Behavioral Issues in School

[sunset_sunrise_lover]

We are not Americans and are living in South Korea where I teach and my son attends school. My soon to be 6 yr old son was recently diagnosed with ADHD, OCD, and potential ODD. He has been having behavioral issues such as struggling to control his impulses and getting into various behavioral issues such as hitting and not respecting his peer's personal space. He will begin CBT in two weeks and I have been trying some herbal supplements. I've tried the Mary Ruth's Magnesium calm and have just started trying the Bioray Kids NDF Sleepy and Calm. Does anyone have any tips to help us through this challenging journey? TIA

[ASLCODATerp]

Four of my five kids have ADHD and each manifests differently, but I have learned that each one really wants to succeed. They want to do good things. Our kids don’t always have the ability to communicate their frustration too, so it ends up coming out in behavior.

Their brain just has a hard time putting on the brakes, or they may need some heavy physical sensory input to be regulated and they are not getting enough of it. They need physical play and exercise. I have seen teachers take away recess for misbehavior. The teacher doesnt realize how that makes everything worse. .

Does your school have an Occupational Therapist? Each of my kids that has gone through OT has made good progress and learned valuable skills that help navigate their emotions.

Our kids just want to be seen, heard, loved, and supported. I try to remember that.

[sunset_sunrise_lover in reply to ASLCODATerp]

Thank you! The school has a social and emotional counselor but her interventions have not been working. He is starting CBT sessions next week. I know that each child is different, but is there an average length of time before you started seeing progress in your kids?

[ASLCODATerp in reply to sunset_sunrise_lover]

Any new intervention has taken some time to see progress. It depends on the child, whether the intervention is a good fit, what else is going on in their life, etc… So it just depends. But I can usually feel whether something is going in the right direction pretty much immediately.

CBT can take longer before you see progress as you are building skills of thinking patterns and that will take a lot of practice for the child. But it pays out over time as ultimately we want our kids to have the ability to manage on their own as they grow-up.

I have seen change happen more quickly when a child feels love and a sense of independence.

[Pema20]

parent training. I wish I had had it when our daughter was younger. Try the ADHD dude website, Impact parents also has resources, both can be done virtually. One on one parent coaching is also an option if you have the resources to afford it.

[sunset_sunrise_lover in reply to Pema20]

Thankfully my insurance will cover this. The therapy session that he will start soon also includes a 30 mins parent session so I am looking forward to that

[BVBV]

High quality fish oil with high level of EPA, such as Barlean’s, it tastes great as well. My son also takes Zahler’s ChildCalm, Olly’s Happy Worms, and we started micronutrients and a supplement from Brain MD. My son has Tourette’s and cannot take stimulant medications and we haven’t had luck with non-stimulants thus far either. Getting physical activity in before and after school is also helpful.

[soh777]

hi, our situation sounds hugely like yours. We tried calm and lots of other things but the situation only got worse, very bad, and very quickly. The ODD was from day 1, but the lashing out, hitting, breaking things, seemed to explode at age 7. We got prescribed Guanfacin and things smoothed out amazingly well (over a few months time). The only supplement type of thing that obviously worked, was melatonin, for helping to sleep at a decent time, which we gave 1/4 of a mg—tiny piece. The dr says to be careful with this too, esp with Guanfacin and now it’s often not needed, although we have a ton of sports going on which also helps use his energy.