Is this a stim? What is it?
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Anonymous
| My 4 year old with ADHD, severe, has some asd tendencies - he flaps and is often rigid and repetitive. I've asked our dev ped but she basically said we would need a full neuropsych to test for that. Seems odd, but okay, trying to get into a new dev ped. For the past week he has repetitively been telling ha ha ha loudly, like a yell. He is extremely defiant and has behavioral problems. Honestly, I'm just going so crazy. I'm crying while I write this, he's driving me and everyone around him insane. I've never encountered such a difficult child before. It's miserable. But is this constant yelling a stim? It's a repetitive thing he's doing it over and over. |
Anonymous
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Sounds like a stim. They can be annoying. Usually kids can't help it so, you'll need to change your reaction to the stim. Think of it as an endearing quirk if you can.
It really sounds like the stims are the tip of the iceberg. Have you tried behavioral therapy? |
Anonymous
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Just want to give you some encouragement. I know it's tough. My kid flaps and buzzes and spins. I know how frustrating it can be. When it gets bad, I tell my DC to go to their room if needed.
Hugs to you! |
Anonymous
| We are trying Aba soon. We have to pay out of pocket because no diagnosis. It's frustrating. |
Anonymous
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What do you want to test for? Autism?
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Anonymous
| I guess. Probably learning disabilities. Maybe odd. I guess all of it. |
Anonymous
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For that - autism + LD - you will need a neuropsych exam. A dev ped can't do all that.
Many LDs can't be confirmed until a child is 6 or older. Autism can be diagnosed earlier. Many recommend not worrying so much about the diagnosis at this point but to focus on therapies to address the current issues. What has your current dev ped suggested you do? |
Anonymous
| Could it instead be a tic? Could a neurologist or psychiatrist help? |
Anonymous
| It could well be a tic. What's the distinction? We are seeing a neuro now. He had a seizure and it's possible he has a seizure disorder. |
Anonymous
A developmental pediatrician can diagnose autism. Stims are quite common, and not really relevant to having a neuropsych evaluation. OP, try seeing if behavioral therapy is covered under your insurance. If you have an ADHD diagnosis, it most likely will be. However, a lot of therapists don't address stims unless the child is hurting themselves or its something like keeping a quiet voice in a classroom for example. Even if that were the case, you'd be using positive reinforcement. Children shouldn't be punished for stimming. |
Anonymous
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'try seeing if behavioral therapy is covered under your insurance. If you have an ADHD diagnosis, it most likely will be.'
After working for YEARS in the insurance/medical industry I can tell you that this is NOT necessarily the case. Indiv/Group therapy is covered, some therapeutic services are covered (ie pt,ot,st but only under certain circumstances) but I would not assume that behavioral therapy(ABA) is...be sure you check for SPECIFIC services (with CPT/modality codes) with SPECIFIC diagnosis codes. If your insurance company offers it, I would ask for pre-authorization of services so you don't end up holding the financial bag. |
Anonymous
| It's not covered, I asked. In fact federal bcbs told me no coverage at all for behavioral therapy for anyone. Which seems nutty. |
Anonymous
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It could be a vocal tic. With kids who have a comolex set of things going on, it can be difficult to draw clear lines between what behaviors are tics, what are stims/stereotypies, and what are OCD-style compulsions. The only real reason to distinguish is because different strategies might be better for addressing each.
Good luck! Try to keep in mind that whatever is going on, it's not happening just to annoy you or to be defiant. When something seems like he "should" be able to stop, it can be hard to keep that perspective. |
Anonymous
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oh... and btw...pp here.
Our teenage son is hfa/adhd.... We dealt with/deal with vocal stims STILL. Our son let out very loud high pitched screams/squeals for YEARS...it was deafening and earsplitting. I came to the conclusion, that there was something about noise emminating from within HIM that blocked out external noise. He often did it when he was overstimulated. We still see that, though with a squeak (like the sound of a balloon being let out with air slowly) right now. It's been a long road. just me 2c. |
Anonymous
| okay...so I was not pp.. (lol) so many people posting at the same time... I was 16:18 and 16:21 lol |