Screaming child of 4 years old with Global Developmental Delay

[feliciagallo]

I have a close friend of mine her daughter is 4 years old and she gets these screaming and crying out of nowhere and they last from 2 to 6 hours straight.  She currently is on tegretal, rispodal and clonidine.  It has not helped her

She is a mystery so they labelled her under global developmental delay, why or what can you advise on why these screaming episodes and maybe which diagnose can it be.

Help any advice.

thank you

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

The obvious explanation, which is not much help, is that she is experiencing distress of some sort. What sort? That's the hard part to determine, particularly with her disability.

[ttatina]

hi,i read your post and sounds like my son but my son is in much worse condition right now,my son started off mildly like that and progressed even more as time went on,they also diagnosed my son with global dev delay,hes only 2 1/2 and he takes risperdal,lorazaphan,clonidine,his behavior is so uncontrollable he hurts himself,bites himself as well as anyone around him,he never was like this before,he would go in and out of these minor crying spells then he would snap out of it for a few months and it would come back worse,hes currently in childrens hospital right now just because his behavior is so bad and they said they have never seen this kind of behavior in a 2yr old,and dont know if it will be safe to let him go home like this,i admitted him on saturday,he has been in this very bad spell right now for 2 weeks nonstop,i feel like i have compleetely lost him.

[feliciagallo]

Why all the screaming that goes on for hours and hours?  What could it be?

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

The additional information indicates that she does indeed display a global developmental disorder. The cerebral damage that she has incurred will pose permanent problems for her.

[feliciagallo]

She is able to eat by mouth, she fingers food eats, able to crawl, able to walk when holding her, able to lift herself from the floor and walks holding onto to furniture, she has no seizures, when born she had pre natel Encephalopathy Asymmetric crying facies.  Overal she is a happy child,babbles alot, is able to say mama and papa.  Just she gets these periods of scream and crying that go on for 2 to 6 hours straight.

I hope with this information maybe someone can help with more advice.

Felicia

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

It would be wise to have her re-evaluated. I am not able to say with any certainty what might be occurring; more information is needed in order to do that. But the information you describe tends to indicate pretty serious emotional disorder. It is very unusual for a child so young to be prescribed such mood stabilizing, anti-psychotic and anti-hypertensive medications. Such medications are consistent with a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder or Pervasive Developmental Disorder.

[tejodouro]

Does she have nornal speech? can she communicate with language?  has she been evaluated by a child psychologist or child development doctor? who labelled her with "Global Delay"? You probably did not give the doctor on this forum enough information so that he can help you. If medicines that doctors give children do not seem to help the child, why continue with the medicine!!!? What type of doctor gave this child these strong meds?  Does she go to school and how does she beahve there with her peers and teachers? what I am trying to say is that you did not provide enough info.