Child''s Behavior - Have any leads?

[Erin]

I haven't been around my bf's children much. Once marriage is eminent I will become more in their lives. For now he only sees them on Wednesdays and weekends. So I can't describe what I see from being around them I can only recount my bf's frustrations.

He's 8 and skinny and active. He has a brother who's five who had his adenoids removed. If he hears his little brother's rhaspy breathing (usually while sleeping) he goes into hysterics - clenching his ears.

If he hears his little brother's fork scraping the plate he goes into hysterics. Crying, wrapping up in a ball, can't calm him down for anything. It's bad.

He gets headaches - sometimes to the point of vomitting. Sometimes he'll break out in hives for apparently no reason. At least they can't pinpoint it.

He has trouble reading. He hates school (he's and fakes illnesses to go home to be with his favorite person in the world, his Mommy, who raises him most of the time. She coddles and rewards for normal behavior. Definitely gives him special treatment - probably to avoid the antics.

His idea of a great day is riding his four wheeler through the wooded area behind his house where his mother has no one stop by and they rarely leave the house.

The younger one is just like my bf. Athletic, layed back, self-entertaining, and adorable. Well, I'm biased he looks just like him.

But it's hard to watch my bf so frustrated with what to do. He handles it by letting it happen and then redirecting him. But something tells me this is irregular behavior for an eight year old. Especially since most of his triggers are sensory. By the way, this started before they were divorced. I guess they both assumed it would diminish with age but it hasn't.

Any thoughts?

 

[Kaleigh]

Your BF ans his ex wife need to get the 8 year old assesed by a professional. This isn''t something your grow out of. He needs help, the sooner the better.

 

[Sha]

Date: 1/10/2008 1:15:49 PM
Author: Kaleigh
Your BF ans his ex wife need to get the 8 year old assesed by a professional. This isn''t something your grow out of. He needs help, the sooner the better.

I agree. It may be some sort of behavioural disorder - I''m not sure which one (maybe emotionally or biologically based), but it definitely doesn''t sound like typical behaviour for an 8 year old.

 

[diamondsrock]

I agree that the child needs to be seen by a professional. There are several disorders with hypersenstiivity so he needs to be checked out. One that comes to mind is sensory integration disorder.

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

It is certainly a disorder, not just wierd behavior. It sounds like something biological based but a doctor would have to decide that. It almost sounds like mild to moderate autism but there are a lot of possibilities.
Be careful bringing it up. Telling someone that their kid might have mental problems is touchy to say the least.

 

[steph72276]

As a former preschool teacher, I would agree that he needs assessments by a professional. I would be highly surprised if teachers haven''t brought this up to the parents before because it doesn''t sound like something he turns on and off. Has he demonstrated these behaviors at school? Depending on if it is a private or public school, there are usually free assesments available to the children. Hope this helps a little.