childrens behavior

[yvonnea]

my granddaughter is 3 and just started ignoreing us and biting her self, my son is a single dad and just moved in to a place just for him and her. what should we do and why are these behaviors starting now?

[Sally44]

It might be that she just needs consistent predictable structures around discipline - but I suspect that you are already trying that??
If she appears deaf when you call her name that can be a sign of other difficulties such as language or sensory issues.  Just because a child can talk does not mean that they have normal language development.  
If you go to her paediatrician with your concerns the first referal will probably be to check that her hearing is okay.  If that turns out to be normal, then I would ask for a referal to a Speech Therapist that has experience of speech delay/disorders and childhood developmental disorders such as autistic spectrum disorders.  The SALT should assess her expressive and receptive speech (ie. whether she understands what is being said to her).  Children on the spectrum can show self harm behaviours such as head banging, face scratching, biting themselves.  Being on the spectrum can range from mild to severe.  
Does your child show any other sensory types of behaviour.  Is she over or undersenstive to sunlight, sound, touch (including clothes tags/shoes+socks/hair cuts etc), smell, taste, balance and co-ordination?
You also say she is very verbal, but do you hear her say things that other people have said or does she repeat phrases from TV or DVDs?
Does she appear as very strong willed and just want to do the things she wants to do, and appears deaf to attempts to re-direct her or shows no interest or focus on other things you try to involve her in?

[Sandman2]

Tis possible you have a fairly smart child who has learned that biting herself draws attention to herself. If so then you need to ignore the situation..  Chances are she will pretty rapidly find another way to get your attention.  There is some pretty good reading material out there for working with kids - might be time to investigate.

[margypops]

How does she get on with the Baby sitter do they play games and have fun, what would you say her day is like .I agree she seems upset with something going on in her life I think it would be a good idea to take her to see the Doctor and get some assessment from him, she doesnt bite herself for no reason..

[yvonnea]

she is very verbel and  is ignoring us when we ask her to do something after she has just had a temper tantrum or has not goton her way, i feel that her biting is also a way of showing her frustration or anger with the adults in her world. she bites her arm or clothes. she has no contact with mom and has a babysitter during the day. i can recall a while ago she was not so verbel and she was chewing her hair. i hope we can figure out some other way for her to help her get some other coping skills before she gets out of hand. thank you for your help

[margypops]

You say your son is a single Dad does your Grandaughter she her Mom.could she be upset at not being with her? What happens prior to the biting episodes? Something is upsetting her,if she goes to day care it may be good to check out if she is happy there , what is her teacher like.  How does she sleep?

[Sally44]

As she is three what is her speech like?  Is she talking, and if so is it one word, two word combinations or sentences?  Does she chat and show interest in other people.  Does she bring things to show you and interact, or does she only interact to get her needs met eg. for an adult to get her a drink, food, turn TV on etc.
When you say she is ignoring you, do you mean you say her name and she appears deaf?
What is she doing prior to, and during the biting episodes.  Eg. does she begin biting when you try to re-direct her or with transitions, or is she by herself and starts biting herself?  Also where is she biting herself?