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my son

Hi I'm not sure if my son has anxiety symptoms, he's 8yrs old and will wip phoo over the bathroom walls, he can be very aggressive, controling and can be very nasty 2his little brother and sister please could someone give me any advice... He doesn't seem to understand the things he does... Please help...
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thank you, I'm waiting for his referral to see a doctor to come through so we can find out how to help him :) xXx
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480448 tn?1426948538
Hello and welcome!  So sorry you are going through this with your son.  It would be so hard to watch that, and feel helpless I'm sure!

Dianosing mental illness in children is not easy, there are so many factors to take into account, growth and development, behavioral stages, influence from his peers, etc.

It is very clear from his behavior that an evaluation is absolutely necessary!  You need to ask your pediatrician for a referral to a child/adolescent  psychiatrist (cannot be a general psych or adult psych, very different processes!).  Allow your son to be thoroughly assessed by a specialist who can offer some suggestions.  His behavior is not typical for anxiety disorders, there may be something else going on.  The sooner you start this process, the sooner you can start whatever treatment may be needed.  Most times, for younger children, like your son, behavioral modification is the preferred initial treatment approach.  Let's hope that this if just some attention seeking behavioral stage, which can occur based on things going on in the child's life (ie, moving, divorce, bullying, etc).

Best of luck, please let us know what the specialist says!
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