(Alomost) 6 year old having social problems

[Ahava]

Hello. My son will be 6 next month. He's smart: was counting to 300 by age 4 (forwards & backwards),can add & subtract. He taught himself the alphabet at 2

[dontakedrugs]

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Thursday, January 5, 2006 - Page updated at 12:00 AM



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The Associated Press

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[sharylune]

Even autism has been connected to intolerance to milk and gluten ( protein derived from grains) proteins. I suggest you to visit PubMed and search milk gluten allergy intolerance autism

[kitty29]

My autistic son is exactly like this. Exactly.

Please think about getting a third opinion.

He is in a regular ed classroom like your son, but he struggles with the same social differences and frustrations that your son does. Autism doesn't always warrant special ed.

The similarities are so eerily similar. Please, please I urge you to re-visit the possibility!!! I'm really in shock that he does not have an autism or asperger diagnosis.


kitty

[sharylune]

Dear Ahava, when you remove milk from diet, you must consider the fragments of milk that are used in some food products, like potato chips or Ham. Lactose, galactose, lactalboumine, caseine,and every word starting with lacto,must be out of your childs diet.This means you have always to look to the components of everything you buy. The usual manifestations of milk allergy is cases of vomits or diarrea or anorexia as an infant,exzema/ atopic dermatitis, poor weight or hight gain after the cesation of breast feeding( look at the percentils of his diagramm),running nose or nasal blockage,or itcy nose ( I am sorry for my poor English), bronchitis, constipation ,headackes, abdominal discomfort or pain. Of course they do not have to have all the above symptoms and many times  symptoms are vague, thats why children escape diagnosis

[Ahava]

Sharylune, is there a way we can talk further about this milk allergy thing?  I've long suspected an intolerance though he has very few physical symptoms.  We took milk out of his diet 8 days ago.  There are been some really wonderful days since then but he has also had some terrible regressions.  I'm not sure how much longer I will keep milk products from him if it doesn't help but I was really hopeful with this.

Thank you everyone for your comments & suggestions.

[sharylune]

I have a child 4 1/2 years old with milk allergy. At the age of 4 ( June)diagnosis has been made. Until then he did all the dangerous things you can immagine he had fights with other children and was not able to sing a song in school. I had decided to see a specialist for the languange on September. He didnt had to. When he went back to school,he was a different person. He could sing almost all the songs, much more calm and happy. I am convinced and I have study a lot about exorphins - proteins of food ( usually milk and/or gluten) and how they can modify behaviour. You can search on PubMed in milk allergy+ autism or Behaviour or attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder or exorphins

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

I can't forecast whether the evaluations will be sufficient, but you are undertaking a sensible course of action.

[jdtm]

Dear Hahava:

i belong to a support group for parents and teachers of children who suffer from anxiety disorders.  The description of your son is one that I have heard many times - the frustrations, meltdowns, extreme behavioural issues at home, inappropriate social behaviours, inflexibility, lack of initiation, hyperactivity, immaturity, etc.  It is possible that your son is suffering from an anxiety disorder (perhaps social anxiety).  Many of our children who have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder have also been diagnosed with depression as well as sensory integration dysfunction and expressive/receptive learning disorder.

Please do as the previous poster expressed - do keep in touch with your family pediatrician.  By the way, one of the latest research studies tends to believe that anxiety disorders are a developmental disorder as well as a mental health issue.  One more thing - to better help our child (who suffers from extreme social phobia and depression) to learn social manners (these children are unable to "pick up" normal social graces), we hired an art therapist to come into the school for a period of time to instruct our child on socially-correct ways, then observe during recess and playtime, and finally de-brief on the interactions.  It worked wonders!  I wish you the best.

[Ahava]

Thank you jdtm =)  I appreciate your support.

[Ahava]

Thank you very much Dr. We'll be doing basc evaluations this month.  Do you think that will shed enough light?  Also, he does't rage like he used to. Those episodes would last about 45 minutes. Now when he gets upset, he can calm himself or ask for help within about 5 minutes or less.  Again, I thank you enormously for your time.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

The problems goes beyond social immaturity, though that certainly is part of the problem. It does not explain his defiance with you, nor does it explain his rages. One thing that stands out in your description is his level of impulsivity; it is high for his age. It might well be that he displays symptoms typical of condition(s) in the Disruptive Behavior category, in spite of the earlier evaluations. Also, is there any family history of mood disorder (Bipolar Disorder or Depression)? Some of his behavior is typical of children who display juvenile-onset bipolar disorder. It makes sense to continue with evaluations by child psychiatrist, and it would not be surprising at all if you rceieve a recommendation to use medication as part of the treatment plan. Medication could be useful in stabilizing his mood, reducing his impulsivity and lessening his aggression.