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Last Spring, my family was in complete chaos. The school was threatening to send my 8 year-old daughter to alternative school because of her defiant behavior with her teacher and poor interaction with her peers.
My daughter had experienced trauma at the age 5. From that point in time, she had great difficulty coping in the school environment. Her original therapist worked with her concentrating on finding out her trauma experience. Due to her young age, we agreed to stop the sessions after 10 months without her learning how to cope with the trauma experience.
We moved to another state and continued to have problems with my daughter. We went to a psychologist for a period of a couple of months but the school year ended before we realized any results. The next school year started and things seem to go a little better until a few weeks before her teacher went out on maternity leave. My daughter’s behavior deteriorated to the point that the school officials were mentioning alternative school. I immediately began taking my daughter to the therapist we had used the previous year. After only 3 sessions, she recommended putting her on medication to help calm her anxiety. She mentioned that she was exhibiting behavior consistent with a Bi-Polar diagnosis. I went to my pediatrician who agreed to put her on medication for a short period of time while she was receiving treatment. She was put on Paxil and we noticed within a matter of 2 weeks, her behavior became even more aggressive. The therapist recommended that we see a psychiatrist who could look at what types of medication we could give her. We met with the psychiatrist who told us to take her off the Paxil and recommended that we put her on lithium for a period of 3 weeks because it sometimes stopped the Post Traumatic Systems she was experiencing. He also said that we would need to have blood work done after being on the medication for 7 days because lithium could cause liver damage. When I got home from the doctor’s office, I decided we were going down a treatment path with my daughter that I could not accept. We decided not to give her the lithium or go back to either the pediatrician or the psychiatrist.
I called her original therapist in North Carolina who recommended that I look into Reactive Attachment Disorder. He didn’t think she was exhibiting all of the signs, but thought it might be something worth exploring. I began looking on the web and came upon Bryan Post’s website. I found out he was going to be lecturing in my city within the next two weeks. I actually changed a business trip so that I could attend the seminar. I read everything on The Post Institute web site and was quite intrigued by all of his articles. I felt like he was actually referring to my daughter in all of his articles. All of her behavior was consistent with a child who has been traumatized. What he said made so much sense.
My husband and I attended Bryan's 8-hour seminar. For the first time in 3 years, I knew I had found someone who could finally help us with our daughter. I began emailing Bryan over a period the next four months asking for guidance. My husband and I had to completely change our parenting techniques, which was not an easy task. As we change our parenting techniques, our daughter began to improve. I began to see her as a child living in fear and the fear manifesting itself into defiant behavior.
At the beginning of 4th grade, I met with my daughter’s teacher to explain that she would need to make some changes in her classroom to accommodate my daughter’s specific needs. She seemed to be willing to do that, but things began to deteriorate so quickly, that I knew that I needed to get Bryan involved. I arranged for him to meet with our family to do an evaluation of our daughter and then to meet with the school. Bryan hit a home run when he met with the school. For the first time, I think the school officials understood why my daughter was behaving the way she did. We are making progress with the school, but still have things to work through. I feel confident that we will eventually progress to where to level we need, especially with Bryan's help.
My daughter’s behavior has improved significantly at home. By using Post Institute techniques, we have been able to prevent my daughter’s anxiety level to reach a level where intervention is required. We stay regulated, so she can stay regulated through us until she is able to better regulate herself. I highly recommend using The Post Institute's consultation services. Be prepared to rethink everything you thought about parenting. His approach to Family Regulated Therapy and practicing the 3 R’s is a gold mine. READ Bryan's books on Parenting!!!
For the first time since my daughter’s trauma, I feel that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Thank you, Bryan!
R.L.--Texas |
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