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11 Year Old Hearing Voices

Last night my 11 year old son told me he was "hearing voices."  I asked him what the voices were saying.  He said they were saying his name over and over again.  He said he thought it was his friends voices.  I told him it was probably just his imagination and sent him off to bed.  

This morning, his teacher called.  She said he broke down in science lab, was crying and complaining of hearing voices.  As with me, he told her he was hearing his name being called over and over again.  She referred him to the nurse who has now referred him to the school conselor. I'm waiting to hear back from her.  I've also got a call into his pediatrician.

Okay, so I'm a little freaked out and extremely concerned.  What is going on with my son?  He takes 36mg of Concerta on school days for ADD (not hyperactivity--just can't stay focused).  The nurse at my pediatrician's office assured me that hearing voices is not a side affect of Concerta.  He was diagnosed with a "processing" disorder years ago and went to speech therapy for it.  I'm hoping these "voices" are related to that and not some psychiatric problem.  Any ideas about what might be going on?

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Avatar universal
Oh, I really hope things have gottenon better since you posted this, but just in case--my daughter also heard voices, starting when she was 5. She said the Devil was in her head, telling her to hurt her baby brother. She would sob and be so afraid. She was diagnosed with psychosis, not otherwise specified, along with bipolar disorder. She was also found to have a processing problem in school. She continued to suffer from this until present day, though the bipolar was changed to schizophrenia. I find it odd that your doctor's office claimed this is not a side effect of Concerta. This class of drugs can cause psychosis, much like methamphetamine can. The drugs prescribed to control the auditory hallucinations control them well. The main side effect is really severe drowsiness. If your child is given medicine, you might want to look into home schooling or medical independent study, because my daughter COULD NOT make it to school in time, and she would doze off in class.
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1 Comments
Great to hear from someone that has actually gotten medical help. These people that are not physicians telling her to,"awww don't worry about it", have no idea what they are taking about. Hopeful it is nothing but a medical team should diagnose this. I totally agree with you on the meds.
Avatar universal
Could be the medication he takes. My son has a.d.d as well and he was prescribed adderall. Shortly after starting this medication he began hearing audible voices that told him to commit suicide. He had to be hospitalized and taken off adderall immediately. Once the meds got out of his system the voices went away. It's amazing docs give such serious drugs to young children. Hope this helps
Helpful - 2
Avatar universal
I have a sensory processing disorder and sometimes hear things too. My name being called by what sounds like my moms voice even when I'm home alone. Sometimes when I'm drifting between sleep and being awake I'll hear conversations happening around me but it's like I'm under water and again I'm the only one home and live in a secluded woody spot so nobody near my house. I wouldn't worry too much about it unless he begins feeling threatened. Those of us with a sensory processing disorder are already extra sensitive to the world around us and so it's not that far fetched to believe we're more intune with the paranormal world. God knows I've had dozens of things happen that i can't even try to explain without sounding like I need to be medicated.
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1 Comments
Have you been diagnosed by a physician?
Avatar universal
Spooky, put a camera in his room and record around the time he hears the voices. Paranormal
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1 Comments
Nothing paranormal about it. - That's the worst way to treat it, since we could start treating children like they're dangerous and make the situation worse. They'll just feel guilty for what they can't control and we'll never be able to help them if we continue to treat them like this.
Avatar universal
I used to hear voices a lot as a child, and sometimes they come back, too.

I have dyslexia and dysgraphia, but no one else who has those disorders around me says the same.

I am also able to feel when death is nearing one of my loved ones, a gut feeling, with many memories of them surfacing anywhere between a week and a couple of hours before that.

