Posted by LostGirl on December 28, 2003, at 21:44:32
My 16 year old son has been giving us a lot of trouble for years. Things are really bad now. He consistently cuts school, has already been in an after school drug program, but now seems back to pot/drinking, is failing 7 of 8 subjects due to cutting and not doing the work though he is very bright, is very disrespectful and curses us out a lot at home, has stopped coming home for dinner but does mostly observe curfew. He has destroyed things in the house in rages, and yesterday punched in a glass cabinet and needed stitches in his hand. He did this because he wanted money for a haircut and my husband said no because he just got a haircut two weeks ago. The "no" sent him into a rage. He is in therapy, and we have had him psychologically and psychiatrically evaluated. There is no learning disablity, no depression and the diagnosis is oppositional defiance disorder and conduct disorder. After he punched the glass cabinet, and after my husband spent 5 hours in the emergency room, my son went out to hang out with friends and stayed out all night. We have had it. We have considered placing him before, but then got soft and backed down. But this cabinet incident is the last straw and we have to get him out of the house and to somewhere where he has no choice but to go to school, and where his time is structured and his activities monitored. I have looked into programs in the past, and they were either hell-holes with no middle class type kids and are free, or they are very good and cost $35,000- $40,000 per year which we cannot possibly afford. Without a more serious diagnosis, our options are limited. I wondered if anyone ever placed their teenager in any kind of therapeutic school, and what your experience was like and if anyone can reccomend any. I'm on the East Coast.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Oh, he is in therapy, has been before, but it doesn't seem to make much difference, the behavior never improves. Thanks.
poster:LostGirl
thread:294183
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20031221/msgs/294183.html