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Child Behavior (Expert Forum)
My three year old is screaming
Answered by
Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D. - Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy, Family Therapy, Crisis Intervention
Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates
This forum is for questions and support regarding child behavior issues such: Child Discipline (behavior management), Normal Child Development, Parent-Child Communications, Social Development
My three year old is screaming
by Jeanne, Jun 22, 2000 12:00AM
I have a four year old daughter and a three year old son. My son has been screaming for about a year and a half. He seems to scream both when he is happy and when he is upset. He also screeches when we are trying to talk with him after needing to discipline him.
He is big for his age and has had what I feel are incredible growth spurts. One involved 7 inches in 10 months.His developments seem to come in chunks and in no particular order. He can do some things very early and not other things that an18 month old can do. He is very agressive with hugs and with hits and has run the gammut of biting , pinching, etc.
He is always on thr go and does not really want to learn anything. He likes very repetitive things like throwing rocks in water for an hour at a time or pushing his train back and forth.
He listens but then immediately does what he is not supposed to. We have tried all forms of discipline and he doesn't respond to rewards.
The screaming is the thing I am finding so sressful after such a long time and the fact that taking him anywhere is always a 'wait and see' thing. He has a very limited diet and even though what he eats is good I am worried that he has some form of health problem. His world seems so'big'. Eve... rything is so funny or so bad or so ... This is the first site I have found that has good archives and I hope you can direct me . It is difficult to explain how his screeches are developing into such a serious issue for us all.
He is big for his age and has had what I feel are incredible growth spurts. One involved 7 inches in 10 months.His developments seem to come in chunks and in no particular order. He can do some things very early and not other things that an18 month old can do. He is very agressive with hugs and with hits and has run the gammut of biting , pinching, etc.
He is always on thr go and does not really want to learn anything. He likes very repetitive things like throwing rocks in water for an hour at a time or pushing his train back and forth.
He listens but then immediately does what he is not supposed to. We have tried all forms of discipline and he doesn't respond to rewards.
The screaming is the thing I am finding so sressful after such a long time and the fact that taking him anywhere is always a 'wait and see' thing. He has a very limited diet and even though what he eats is good I am worried that he has some form of health problem. His world seems so'big'. Eve... rything is so funny or so bad or so ... This is the first site I have found that has good archives and I hope you can direct me . It is difficult to explain how his screeches are developing into such a serious issue for us all.
Doctor's Answer
by Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D., Jun 26, 2000 12:00AM
, Jun 26, 2000 12:00AM
Dear Jeanne,
Your son's behavior is not typical of children his age, and probably does not fall within the boundaries of normal spectrum childhood behavioral difficulties.
It would be prudent to seek evaluation by either a child mental health professional or a developmental pediatrician (or team). What I have in mind is the possibility that your son displays a type of childhood emotional condition called Pervasive Developmental Disorder. Some of his behaviors certainly typify this category of illness.
Your son's behavior is not typical of children his age, and probably does not fall within the boundaries of normal spectrum childhood behavioral difficulties.
It would be prudent to seek evaluation by either a child mental health professional or a developmental pediatrician (or team). What I have in mind is the possibility that your son displays a type of childhood emotional condition called Pervasive Developmental Disorder. Some of his behaviors certainly typify this category of illness.
He has semantic-pragmatic disorder and central auditory processing disorder, possibloy developmental dyspraxia. Some think SPD is autistic spectrum, but I don't agree. But in my research I have had the opportunity to read information on this, and screeching tends to be one symptom. Please don't be afraid to explore this. You can help your son so much by knowing. I know what it feels like to consider that your darling has a problem, but it is better for him to face this head on. The sooner any issues are addressed the sooner he can reach for his potential. Please feel free to visit my web page at:
www.geocities.com/denisev2/