can you help me?

[sinclaire2oo]

i have an 8 year old daughter who has over the last 3 years totally changed from a laid back quiet child to a violent spiteful 8 year old who has recently been told that she has traits of aspergers as well as the violent behaviour she chews on wooden furniture, has no sense of danger, she has became obsessed with simple things i.e sponge bob square pants, constantly wanting to eat saying she is starving and rapidly gaining weight.Her violent outbursts are: throwing large objects at siblings, dragging them along by there hair, she bangs her own head against the wall if she can not get her own way, recently is saying that she wants to die, she flaps her hands and dances about when distressed or excited, constantly telling people to back off when she is distressed.She is sensitive to certain fabrics i.e wool, acrilic, nylon.She cant bear loud noise i.e the toilet flushing, motorbikes e.t.capperently her problems arnt prominent in school there for no support has been offered as the peadiatricion is unable to make a diagnosis because of this as its such a large part of her life.i would be interested to hear of anybody else in this situation and any advice that could be offered would be greatly recieved.

[sinclaire2oo]

thankyou so much its so nice to make contact to some one that is actually intrested and  wants to help ireally do appreciate it

[Edpsymom]

Here are some websites to consider. You may have to cut and paste the addresses into your browser address bar.

http://groups.msn.com/TheAutismHomePage/sensoryintegration.msnw

www.mindspring.com/~dgn/sensory.htm

www.iidc.indiana.edu/irca/Sensory/SensoryIntegration.html

Good luck!

[Edpsymom]

I can get information together and either send them to you or give you websites. Check in later today and i will post a thread to lead you to get more information. I kinda know this info since I am a school psychologist with a clinical neuropsychology background. I like working in the schools better than clinical.

[sinclaire2oo]

i hope your right as things have become pretty tough at times it sounds like you have your fair share of problems too .i would be gratefull to hear more about the sensory diet you sound very knowledgable its great to hear from you.im open to any suggestions and advice.

[Edpsymom]

It sounds a typical home. We come home to escape the structure we work in, therefore, our children are different at home. Your child sounds as though she has sensory issues also. She may benefit from a "sensory diet". This sounds as though she may have autism, but that is not necessarily the case.  These children have such an aversion to different sensory stimuli that we take for granted. Just the way they are touched can be a serious issue. So you may want to explore that realm also. Usually occupational therapists are the choice for talking with and evaluating if sensory needs are there.  Everyone has sensory issues......however, not everyone needs to be "brushed".  Since I have been working with all kinds of children, I decided to try some of the "sensory diet" items the occupational therapist had. I enjoyed them also, but I don't require them to help me calm down, pay attention, or just be able to make it through a day. Interesting stuff

You sound as though you are on track to get help for your daughter, your family, and your sanity. I can sympathize with you as a parent since my own children (both have ADHD and OCD issues) have their own set of behavior issues. Hang in there!!!

[sinclaire2oo]

the only form of discipline that seems to be effective is to remove her from the situation up to her room for time out.your right she is better behaved the more structured her day is but as we have three other children this is not always possiable though we do our best to do this.

[sinclaire2oo]

its always good to hear others opinions on the situation .she is awaiting blood tests at this time the school say this but there have been incidents a couple with violence and oter issues at dinner ie using a knife and fork prefering to use fingers and getting changed after pe .i fee she mostly bottles it up through the day and explodes at home .she also constatly complains of pain in her legs

[Edpsymom]

Sorry I tend to ramble, but I "talk" things out when I work with students and problem behaviors. My real feeling is to rule out a medical or metabolic disorder first. then proceed with psychological.

[Edpsymom]

Sometimes a lack of structure can lead to some very bad behavior. Since behavior does not seem to be as big of an issue at school, I wonder if the structured environment is part of the key. She seemingly has features of pervasive developmental disorder; however it is interesting that her symptoms became so prevalent at home about the time she began attending school. I cannot rule out some sort of emotional distress which appear to trigger "autistic like" behavior. She may need serious counseling and assessment for the reasons why she engages in these behaviors. What type of discipline is used when she behaves the way she does? Does she respond better to quiet redirection or to firm consequences? I am tending to sway away from autism spectrum disorder also  because it is not prevalent at school also. However, overeating, stating she wants to die, chewing on furniture may indicate a disorder of metabolism or lack of certain nutrients. Seek the assistance of a pediatric endocrinologist or neurologist. I would take her threats to hurt herself and others very serious. With the abrupt change coming on at age 5, it is difficult to rule out any type of cause. I still feel a medical issue may account for part of this. Possibly a metabolic disorder.

Good luck!