David

[Scarlettudc]

My son is ADHD, PDD, OCD, NOS, schizophrenic, early bi-polar, More autism, and sexually assulted by his blood daddy. I have been in the middle of a nasty divorce for two and a half years. I don't think that it shall ever end. I have no child-support, only Tenncare insurance, and we are living on charity after we pay the bills. David is on a 2nd grade reading level, and a 3rd grade math level. He doesn't even know his multiplucation tables. He is in special ed for 6th grade, and the school is saying that he will go to high school next year. The kids will shread him. All he wants to do is play in his own little world. David is 12, and my daughter is 10. We believe that his sister will end up having to take care of him. David is on three medications now: 60 mg strattera a morning, 5 mg abilify a day, and 600 mg seroquel at night. He has nightmares about his daddy, and also has accidents both ways. The poor little things stools would make a sailor cry. He is also extremely angry, and has absolutely no patience. My Father and I are at our wits end. My Father is gradually dying, and I am on the verge of a physical and mental collaspe. We live in Saulsbury, TN and we have already done everything possible in Memphis. Even the Kenndy Krieger Center refused us. Nor can I get him in Vanderbilt because of his other diagnosis. I can't even find a special school for him. Can anybody help us?:eek:

[peglem]

Wow, sorry you're dealing with so much! You might want to copy/paste your post on the autism forum here:

http://brain.hastypastry.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=97

I have a 14 yo daughter with pretty severe autism, so I'm thinking the reading and math levels are not too bad, but I guess its all relative. (thought it might make you feel better to know somebody is worse off in that area:))

I'm wondering if some of those dx's were tacked on to justify to insurance the medication rx's?

Ar any rate, I'm not familiar with the school systems in Tennessee, here in AZ children do not go to highschool until they have completed 8th grade. My daughter is just beginning her 1st year of highschool. It is up to your child's school to provide an appropriate and safe placement for him based on his needs. I know that doesn't always happen (and certainly has not happened for my daughter). You've got so much on your plate already, I'm very sorry for the battle you've got ahead of you with school. Are you familiar with the Wright's Law website? You can find that here:

http://www.wrightslaw.com/

It has a lot of information on the IDEA and what your rights are and how to make sure your rights are enforced.
It would be wonderful if you could post on the autism forum linked above, even though we may not have all the answers for you, we are a very supportive, understanding group and you sure sound like you could use a good dose of both right now!

[goddessoflubbock]

Under Tenncare you can get your son evaluated, and that's the first thing I would do.

NOS isn't a dx, it's a tack-on, probably to his PDD? And kids with ASD's are often misdiagnosed with ADHD when in fact they just need some coping skills. As for the OCD, that's a pretty common co-morbid with autism, more an exaggeration oftheir perseverations oftentimes.

Then you need a solid IEP with his school - 12 seems young for high school in any event! The school must provide him with a safe learning environment. You may have to show in the beginning at least that you will watchdog that it happens.

Then you need to call 211, find out the agency in your state that handles child support and get a court order.They will make him pay, it is their job.

Finally - do not, and I mean DO NOT write your son out of the game. Ever.

I come from this with a little experience. My son has Asperger's. In kindie he got written up for dropping the "f" bomb in the cafeteria (it was too loud). By 4th grade he was in trouble every week, couldn't walk down the hall without bouncing off the walls (and people), he drooled, he shouted out randomly, his writing was illegible, and he was nearly failing. We finally got the Dx at the end of 4th grade, and I beat the school down with it. I got him everything he was entitled to (including a carpeted classroom for his noise sensitivities) and life began to change. Back then we too worried, who would care for our son when we were gone?

Today he is 14 and in 9th grade. He still has the occassional problem, but he has friends, a GF!!,and plays tuba in the marching band. He also runs a local social networking website and two other sites - for a profit!

Things can get better. It takes time, patience, and love.