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SD 12, HELP!!!!!!!! :(

starbucks29's picture

I have posted on here before but I wanted to post an update on my situation and hopefully get some advice.
I'm in a mess. I have been with my DH for 2 years and 2 months (we have been married for 6 months). I never should of married this man despite the fact that I am deeply in love with him. He has a child from a previous relationship. sd12 does not see bm. bm is psycho, in jail (currently) and basically the scum of the universe. sd12 lives with dh and myself all the time.
A lot of her problems are consistent with ADHD and Aspergers so she has been seeing a psychologist who has not made a diagnosis. I still believe there is something seriously up here. Anyway to list a few ..

*Constantly interrupting other people’s conversations and butting in changing the topic to something completely irrelevant or inappropriate.
*Constant need for attention.
*Does not like spending any time alone and wants to be around other people all the time.
*Does not understand people’s needs for personal space and privacy.
*Constant talking. Does not know when appropriate to talk and when appropriate to be quiet. Often makes constant verbal sounds on her own talking, singing, and other verbal noises which make no sense.
*Difficulty making friends. Relates better to younger children and adults. Does not have many friends her own age and struggles to make friends her own age.
*Hyperactivity.
*Forgetfulness.
*Often forgetting and losing personal items such as shoes, jumpers, bags etc.
*Laziness. Does not want to do anything she doesn’t want to do unless made to do so.
*Lack of hygiene. Often won’t shower/ brush teeth etc unless being reminded to do so.
*Lack of resilience in getting over minor things going wrong. Acts like it’s the end of the world when nothing major has happened (on a regular basis).
*Low and high moods, from one to the other very quickly.
*Very anxious when she does not know exactly what is happening. If there is a routine she can cope a lot better but if she doesn’t know what’s happening there is a high level of anxiety.
*Constantly asking questions one after the other.
*Unable to be pleased. If you do something for her she just wants more and more and is never satisfied.
*Extremely clingy. If there is a large couch with someone sitting on it she will always sits right next to the person not giving them any space at all instead of sitting on the other side of the couch.
*Lack of respect for adults. When disciplined back chats, slams doors, yells, tells her father ‘I hate you’ etc.
*Lack of sense of time. Doesn’t seem to be able to tell whether it’s been 5 minutes of 5 hours or sometimes what time of the day it is.
*When told not to do something many time she continues to do the same thing over and over and over. Struggles to change habits. We can go over the same thing with her 50 or 100 times and she still struggles to change the habit. Forgetfulness and laziness also comes into this.
*Tries to dominate social interactions with groups by trying to get the attention back to her and interrupting people’s conversations. She is happy to have the complete undivided attention of one person but if she doesn’t have one person’s attention she is constantly trying to get one person’s attention back to her in a group situation.
*Often relates better to animals (dogs, cats etc) than people.
*Often copies and mimicks other people as she is unsure how to act or what to say.
*Occasional sleepwalking
*Forgets basic things like flushing the toilet and taking tissues out of pockets before putting things out to be washed etc.
*Clumsiness
*Unaware of how loud she is and often talks very loudly or has TV, computer etc. extremely loud.

These are just some of the things I am dealing with with this child regularly. I have been trying to parent her for over 2 years and she is unable to fix even the most minor basic things.

The worst part is that I am 30 this year and feel I can't have any of my own children in this awful situation. Plus there is no room in this house so because of sd12 we have to move to a bigger house that we can't afford if there is even a possibility of me having kids.
All I want is to be having my own kids and I have to deal with this brat every day who is turning out exactly the same as her bm.
I'm so over this. I can't do this and I don't want to do this. I'm so stressed. I'm trying to hold down a new job I got this year but I have had to have surgery twice which I believe is mostly due to the stress this child has caused me as I have not had these health issues in the past.
DH talks about getting a bigger house and sd12 spending more time at her grandmothers house (that's another story, dh's mother is a complete nut case as well), so I can't say he is doing nothing but it just feels as though this situation is getting worse and worse despite our best efforts.
This child is nothing but damage but he can't see that. At this rate he will end up happily ever after with sd12, a lonely old man and drinking himself to death. Seriously, I'm really starting to think he does not deserve me at all. He definitely doesn't have my best interests at heart. I wish I wasn't so attached so I could leave. I honestly don't know how I'm ever going to get out of this. I feel so trapped and stuck Sad

Any advice ?

