Hello, I’m a grandfather to a 13 year old who came into my care last November and I am his legal guardian along with his grandmother. He has been diagnosed with ADHD, DMDD and ODD. Four different counselors and doctors believe he has ASD and we are awaiting testing which will hopefully occur next month. His parents divorced when he was about three and he is estranged from his father. His mother was unable to care for him and this is how he came into my care. I believe he has feelings of abandonment because of this. We had always had a great relationship until I undertook the parent role. In the last 9 months I have been beaten, bitten and sustained a black eye over internet access. I had him hospitalized back in May after he threatened to kill me but it didn’t seem to have much effect. I’ve made all the mistakes with punishment and rewards with little effect as I learned through the AE courses. I began taking the AE courses as I agree with the Doctors and believe the testing will find him on the Spectrum. He has issues with hygiene, his room is a disaster and he becomes violent if I try to manage the screen time which he is on constantly. He has always been spotty with school attendance and has an IEP. He has already missed 6 out of 12 days this year and most recently today. He started risperidone about two weeks ago and there has been a marked improvement in his mood, although school is still an issue. I tried to engage him tonight to discuss a plan but he was having none of it and where we had been getting along well watching TV as soon as I mentioned school he became sullen, withdrawn and I believe went quickly and deeply into defense mode. I asked him is something was going on but he refused to answer. I am in almost daily contact with the school and with a few more absences we’ll be looking at some serious consequences such as truancy court. I’ve had the Genesight testing done as well and it suggests the medicine he is on (Abilify, Zoloft, Risperadone, Vyvanse) should be effective. I’ve been working on getting him out of defense mode but the school absences are excessive. I’m looking for suggestions to try and get him to school consistently. I’m considering home school but I’m afraid that’s more for my sanity than his benefit. Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.

Posted by ttpratt at 2022-08-23 01:49:40 UTC