ADHD VS SPECTRUM DISORDER.

[JulienJack]

My 8 yr old son has gone through so much testing in 2 years. Started with Anxiety and ODD to ADHD. During testing Spectrum was discussed. It has not been ruled out but I was told that definate diagnosis may not be able to be made until middle school. We are starting a 3rd stimulant tomorrow (previous 2 made him more aggressive) and he takes guafacine and melatonin for sleep. (Sleep is bad with or without stimulants) he has aggression in school from yelling to throwing books to trying to hit and kick students and teachers. He had a pretty good 3 week stretch when i secretly took him off meds and he was taken out of his mainstream classes that happened to be triggers (math/language) but school let him make the decision to return back to his mainstream classes so back to agression. I should also add, that once in a GREAT while he will be defiant to me, I am the only one he does not get physical with and I can calm him down pretty easily.

Has anybody else started out with ADHD DX then switched or added a Spectrum disorder Dx?

[Becky0323]

My son is 6 1/2 and we too struggled with a diagnosis. He is being treated for ADHD but I was told he could also have bipolar but too young to actually diagnose. I don't agree with that. I took him to another psychiatrist who said it's ADHD, ODD, and DMDD.

I honestly don't think many docs know how and what to give sometimes. Your child's symptoms sound very similar to my son's.