Anonymous
Anonymous
07/27/2025 22:10
Subject: Therapist for DMDD?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:OP here, we have tried medications for 3 years and he still has problems with DMDD. Clinicians keep suggesting play therapy when I ask about CBT or DBT therapy. I have not been able to get an autism diagnosis for him (that would allow for ABA therapy if that would help at all...) as he doesn't meet all the criteria even though he exhibits some traits.
Where do you live? There are practices that do DBT for children.
Northern VA
Here is the one I know of in Nova, there may be others: https://www.ebtcollaborative.com/dbtc
Thank you!! This is so helpful
Anonymous
07/27/2025 22:04
Subject: Therapist for DMDD?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:OP here, we have tried medications for 3 years and he still has problems with DMDD. Clinicians keep suggesting play therapy when I ask about CBT or DBT therapy. I have not been able to get an autism diagnosis for him (that would allow for ABA therapy if that would help at all...) as he doesn't meet all the criteria even though he exhibits some traits.
Where do you live? There are practices that do DBT for children.
Northern VA
Here is the one I know of in Nova, there may be others: https://www.ebtcollaborative.com/dbtc
Anonymous
07/27/2025 20:34
Subject: Therapist for DMDD?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Therapy isn’t indicated for ADHD and DMDD. Parent training is, though. Go that route.
OP here, I have done this, it doesn’t work when he is not with me- he’s worse at school (currently pulled out of school because there are no good options) and cannot attend activities or camps due to emotional dysregulation. I can’t not have a break forever and he’s getting bigger.
I’m the PP and my DS has the same diagnosis. It was bad at 9 years old. He pulled a knife. He tried to jump out of a 2nd story window. We tried a couple of different therapists and it was a complete waste of time. He literally did not care. We did medication- Vyvanse and guanfacine - and ADHD Dude courses. Maturing helped a lot. I think that was the biggest factor.
Everyone’s experience is different. He’s 13 now and a completely different kid. I wish you luck.
Thank you for your experience. Luckily my child doesn’t do things like that, he just can’t behave in school, not even a special ed program! I hope maturity helps as well as medication doesn’t help 100%
Anonymous
07/27/2025 20:32
Subject: Therapist for DMDD?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:OP here, we have tried medications for 3 years and he still has problems with DMDD. Clinicians keep suggesting play therapy when I ask about CBT or DBT therapy. I have not been able to get an autism diagnosis for him (that would allow for ABA therapy if that would help at all...) as he doesn't meet all the criteria even though he exhibits some traits.
Where do you live? There are practices that do DBT for children.
Northern VA
Anonymous
07/27/2025 20:30
Subject: Therapist for DMDD?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Define aggression.
Hitting, kicking, throwing objects
Have you tried medication?
Yes, we have tried lots of things for years. At home he’s mostly fine, it’s school and activities/ camps that are the problems. He’s already in special ed school because of his behavior but it’s not helping because the other kids trigger him with their bad behavior.
Anonymous
07/27/2025 20:29
Subject: Therapist for DMDD?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Therapy isn’t indicated for ADHD and DMDD. Parent training is, though. Go that route.
OP here, I have done this, it doesn’t work when he is not with me- he’s worse at school (currently pulled out of school because there are no good options) and cannot attend activities or camps due to emotional dysregulation. I can’t not have a break forever and he’s getting bigger.
I’m the PP and my DS has the same diagnosis. It was bad at 9 years old. He pulled a knife. He tried to jump out of a 2nd story window. We tried a couple of different therapists and it was a complete waste of time. He literally did not care. We did medication- Vyvanse and guanfacine - and ADHD Dude courses. Maturing helped a lot. I think that was the biggest factor.
Everyone’s experience is different. He’s 13 now and a completely different kid. I wish you luck.
Anonymous
07/27/2025 20:19
Subject: Therapist for DMDD?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Define aggression.
Hitting, kicking, throwing objects
Have you tried medication?
Anonymous
07/27/2025 09:02
Subject: Therapist for DMDD?
Does he have an IEP? Did you pull him out of school?
If his current school placement is not working then he made need more support and the school is required to provide that.
Summer can be hard. We found finding a caregiver that had experience in special education worked best. Regular camps and activities were not the right fit for us either.
If his current school placement is not working then he made need more support and the school is required to provide that.
Summer can be hard. We found finding a caregiver that had experience in special education worked best. Regular camps and activities were not the right fit for us either.
Anonymous
07/27/2025 03:37
Subject: Therapist for DMDD?
Anonymous wrote:Therapy isn’t indicated for ADHD and DMDD. Parent training is, though. Go that route.
OP here, I have done this, it doesn’t work when he is not with me- he’s worse at school (currently pulled out of school because there are no good options) and cannot attend activities or camps due to emotional dysregulation. I can’t not have a break forever and he’s getting bigger.
Anonymous
07/26/2025 21:35
Subject: Therapist for DMDD?
Therapy isn’t indicated for ADHD and DMDD. Parent training is, though. Go that route.
Anonymous
07/26/2025 20:15
Subject: Therapist for DMDD?
Anonymous wrote:OP here, we have tried medications for 3 years and he still has problems with DMDD. Clinicians keep suggesting play therapy when I ask about CBT or DBT therapy. I have not been able to get an autism diagnosis for him (that would allow for ABA therapy if that would help at all...) as he doesn't meet all the criteria even though he exhibits some traits.
Just an FYI you don’t need an autism diagnosis to seek ABA, only to have it covered by insurance. It’s something you might explore as potentially useful, but would have to pay out of pocket. You can start with a behavioral eval to see if this would be beneficial or not.