4 yr old having noticeable problems

I can remember when she was just an infant....if she got too hot (whereas we weren't) even in the winter, we would have to strip her down and take her outside just to calm he screaming convulsively. Has she became a toddler i noticed she didn't like to be touched my other children, it was difficult for her to transition to change. (she went to the same daycare center from 11mo -3 yr) The past year i have noticed alot of mood changes, she clams up when asked a question, she hides her face, or cries. She storms off to her room. I can give her two choices and she won't respond, eventually i just have to leave her be til she wants to talk. At christmas she got a barbie jeep and there were alot of ppl there and everyone was making a big deal out of her riding it, she wouldn't budge...she basically started shaking, crying and had to be held. This happened a few other times when she has become overwhelmed. I have anxiety disorder, her dad and sister on her dads side are bipolar. I want to know what to do before she starts k-5 and wont respond to the teacher when asked a question and referrred to as ADD or ADHD. What do i do?

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

The apple does not fall far from the tree, as they say, and you are already witnessing signs of anxiety and mood instability in your daughter. Both anxiety and mood disorders are biologically-determined emotional conditions and genetics play an important role for that reason. From the vantage point of intervention there is not much to do at this point because your daughter is so young. You will have to monitor her over these next few years because at some point pharmacological treatment may be necessary. Even now it would be prudent to have her evaluated by a child psychiatrist, if for no other reaon than to obtain some feedback. It is possible that a mild anxiolytic, such as hydroxyzine, might be useful. The sensory-related issues you described early in your post are a separate matter. They reflect sensory integration issues, not emotional disorders, and perhaps as she has developed neurologically they are not as acute as they once were. If they are, you might pursue a Sensory Integration Evaluation (such evaluations are the province of Occupational Therapists).