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17 yr old daughter diagnosed with Sever PTSD
Hi,
My name is Donna and my 17 year old daughter was diagnosed with severe PTSD/ADHD/Anxiety. Where do I go from here at this point in time. She barely goes to school at all. Does not take her meds all the time and then stops taking her meds because she can. How can I help my daughter get a highschool diploma or at least a GED so she can be a member of her community and get a job and figure out what she likes to do for a living. I am a struggling mom of 2 kids. I do not know what to do for her anymore. We tried on line school and that did not work she was to unorganized. Right now as it stands I am trying to help her out and have her succeed in life and find healthy coping therapies but she doesnt even try. I need help for my daughter and I do not know what to do now. She is a junior in Highschool and hates school in general maybe goes 2 days out of the school week. I asked her what I can do to help her she says nothing or she says she does not know. very angry person when she has to talk about herself and how to help herself get better. I love her but I have been trying for 4 years to get her help and it has been a struggle either she would not go to the dr appointments or she said she did not like the dr and wouldnt go to the next appt. either way I am stuck. She is a bright kid and I wish everyone could see that. If anyone has any input that would be great.
Her physciatrist gave her the diagonosis this year of PTSD ADHD ANXIETY. She then went to a Nurse to talk about meds that will help her with PTSD ADHD ANXIETY and she started to take the meds for abbout a month then stopped taking them. Down hill after that.
Someone throw me a lifeline please.......
Donna Burroughs
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Hi Donna, tough situation.
I'd try a stellate ganglion block. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/17507-stellate-ganglion-block
Sometimes a hands on program of learning is better especially if it is in an area of interest. Your daughter may need to feel better first, in order to have an interest.
GED https://www.ged.com/ is also a good idea. She may be able to pass already, but they have study guides. You might be able to get her into a community college class. I think the classes there are so much more stimulating than high school. Sometimes hs students just get bored. She may be having socialization issues that make her reluctant to attend her high school.
There are a lot of free homeschool options by computer. https://freedomhomeschooling.com/
I would try to be generous in stimulating her (even bribing her) to participate in anything (almost) that she fancies.
Bless your struggle.
@donnab2673
I can empathize with your struggles. I have a 16 year old son who has combined ADHD, anxiety, OCD, learning differences, migraines, Reynauds syndrome, and a heart defect. He was diagnosed when he was 8 years old after having 2 concussions. It can be exhausting to scaffold your child for extended periods of time.
What ADHD medications was your daughter prescribed and at what dosages? What anxiety medication was prescribed?
Did your daughter have Covid and the injections?
Does your daughter have any other medical conditions? What did her psychologist recommend after completing her psychological evaluation? Do you know what triggered and still triggers her PTSD?
Does your daughter have an IEP/504 plan at school to help her succeed and do her best? Does she have a tutor/mentor to help her?
Is she doing telehealth sessions with a counselor? Are you getting counselors to help you best parent your daughter and give you strategies to try?
Does your daughter have a smart phone, computer/laptop, iPods, and use the internet? If so, you need to require her to take her ADHD/antidepressant medication, go to doctors’ appointments, see a counselor/therapist regularly, complete some household chores, and go to school/complete assignments or you will withhold all electronics and shut off the internet until she does what she needs to do. You can allow electronic use for homework but nothing else until she is done. You need to use some tough love with her, set boundaries and get help for you to navigate through this. You need support.
Talk to her doctors and ask for help and recommendations, research to fully understand her condition and the resources available to her, support groups, etc.
Socialization and motivation is really tough for teens with ADHD/anxiety. You both need help to get through this critical phase. It is a very vulnerable period and mental health support is key.
1. https://www.additudemag.com/parenting-a-teenager-with-adhd-support-encourage-guide/
2. https://chadd.org/for-parents/parenting-teens-with-adhd/
3. https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/parenting-a-child-or-teen-with-adhd
4. https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/parenting-teen-adhd.html
5. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/adhd/Pages/Effective-Parenting-of-Teenagers-with-ADHD.aspx
6. https://www.greatschools.org/gk/parenting/adhd/md-parenting-adolescents-with-ad-hd/
7. https://www.liahonaacademy.com/how-to-navigate-parenting-a-teen-with-adhd-odd-and-behavioral-issues.html
8. https://teenswithadhd.com/adhd-parenting-strategies/
9. https://www.additudemag.com/i-am-exhausted-adhd-parenting/
10. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/special-matters/201904/the-dos-and-don-ts-parenting-anxious-teen
11. https://www.choosingtherapy.com/how-to-parent-a-child-with-adhd/
12. https://yellowchaircollective.com/howw-to-support-and-parent-adhd-teens/
13. https://www.healthyplace.com/adhd/articles/parenting-teenagers-with-adhd-surviving-the-ride
@donnab2673
Another thing to keep in mind is that children and teens with ADHD are about 3-5 years behind their peers in some areas of neurodevelopment and maturity. You can’t really compare your daughter to others her age on certain milestones. You need to accept her as she is and let her know you love her as she is. Don’t push her too much beyond what she can handle. When I started to let go of some things and expectations, I was able to be more present with my son in the moment and have more open/relaxed conversations. I have been trying to understand my son more and what his struggles are from his perspective, not mine. I am neurotypical and don’t know what it is like to live in the world as a neurodivergent person so I need to have patience when seeking to understand. I can’t make my child neurotypical and need to help him navigate the world, create strategies that work for him to advocate for himself, and use his strengths. They need to love themselves as they are and as God created them to be.
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