3 year old outburts

[KatyB]

Please Help... I am Desparate

I have a 3 year old son who will be 4 in a month and he is OUT OF CONTROL.  I have noticed a ton of distructive behavior ie. distroying bushes in the back yard.. Any how, he will tell us that he is mad at us or to leave him alone.  I was under the impression that everything was going well at the Daycare he attends until last night.  This behavior has come on in the last 2 weeks.  None of the other kids want to be around him at daycare due to the fact that he will distroy anything they build (blocks), and his behavior in time out.  My daycare provider has trouble keeping him in time out, any where she puts him, he kicks things, tries to rip light switches off the wall, scratches, spits, etc.  When he does these things his eyes are almost vacant, like he is not there.  He has period where he runs through the  house screaming, just screaming.  He has lashed out against his 18 month old brother.  I have been told he may have ADD, but that is just a band aid on the problem.  I am so worried that he is in a downward spiral.  He is a loving little boy when he is not having these fits.  He does have an allergy to milk and dairy products... if eaten in excess he gets hyper.  Please can you help me..........

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Since you are already aware of your son's sensitivity to certain foods, take careful measures to address this. You may notice that he achieves increased organization. If the behavior is an acute response, rather than a chronic problem, it supports the possibility of having a physiological basis, as well as the possibility of his reacting to changes in the environment around him. So be alert also for developments to which he might be responding.

[Kyle's Mom]

If you want advice on doing an elimination diet to determine what foods to avoid, go to the natural treatments board at conductdisorders.com.  Some good books to read on this subject are "Special Diets for Special Kids" by Lisa Lewis, "The ADD Nutrition Solution" by Marcia Zimmerman, and "Is This Your Child?" by Dr. Doris Rapp.  You may want to consider getting an allergy test also.  Another area to explore is the addition of essential fatty acids to his diet, and behavior problems is one of the symptoms of an essential fatty acid deficiency.  Other symptoms are dry itchy skin, vision problems, and dyslexia.  A good book on essential fatty acid supplementation is "The LCP Solution" by Jacqueline Stordy and Malcolm Nicholl.  The website is lcpsolution.com.

My 7 yr old was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 4 and was having out of control rages, complete with anger and aggressiveness.  After doing lots of research and reading about the study done at Purdue University using Efalex, I started Kyle on Efalex in May 1999. After only 2 weeks on Efalex his tantrums stopped.  I also eliminated all artificial ingredients from his diet and started cooking from scratch and added many vitamin and mineral supplements.  One of Kyle's worst foods when it comes to behavior is dairy products, especially yogurt, cheese and ice cream.  He gets extremely hyper and cries easily after eating too much of dairy.  Suprisingly, he tested negative to dairy but I began noticing how often he craved dairy products and had heard that you should eliminate whatever food is craved.  It is amazing what foods can cause behavior problems, and they are different for each child.  For some it is wheat & gluten, for others it is artificial dyes, and one child is really sensitive to ketchup!  It is trial and error and takes a while to figure out the problem foods.  But it is worth taking the time when you see the improvements in your child's life.

Getting an accurate psychological assessment is critical also.  Make sure your doctor does not diagnose after 15 mintues of talking to you (which I have had happen).  ADHD is often diagnosed when pediatric depression and bipolar disorder is really the problem.  Even central auditory processing disorder can be the problem.  It pays for you to read the symptoms of all of these overlapping disorders and see which is more closely related to what your child is experiencing.

[Nebula]

I heard there are only 8 centers in the United States that are fully qualified to diagnose ADD and ADHD, and it takes a lot of tests and some time.  Doctor's hand out Ritalin and its similars like candy, with some teachers reporting 90% of their class is on Ritalin.  Ritalin is serious and people are essentially medicating children so teachers can have a nice, quiet classroom.
   Ritalin is a Schedule 2's Double Lock drug in the same catagory as Cocaine, Opium and Morphine.  
   A doctor, who helped write The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, told me the Armed Forces will not accept a person who was ever prescribed Ritalin.  The same doctor also told me that insurance companies will deny coverage to a person who has been prescribed Ritalin who is trying to switch insurance companies.
   Question the prescriptions of Ritalin - was exercise, diet and studying tried before the drug was prescribed?  /read up on it - its a horrible trend that deserves some thought.