Best Alternative Treatment for Behavioral Problems?

amother

Mon, May 16 2011, 7:56 am

My children b'h are very bright (one was moved up a grade...another is also learning to read and math early..without additional instruction), but both of them have outbursts and behavioral issues. My oldest I am sure has sensory issues..he touches too hard, and the issue with his hitting at school is not so much hitting but that he hits very hard. He has had some issues with trauma and bullying in the past. He seems b'h to be on the mend, but I need a treatment that will help him master his behavior and his outbursts.

The younger boy is calmer, but I think his issue is more his current situation. He likes to get people upset at him and think he is just "playing a game" rather than really being angry. He needs to understand that his behavior cannot be tolerated at gan or at home. I have tried time outs etc..doesn't work. While his issues seem to stem less from real anger than from attention-getting, in some ways he is more difficult. Because punishment gives him the attention he craves, but he can't get all the positive attention he craves in gan. I would keep him at home, but I am a single mother and need to work.

(Just a note...the children were living in a home where there were a lot of arguments, tension and I have been separated from my husband for a few months. This has magnified the issues that were already there
(NOTE: Please no lectures shaming me for leaving my husband with children. it was a bona fide abuse issue and there was no question staying, even given the children's pre-existing difficulties)

Just giving this info to indicate that some of it may be nature, some may be nurture and some may be the difficulty of the current situation.

okay so here are my possibilities. They get free "talking therapy" but I'm finding talking therapy only very mildly effective in dealing with behavioral issues. So which is best (or which combination)
1. Homeopathy
2. Martial arts: Judo and Tae Kwan Do..the latter I hear is very good for behavioral issues because it teaches kids balance and self control
3. Energy therapy
4. EFT

So, any ideas? I am afraid of homeopathy because I heard the symptoms might get worse before they get better and the teachers can't take another yerida. Then again, if the doctor calls and warns them, that might mitigate it a bit.

amother

Mon, May 16 2011, 7:02 pm

This is what I found VERY effective, though it took a LOT of work on my end, I saw a LOT of hatzlacha: parenting course by Dina Friedman, as well as support (therapy) for myself (so I can tell the therapist I feel like killing my kid, and then I can go home and keep the kid alive).
If your child is open to YOGA it is extremely grounding. Perhaps you can do it as a family activity.
Play therapy can help, but I haven't found it as helpful as Dina Friedman's work-throughs.
With therapists, be very careful. Many if not most of them have this idea of ''changing'' the child's thinking patterns and behaviors. The child perceives this attitude as a rejection, which is very injurious.
If your child will be getting therapy of any kind, play or talk, it should be with a therapist who can accept your child ''as she/he is''.

deself

Wed, Jul 06 2011, 6:45 am

amother wrote:

1. Homeopathy
2. Martial arts: Judo and Tae Kwan Do..the latter I hear is very good for behavioral issues because it teaches kids balance and self control
3. Energy therapy
4. EFT

So, any ideas? I am afraid of homeopathy because I heard the symptoms might get worse before they get better and the teachers can't take another yerida. Then again, if the doctor calls and warns them, that might mitigate it a bit.

All of these can work. All can cause a downturn before they move up. All depend a great deal on who the therapist is - some people are much more skilled than others.
You might want to consider that classical Homeopathy can take a long time before you see results, but then the results can be stunning - or zilch and the homeopath has to start over with a new remedy.
Martial arts can produce initial results quickly, but then there can be a long plateau before there's more progress. It doesn't work deeply, but sometimes its effects percolate so well that they are best for some kids.
Energy therapy moves in fits and starts. Some therapists can produce extraordinary results over a few months, but you never know whether the next treatment will make lots of progress, or a little or none, and you can go a few weeks with seemingly zero before it picks up again.
EFT works quickly, but not very far or deep, each time. If you see amazing results right away, they won't last well in the long run. If you see slight changes, there's a better chance of them sticking. So you do another treatment and another, and at some point, it's done as much as it can do, and the improvement stops.
-- This is the best I know about these four - I'm very familiar with energy work, but others might be more informed about the other three. Personally, my favorite approach is Cranal-sacral therapy, but again, it depends on the therapist you use.
---Keep in mind that you need a therapist that your kids are comfortable with. You don't want them to balk at all the repeat sessions.