I asked my son's therapist about this over the summer because I had people telling me I should apply for disability for him. Therapist said that at this point he would write a favorable letter. Just because a child gets disability now, doesn't mean they will be labeled for life as it is reevaluated every 3 years.
This all came about because my son, 8 yrs old, has been dx'ed ADHD, ODD & GAD. I've had him tested for Asperger's Syndrome. He's been on Adderall XR since 5 yrs old (moved up to 25 mg around 6 yrs) and we just switched to Concerta 36 mg. He's been on Tenex (for anxiety), switched to Abilify the begining of 1st grade (5 mg 2xday). When we switched to Concerta (yesterday being the first dose) we also added Depakote 250 mg 2xday. Our problem isn't in school. His anxiety issues have him so straight at school (uncomfortable) that he's well behaved, gets his work done. But the minute he gets to his "safe zone" he's gets irritable, starts fighting/arguing over doing homework ~ he will actually fight w/ his sister whether or not she brushed her hair. I am also aware that by the time he gets off the bus, the Adderall XR is out of his system. He started having full blown rages on Good Friday of this year in which he needs to be restrained. He's raged on me twice, stepgrandma twice, aunt once, therapist twice and stepdad once. All rages were in response to getting in trouble and not wanting to comply with discipline.
In our talk w/ the therpist about disability, he said he sees my sons future as having problems keeping a job due to anger issues (ODD ~ defiance of authority). When tested for Asperger's, the psych said my son would be the type to get a job as mathmatician, engineer, architect, etc, however, therapist says the problem would be getting the education to get these types of jobs again related to the anger issues of ODD.
I am going to start the disability process (again) this week but my reasoning isn't money, it's the insurance. My son's current private insurance does not cover ANY mental health (visits w/ the psych or therapy). Therapists bill runs $720/month. My son's med copays run $150/month (he's also dx'ed severe environmental allergies). So for us, it's worth a shot. His disability isn't straight ADHD, but the ODD and anxiety that comes along with it.
Good Luck in your journey.
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