Ange1icflowers
New Member
OK. This is NOT a thread to turn into some sort of bashing, controversial hullaballoo. I just want to share some experiences so that others will not have to deal with what I did.
On 10/31/11, my 7 year old told his teacher he wanted to kill himself. He even had a plan. He was serious. We took him to Calvert Memorial hospital that night. A psychiatrist in the ER spent well over an hour in the room talking with us and him, and observing him. He felt that my child was dealing with "untreated AD/HD" and that was causing the majority of his issues. However, being a "general" psychiatrist, and not a pediatric psychiatrist, he was uncomfortable prescribing meds for my son. He recommended that we get him into therapy, and have him seen (Preferably within a week) by a pediatric psychiatrist to have him medicated so he could begin dealing with the other issues.
I spent the next 10 days making HUNDREDS of phone calls. To psychiatrists, to therapists, to my GP, to the insurance. I called in Charles, Calvert, and St Mary's counties. Either they wouldn't accept private insurance (I was told "if you have medicaid we can help you") or couldn't see him until Late January. I did get one psychiatrist who was so concerned, however, that she was willing to reschedule some of her patients to see him but the insurance wouldn't cover it so I would have to pay the whole visit Out of Pocket. By the time that came, things had escalated.
I went to get my child from the bus stop and the bus driver told me there had been an "incident" on the bus. My son had tried to hurt himself seriously on the bus. He had taken a bungee type cord that was on his bookbag and wrapped it around his neck and pulled. He was turning blue, and kept pulling. The bus driver had some older students remove the cord from his neck and they sat with him up front until they got to the bus stop. That afternoon I did one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I took my son to Johns Hopkins Hospital ER and requested he be "committed" or held in the inpatient pediatric psychiatric department. I cried the whole way there. After talking with the ER docs, Psychiatrists, social workers, and nurses, we all felt this was the best decision. JH had no available pediatric psych beds, so my son was transferred to Sheppard Pratt hospital. During the intake process at Sheppard Pratt, my son proceeded to kick my husband and I, punch us, and basically FLIP OUT saying he hated us and wished he could kill us. They had to sedate my 7 year old.
Now let me say this, my son has always had his "quirks". He could be the HAPPIEST of happy, the angriest of Angry, and is extremely intelligent. HOwever, if someone had told me that @ age 7 we would be dealing with this, I would have said "NO WAY".
Sheppard Pratt held my son for 5 days, during which they evaluated him. When he was released, we had a diagnosis of Aspberger's Syndrome (An autism-spectrum disorder) and anxiety disorder. They put him on an SSRI (Anti Depressant). It made him a DEMON child. At our follow up visit with a psychiatrist in Prince Fredrick, the psychiatrist felt that we were dealing with a "Bipolar disorder-like issue", took him off of the SSRI, and put him on a mood stabilizer.
I know it's a long story, but hopefully it helps someone, who may be going through similar issues. My son is now in weekly therapy, sees a psychiatrist monthly, and we are still working on solidifying which diagnoses are fitting.
IF your child says they want to kill themselves, and has a plan that is feasible, PLEASE listen, no matter how young. Yes, apparently even 7 yr olds can feel that way.
If you need information on mental health services available (or my personal recommendations) in Southern MD, feel free to message me. I am open about what has happened with my child because I do not want some other parent to have a similar situation, with more tragic results.
On 10/31/11, my 7 year old told his teacher he wanted to kill himself. He even had a plan. He was serious. We took him to Calvert Memorial hospital that night. A psychiatrist in the ER spent well over an hour in the room talking with us and him, and observing him. He felt that my child was dealing with "untreated AD/HD" and that was causing the majority of his issues. However, being a "general" psychiatrist, and not a pediatric psychiatrist, he was uncomfortable prescribing meds for my son. He recommended that we get him into therapy, and have him seen (Preferably within a week) by a pediatric psychiatrist to have him medicated so he could begin dealing with the other issues.
I spent the next 10 days making HUNDREDS of phone calls. To psychiatrists, to therapists, to my GP, to the insurance. I called in Charles, Calvert, and St Mary's counties. Either they wouldn't accept private insurance (I was told "if you have medicaid we can help you") or couldn't see him until Late January. I did get one psychiatrist who was so concerned, however, that she was willing to reschedule some of her patients to see him but the insurance wouldn't cover it so I would have to pay the whole visit Out of Pocket. By the time that came, things had escalated.
I went to get my child from the bus stop and the bus driver told me there had been an "incident" on the bus. My son had tried to hurt himself seriously on the bus. He had taken a bungee type cord that was on his bookbag and wrapped it around his neck and pulled. He was turning blue, and kept pulling. The bus driver had some older students remove the cord from his neck and they sat with him up front until they got to the bus stop. That afternoon I did one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I took my son to Johns Hopkins Hospital ER and requested he be "committed" or held in the inpatient pediatric psychiatric department. I cried the whole way there. After talking with the ER docs, Psychiatrists, social workers, and nurses, we all felt this was the best decision. JH had no available pediatric psych beds, so my son was transferred to Sheppard Pratt hospital. During the intake process at Sheppard Pratt, my son proceeded to kick my husband and I, punch us, and basically FLIP OUT saying he hated us and wished he could kill us. They had to sedate my 7 year old.
Now let me say this, my son has always had his "quirks". He could be the HAPPIEST of happy, the angriest of Angry, and is extremely intelligent. HOwever, if someone had told me that @ age 7 we would be dealing with this, I would have said "NO WAY".
Sheppard Pratt held my son for 5 days, during which they evaluated him. When he was released, we had a diagnosis of Aspberger's Syndrome (An autism-spectrum disorder) and anxiety disorder. They put him on an SSRI (Anti Depressant). It made him a DEMON child. At our follow up visit with a psychiatrist in Prince Fredrick, the psychiatrist felt that we were dealing with a "Bipolar disorder-like issue", took him off of the SSRI, and put him on a mood stabilizer.
I know it's a long story, but hopefully it helps someone, who may be going through similar issues. My son is now in weekly therapy, sees a psychiatrist monthly, and we are still working on solidifying which diagnoses are fitting.
IF your child says they want to kill themselves, and has a plan that is feasible, PLEASE listen, no matter how young. Yes, apparently even 7 yr olds can feel that way.
If you need information on mental health services available (or my personal recommendations) in Southern MD, feel free to message me. I am open about what has happened with my child because I do not want some other parent to have a similar situation, with more tragic results.
It was very brave of you to share your story. I hope it gives others hope.
