What's going on with my son?

[tellybee]

My son is 4.  When my son was 1 he use to sneak out of the house.  I mean the neighbors would knock at my door and ask if I lost someone.  I only went to the bathroom it was that fast.  We had to put locks on the top of the doors to keep him from getting out.  Everything would go in his mouth.  I mean everything it did not matter what it is.  He is 4 and still everything goes in his mouth.  Its really bad when we are in crowds of people around.  Its like an anxiety.  He didn't talk until he was 2yrs old.  But when he did started to talk it was normal.  He is very distructive.  He beaks everything.  When he gets into trouble he has no facial expressions, no remourse for what he did, no crying, its almost as you are talking to a wall.  We tried to take things away from him that he loves the most.  Like his bike, my husband took his bike away for two days because he did not listen very well.  His bike is his world.  His response was "dad did you put my bike up?" Also, Just after Christmas he just got new toys that he wanted desperately his room was a complete mess.  I asked him to help me pick up the toys.  He just refused so, I told him that if he can't take care of his toys then we will have to throw them in the garbage or give them to someone who will take care of them.  So I started to put them in a box and he helped me.  He said I don't need them.  I put them outside on the garbage cans and it sat there all day and overnight.  He did not care.  He did not even think about them ever again.  What kind of 3yr old does not get upset at that kind of thing?  He doesn't like to eat.  Especially at the dinner table when we are eating.  He has to much energy.  He can't sit in one place for to long.  He just wants to eat junk.  He eats all the time oatmeal everyday.  Sometimes he will eat other things.  It took me 3 months to get someone to listen to me.  Me and my husband have been so exhausted.  You can't let him leave your site or he is into something distructive.  Once he took powder and sprayed it all over my bathroom within seconds.  He is obsessed with baths, cars have to line up and he has to finish whatever it is that he is doing.  Its so fustrating.  I took him to a Neurologist who diagnosed him with ADHD with anxiety disorder.  She said she would definetly say he does not have Autism.  We did put him on Aderall it was a nightmare, then switched him to Concerta which was worse.  He lost 5lbs.  And seemed to stare off in space.  We wen to a carnival and put him on a carosel ride and he did not even smile.  He had no facial expessions that was my last draw.  I took him off the meds.  Now he at least has a personality but the hyperness and other things we are dealing with.  He has a social worker that comes once a week and works with him.  Teaching him right from wrong.  The distruction is less than it was.  He still breaks his own toys.  He has to have a blanket over his head when he sleeps and a stuffed animal.  I am not sure what we are dealing with but I know deep down in my gut that something else is wrong.  He has never been tested for anything.  They just went by hear say.  Please help me go in the right direction.

[enzymelover]

My son behaved exactly the same way at that age. I suspected something was wrong but couldn't figure out what. Then I learned about Sensory Processing Disorder, and was sure this was the problem, all of the symptoms fit. He began occupational therapy, with little progress. I then found out he had food sensitivities and tried controlling his diet, again with some benefit, but only short term. He tried to behave, but he seemed uncomfortable in his own body. His doctor didn't think anything was really physically wrong, but I disagreed.

When he turned eight everything suddenly changed. He had more pronounced digestive problems, and my wild, happy kid became easily fatigued, quiet and withdrawn. Even when I noticed he wasn't growing as much as he should be, his doctor dismissed it as normal. To make a long story short, at the age of 10 he had a brain MRI which found a large pituitary cyst causing significant endocrine hormone imbalances. They said it was probably slowly growing since birth. He is having surgery in two weeks to remove it.

The statistics from the Pituitary Association state, one in five people will develop a pituitary abnormality/endocrine disease. One in five! I don't mean to scare anyone but because of what has happened to my son, I want to keep the possibility of an endocrine abnormality in the front of people's minds. Especially if your child has an eating disorder that can't be explained by another diagnosis, or whose growth slows down abnormally. Growth hormone is usually the first hormone suppressed by a pituitary tumor or cyst.

tellybee, I'm just guessing of course, but look up Sensory Processing Disorder and see if you think it applies to your child. Occupational Therapy could help him a lot, if this is the problem.  Oh, and I took my son to a neurologist with all of his symptoms and he was totally wrong in his diagnosis; said he might be autistic, but no physical cause. I had to ask for the MRI, he didn't think it was necessary! He too suggested anxiety drugs. I declined.

I wish you and your son the best.

Enzy