My Son's Dysthymia Diagnosis

[GardnOfKids]

My 9 year old son was diagnosed with Dysthymia today. I would love to find a way to connect with other parents who have been through this or are going through this. I feel lost on how to really help him. I feel like I have to rethink how I parent him. Are there other parents out there with young children diagnosed with dysthymic disorder?

Lydia

 

[Retired]

Welcome to Psychlinks Lydia. Thanks for joining us and we hope you will find the information and support you need at this time with your young son.

Was the diagnosis totally unexpected? What events in your son's life prompted you to seek out your son's diagnosis?

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Is your son being treated for this currently, Lydia?

Here are some resources that may help you in understanding and coping with dysthymia:

• Dysthymia
  
  
• Dysthymia - My Child Has - Children's Hospital Boston
  
  
• Dysthymia
  
  
• Dysthymia - University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital
  
  
• Dysthymia | AboutOurKids.org
  
  
• What Does A Depressed Child Look Like?
  
  
• Parenting Handout (appended)

 

[GardnOfKids]

Welcome to Psychlinks Lydia. Thanks for joining us and we hope you will find the information and support you need at this time with your young son.

Was the diagnosis totally unexpected? What events in your son's life prompted you to seek out your son's diagnosis?

I had actually taken him to the psychologist thinking he had ADHD Inattentive type.

Nate was born with a neurological disorder called Nystagmus*. He has also been dealing with migraines since he was 4.

He's one of my four children. He has one older sister and two younger sisters. From the outside looking in, most people would label Nate as "lazy". I've always called him my Eeyore. He's very sensative, cries at the slightest thing. In a room full of kids he'll sit by himself. It isn't that the other kids don't like him. In fact, kids love him. He's a very heavy sleeper and he picks at his food. He's very skinny.

His dad was diagnosed ADHD Inattentive. In the past year, year and a half, Nate's schoolwork has suffered. He wouldn't finish his classwork last year and ended up having to stay inside from recess to finish. He would take hours to do one sheet of homework. I would send him to the mailbox and by the time he got to the end of the driveway he'd forget what he went down there for.

Nate has more compassion in his little finger than most people have in their whole bodies. He's been increasingly unemotional. I think it's because he feels things more strongly than most people do and that can be overwhelming for him so he is starting to learn to shut down a bit.

I don't mean to go on and on. The point was, I suppose, that because his schoolwork was suffering and he was having trouble concentrating and focusing that we were dealing with ADHD. That's not the case. I'm just not sure, as a parent, what I can do that will help Nate instead of hurt him. I know I can't tell him to just stop crying.

Lydia

*Nystagmus: Rapid rhythmic repetitious involuntary (unwilled) eye movements. Nystagmus can be horizontal, vertical or rotary. Medicinenet.com

 

[Retired]

Lydia,

Are you familiar with the American Nystagmus Network, the information and support organization?