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Residential Treatment: If You Have Lost Control of Your Child

If your parent-child relationship is too far gone and hormones and peer pressure have set in, your child’s behavior can rapidly escalate out of control, especially if substance abuse is involved.  If you reach this stage, you must get professional help.  A 12- or 13-year-old boy is strong and if he is aggressive or hostile, you might need extra help. 

If he is out of control and your insurance will cover it, consider putting him in a residential treatment facility.  If insurance does not cover it, try your local state-funded mental health center.  Ask for an intake interview and a psychological evaluation.  You might have to wait a while longer for government facilities versus private facilities, but your child will get the help he needs.


Preparing for Placing Your Child in Residential Treatment

If you have your own referral or resources and decide to place your child in residential treatment, do the preparation.  First, toughen yourself and prepare for his verbal abuse to get even for that inevitable moment at the facility when told of impending placement. That is when kids often run. It is not wise to tell your child until he gets there and you have some backup arms and legs to keep him there. When your child is admitted, ask the residential staff what you can do at home to support their effort to change him.

If the facility has parent meetings, attend them responsibly.Ask the staff if they have parenting classes or if they can refer you to agencies offering classes with a similar treatment philosophy. You need to change to be firmer and smarter—no more doormat persona.  After Your Child Is Placed in Treatment  Never just sit back and congratulate yourself for finally getting rid of your kid.  You will be too soft and out of practice to help him when the treatment center discharges him.

Too many parents of kids with ADHD make the mistake of unrestrained relief when their kids entered special school, residential treatment centers with impact units for schooling, or overseas boarding school.  They pay the school tuition and treatment expenses, so they think that they have earned the relief.  Rather than using that respite to brush up on skills, these parents stop going to ADHD support groups and plunge into a seemingly carefree lifestyle. 

Unfortunately, their carefree days are short-lived.  When the kids return for furloughs and long holidays, the parents feel more resentment and anger toward their kids, after having such a hassle-free, self-imposed vacation from their high-maintenance kids.  

Kids Falling Through The Cracks

These parents have lost the ability to cope with such chaos even for short periods.  Big ugly quarrels usually erupt, with parents feeling disrespected, dejected, and hopeless.  The kids feel rejected, unloved, and primed for a destructive meltdown.

These parents’ kids were now primed for long-term residential treatment or some type of group home living arrangement. Kids who chronically run away from home live in a series of runaway shelters, 30 days at each stop.  They do not stay long enough for school service.  They do not have anyone to monitor their academic achievements to prepare them for the world of work and independent living and supporting themselves.Some of these parents, when money dried up, would approach the Child Protective Services (CPS) to take over their children. 

They would sign abandonment papers.  Other less-responsible parents would just disappear into thin air. 

Heed This Warning!!!

This is the sad lose-lose scenario of untreated ADHD.  You cannot afford NOT to adopt the Respect Effect Solution. You cannot afford not to train your child to be socially acceptable. You cannot afford not to prepare your child to be independent. Start today before it’s too late.

You Can Solve This

I invite you to use these methods to transform quickly from reactive parent to surprisingly calm, cool, and collected parent worthy of attention and respect.

If you want to solve the underlying problem that is causing your child’s misbehavior, I invite you to claim your free child behavior–improving report “Three Easy Ways to Improve Your Child’s Behavior Today!”  You can download it when you subscribe at http://www.AdhdParentingTips.com  It explains the methods I used to improve my son’s ADHD/ODD behavior by 72% in 3 weeks. The sooner you start, the easier it is to help your child. You can do this.

From Debra Sale Wendler - Respect Effect Mom and ADHD Parenting Success at http://www.AdhdParentingSuccess.com