MarriedaBallessWonder's picture

I'll be watching this thread because it describes my 15 y/o SS to a "T" and I have no idea what to do with him. But he abuses animals.

God help us!

Kes's picture

Firstly, you have my total sympathy. My teenage SDs have both been diagnosed with ADD, and exhibit a number of the behaviours you list.
I would not often advocate getting out of the relationship as a solution to someone on the forum, but I believe in your case, you would be happier in the long run if you cut your losses. This girl is not going to get any better, nor is she very likely to be going to live at grandma's, I feel. She is also unlikely to ever be self supporting as she probably won't be able to hold down a job - which means your husband will be supporting her indefinitely, and she will be living with him all her life, most likely.
You are still plenty young enough to find someone else with whom you can have a much less stressed out life, and start a family. My advice to you, and what I would do in this situation, would be to cut ties and go, however hard that is.

smartone's picture

It sounds like you are trying to push for a diagnosis. Then what? I mean, really, is a diagnosis going to make the situation better? Most of what you describe is consistent with being a child/teen. Many things ARE consistent with asperger's, but if that is what she has, will you then realize she has a reason for her behavior and you can cut her some slack, or will she still be a "brat?" A diagnosis will NOT change her behavior, I can promise you that. My former sd was a LOT like yours and she is almost 20 now and still living at home. She does have a life, but not like a normal 20 yr old. She babysits for money, is involved in her family activities with younger siblings, and has taken some college courses. She is weird.
Much of what you describe can be attributed to dietary problems that lead to sensory disorders. I bet she eats a lot of sugar/carbs. I would get her on a good vitamin supplement and fish oil. And I would leave the parenting up to the father.

tweetybird74's picture

Most of these seem a lot like typical teenage behaviours plus is seems like she may have some ADD or ADHD issues. My SS exhibited pretty much all of these behaviours and still does to some point and he is 18, the difference now is he is able to recognize he has some issues and he is trying to work on them such as his reactiveness to be asked to do things or being told something he does not like, this usually causes him to shut down, ignore and walk away. My DH then has to call him back and ask him to stay put and look at him. Teens are a lot of work and someday I think I would get further banging my head against the wall, sometimes with kids that have these issues you need to choose your battles carefully and let the rest go.

amber3902's picture

Okay, why hasn't the psychologist made a diagnosis?
Some of the symptoms you listed are ADHD, but many are NOT ADHD or aspergers or anything at all.

Trying to find a "diagnosis" or label is not going to change anything.
And YOU can not "parent" this child. That is her father's job. And it sounds like he is content to let you do all the heavy lifting when it comes to parenting, even though it's affecting your health.

You are 30 years old, PLENTY of time to find a man with no kids. I've found a 43 year old right now with a good job and NO KIDS. I am very happy and stress free.

omgsaveme's picture

Ya, lol this is just a typical 12 year old, my boys do the same thing. Lol so you've been parenting her for 2 years, so she should have changed completely in that 2 years ? Uh, no. Patience, lol

Carmen225's picture

WOW! You have described my fiance 12 year old son. He also has ADHD which my fiance is in denial about. He just recently found out BM has 12 year old on medication. 12 year old son is currently here with us because he got suspended from school 3 weeks ago for bad behavior. Can you believe that suspended and school just started. He irritates the F*^^k out of me. Jumping all over the place doing and saying inappropriate things. He makes me sick. For example Fiance lets hime stay up until 10:30 p.m. He's 12 he should be in bed by 9 p.m. and really it should be 8 p.m. since he's suspended from school. Well anyway fiance sends son 12 to bed at 10:30. This little f*#@er was still up fully dressed playing with video games and DVD's after midnight when we came up for bed. Fiance just tells him to go to bed. He should have disciplined his ass for not doing what he was told 1 1/2 hours earlier. I can't deal with bad ass, hard headed kids. I can't wait until his ass goes home.