It may be something related to that, we know little of how our brains opporate, for now, I'd say support your children, all of you, and lessen the amount of anxiety they are exposed to.
Helpful - 1
Avatar universal
My sister is a councilor and has been for years...she helps me alot with my four...my ten year old had some issues like this a while back and they actually were related to having alot of anxiety.....she worried so much about her dad (we seperated 5 years ago) that she couldnt concentrate on other things and then she started seeing shadows and hearing voices......So before all else ask what is on thier mind and see if they are feeling worried or scared about just anything! It may do good! Or it could be something else I am not an expert...just a helping voice!
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Avatar universal
I know this can be scary. But I know a lady who around the age of 11/12 starting hearing voices. And she was telling me stories about how it all started. She started hearing ppl calling her name and asking for help, and she would call the police all the time. She's now 67 and was diagnosed with skitzofrenia. You should take him to get evaluated.
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Avatar universal
when I was 14 I started to hear voices very similar to your son, I believe my voices were due to the amount of worries that I couldnt share with family or friends, being bullied and my insecurities. I kinda felt like I didnt belong, I was the only boy in a family full of girls. I believe if my worries were addressed I would have recovered alot sooner. psychosis(hearing voices) can be passed down through family(my dad and grandad had psychosis), I think diet makes a difference as well(tuna/bananas are good for mental health). I spent five years on medication for psychosis, I decided to stop all medication and within a month I started to recover, the medication actually made my psychosis last longer than it would have. I think I just needed abit extra support and to feel like I belong, maybe a new hobbie or a change in friends would help him, I know it would have helped me.
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Avatar universal
My 13 year old son has just revealed the same to me! The voices say his name over and over again, they are familiar voices, they sound like his friends. He has severe anxiety but this is such a new thing we haven't spoken to the dr about it yet. I have noticed he has been very moody also. I was quite terrified by him telling me this, I tried to blow it off as nothing to worry about, but I am worried!
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Avatar universal
My 13 year old son has dyslexia. He has also told my partner and myself that he was hereing voices and the voices are saying its ok to kill yourself. He also starts by uncontrollably crying just out of the blue. After 5 mins  of talking calm to him he stops almost as if nothing has happened. We have noticed that it happens when he don't want to do something like eat his dinner or go to school. We believe that he is telling the truth . It is really upsetting but we don't show him its upsetting, as we don't want him to worry about our feeling as well as his own. we are going to seek professional help.
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Avatar universal
It could be different things, so a thorougly assessment should be done. Both tinnitus, dissociation (if the sounds coming from inside) and hallucinations may be possible. Dissociations are not uncommon with stress and anxiety, and some kind of hallucinations may results from specific brain states all goes through when falling asleep, but which also may be reached when awake under certain conditions.
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535822 tn?1443976780
I do think any stress that children experience affects them , so is it possible to speak to your ex regarding the matter, how long are they staying with their Dad and the step mom , ?
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Avatar universal
My 11 y/o has been hearing voices, says they sound really fast and he can't understand them..he has no mental disorders, does great in school and very open to me his mom about this...i asked if he felt scared, he said no most of the time he just ignores it.  He has seen his family dr. W/his dad and said the dr. Just ignored him...i'm going to take him to a different dr. And hopefully get the dr. To order a brain scan just to b sure their isn't anything like a tumor just, to b on the safe side...our family has. History of depression which i suffer from but my son who is a twin, neither have shown any symptoms....both boys r under tremendous stress with their dad and his wife, could this have anything to do w/stress..anxiety, i'd b lying if i said i'm not concerned or scared.....any help or similar stories would b greatly appreciative. ;-).  Stace
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Avatar universal
Hello, I am wondering if you have had any updates with your child's situation. My 9 year old son recently told me that he is hearing voices. When I asked him more about them he said that he has heard them for a while now, and they usually repeat his name, just like your child. He said they never tell him to do anything bad, and are not mean to him, but can sometime be anoying. Although he does not have ADD, he does have Dyslexia, which would be like a processing disorder, and has a speech impediment. I am concerned, but think I should just monitor it for a while. Since our situations sound so similar, I am wondering what you ended up doing.
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1003185 tn?1250538095
i've don't really know what could be happening.  it could all be related to his past health history.

but the best thing i could do if i were you and that was my child, was to show him lots of support.  Show him not to be scared and you stay calm as well.  if he says he hears voices then believe him.  he maybe worried that someone's going to think he's "crazy", let him know he's not the only one that has gone through this situation and it will take some time to find the answer.  and try talking to him to ease his mind.  try to positive for his sake.  it must be a scary situation for all of you.

Some type of mental disorder runs in my family.  i was told it skips a generation.  and my grandmother has it.  i don't know the name or if anyone has given it a name, but she has to take medication for it.  she used to see stuff that wasn't there and hear stuff etc.  i was told she was always somewhat "off", but it got worse with age.  She was a loving and caring person and led a normal life up until my grandparents got a divorce.  i was younger then and don't know the whole story, but now she's in a nursing home and has to take meds everyday.  i guess she sorta "lost it" after my grandpa and her divorce and she went down hill from there.  but when she saw or heard things she trully did.  and she trully believed it.
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