Meltdowns, Tantrums - Does Insurance Companies Cover It?

This may not be what you want to hear but he is the middle of the terrible twos. My guy, who everyone called mellow, calm, sweet, laid back, etc, has turned into a little two-year-old-monster. He has become so different since he has hit two. His tantrums last 20 minutes or longer, he screams, kicks, cries, and I can't stop them. I literally have to put him in his room until he is finished. They are so scary and unnerving but from what I gather from all of my mom friends is that it is very normal and will go away. He fights going places, coming home from places, getting dressed, going to nap, going to bed, etc. Over the last week I have seen improvements so I hope we hit our plateau but it is crazy bizarre. Anyway I know I didn't answer your question, and of course I don't know if your tot is the extreme, but I just wanted you to know that tantrums are normal and I think each kid just has different levels of what theirs will look like. I also don't want you to ignore your gut and if you think he is over the top then seek help-mother's intuition is strong!!

Holly,

Well, it kinda depends on the type of insurance you have and what you are looking to be covered...

The first step is to talk to your child's regular pediatrician. There are a lot of things that s/he can recommend to get to the cause of your child's issues. Diet can be a huge factor...lack of sleep...allergies. There are a lot of things that can be looked into.

If the peditrician can't find an underlying cause, s/he may refer you to a specialist and go from there.

The key to getting things covered by insurance is to know your coverage. Call the customer service #, document who you talked to, ask for a case # (if there is one) and find out their procedures.

Good luck.

I agree that it depends on your coverage. To get help for your son, I also agree that you should start with your pediatrician. Do you have a video camera? it's really difficult for a ped. to see what your seeing in the few minutes they spend with you. And frankly, they deal with so many personalities, they may discount your concerns... because like you said, temper tantrums and meltdowns are part of the age. For your doctor to see what extremes you are seeing, you might want to videotape one or two. To come fully prepared, keep a log of his activities for a couple weeks. write down when he wakes, when and what he eats, when he throws his tantrums, when he naps, etc. Perhaps if you come in armed with these details you may be able to get advice on changes to make, or what direction to go from there.

I found my son was a lot more irritable this spring because to be totally honest... he was sick and tired of looking at the same rooms every day. I made the effort to go for a walk late in the afternoon with him and let my husband deal with the baby on his own - you should have seen the way my son squealed and giggled the WHOLE time! he was SO happy to get out of the house! he seemed to be a lot less cranky that evening, and didn't throw himself on the floor at all.

As for you, most insurance does cover mental health for a certain amount of sessions per year. If you need a referral (typically HMO) see your PCP, or if you have a PPO and can see any specialist you want without a referral, call your insurance company's customer service line and get info from them, on who works with your insurance.

If your ped. recommends it, there are lots of self help parenting books on how to deal with tantrums. I used 1-2-3 Magic with my older two, and haven't quite gotten to that point with my younger ones but it worked well for us so I do plan on using it again.

Remember, consistency is key... if he lacks that, he's going to push and push because he knows eventually it will work in his favor.

Good luck to you! :)

I brought my 5 year old to Alexian Brothers to see a behavior specialist and a psychologist for issues regarding his behavior. They did lots of tests on him and they were very thourough (s.p.??) Our insurance covered I think 80% of it, we are on all kids now and they take it. Good luck!

Hi-

I have a few other possibilities for you, especially given the words "meltdowns" and very active. Talk to your pediatrician, but also call early intervention. They can evaluate him for free, and tell you if there's something else going on, or if they recommend further evaluation (by an interdisciplinary team, etc.)
My son had major meltdowns and was very active. A developmental psychologist finally diagnosed him with sensory processing disorder, and he began receiving occupational therapy. He is now almost 5, and the multiple meltdowns every day are gone; he has some now and then, but it is a HUGE improvement.

There are so many reasons your son could be acting this way; Early intervention will send out a developmental therapist to evaluate your son, as well as possibly an OT, and you can go from there. The evaluation is free, and if he qualifies for help, the state arranges it on a sliding scale, but only until he turns 3! (In other words, don't delay, b/c this changes the day he turns 3...)

Insurance companies may cover a developmental psych evaluation, or a pediatric neuropsych evaluation, as well, but start with EI.