Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional ADHD with anger overload?

My son (7) was diagnosed with ADHD in the fall. He's on the Daytrana patch and doing fairly well on it. Some days are great, others are pretty bad. Normally he does well until he's "picked on" (his behavior is reactive) and then he gets really angry.

The past couple of days have been pretty bad. He's run out of the classroom three times and was suspended for it today.

Add to all this - I've always known he was very bright. His sense of humor is just wonderful, he learns very quickly, his vocabulary and problem solving skills are excellent...And, he just got his spring MAP test scores back and scored 207 in Math and 196 in reading - both scores in the 99th percentile.

As soon as his 504 goes through, the school will be testing him for Sensory Integration Disorder (which I am certain he has), but since the year is almost over, he likely will be diagnosed during the summer by a private clinician.

Teacher is terrible. Will absolutely not acknowledge his intelligence. Did not remark at all about his MAP scores, only saying she was concerned about his handwriting and spelling (um, yeah, he has ADHD). The principal has instructed her to give him harder work, but she's not done it. Instead, she'll write four or five of the same type of problems on the back of his sheet to do when he's finished. I'm incredibly frustrated and I know that doesn't help him.

I've read up a little on anger overload and it seems like it fits him, although his anger doesn't last very long at all. I have no idea why he is running out of his classroom. I ask him and he says he doesn't know.

He told me today that he doesn't want to get any smarter, which just made me so sad. I am praying for a good fit next year.

Does anyone on here have experience with anger overload, or similar behaviors? I've done much researching and am fairly certain he's not bipolar or ODD (and neither has his clinician ever suggested either disorders). I just need to find and answer and help my little guy.

I guess after the SID eval, we'll take him in for intelligence/LD testing. I'm just feeling pretty frustrated and lost right now.

You might look at Asperger's Syndrome. It's pretty hard to tease out the high-IQ end of the autism spectrum from that mix of ADHD-plus-sensory-with-anxiety-behaviors that you described. The anxiety from AS can push a kid to overload-type behavior, which can look like anger or frustration or inattention. Then again, the ADHD dx may be spot on.

A really complete diagnostic workup by an autism specialist or developmental pediatrician would include IQ and achievement testing but also might get to the root of the behavior you're seeing and could be useful. I wouldn't go to an OT for this (which is the standard route for "sensory" stuff).

Regardless of dx, if he has severe enough behavior problems to be escaping from the classroom frequently he probably needs the legal protection of an IEP instead of a 504. There are laws that protect a kid from being suspended more than 10 days a year if the behavior is due to a disability. In your shoes, I'd ask the school in writing to re-evaluate and ask for an IEP.

I hope next year brings you a better teacher.

DeeDee

Augh. That all sounds really difficult. Punishing a child for running out of the classroom when they are overloaded, sensory-wise or emotionally, seems really wrong to me. I hope your family has a nice, relaxing summer away from school. It sounds like you both need a break.

Chrys

I am a psychologist and have written articles and a book about anger overload. There can be different underlying causes. Feel free to e-mail me after reading other parents' questions on my blog (you can access it from http://yourdefiantchild.com. Many of these children have delays in developing cortical controls for anger. Sometimes the children get misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder and are put on major medications. I suggest strategies for parents instead, but the key is to first figure out the underlying cause. Look at my blog, article or book for how to do this.