn syrup.
Back when my dd was 3 the rages were awful and I didn't understand them. So she'd get angry, I'd get angry and try to take away toys and TV, and things would get worse. I did try the booster seat thing on the recommendation of one therapist - I felt terrible doing it and it didn't work.
The thing to remember is traditional techniques don't often work for our kids.
Probably the best thing I did was learn to stay calm and accept the situation. I'd remove her to her room, and try to stay there w/ her as she raged. I'd try to hold her, and if she wouldn't let me, I would just sit on the bed or the floor and be there talking softly. Eventually, and sometimes this took an hour or so, she'd wear herself out and I could hold her. We'd sit there clinging to each other. Sometimes she'd fall asleep.
About the poop...this never happened w/ us. I feel for you! How about making him clean it up (w/ your help of course)? Natural consequences.
Good for you for seeking out OT. I would do that, then if the sensory issues improve, maybe you can start peeling back the other layers.
You can do this.

[atouchofheaven]

unfortunately marykath, we have been journaling and while a lot of times the episode is because of some event, sometimes it's for no reason at all. the more i read about bipolar, the more i'm convinced he has it. also, i wish i could just sit in my son's room with him while he raged but he tends to rage at me. he'll just keep attacking me trying to hit and scratch. that's why i have to be away from him. i would hold him everytime but i also have a 5 month old at home so that isn't always practical.

and i totally love your point about the layers. you're absolutely right, it's never just one thing or another. kids this complex don't fit into a box. and i'm learning as we grow. i'm learning to stop expecting to see big changes. just to accept my son for who he is and where he is and not to keep trying to fix him.

thanks for all the input. it feels good knowing i'm not alone.

[Perfect7]

Originally Posted by atouchofheaven

and i totally love your point about the layers. you're absolutely right, it's never just one thing or another. kids this complex don't fit into a box.

Amen!