about my 16month old daughter

[kendallsmom2]

i posted about my 16month old and had no response i thought one person would have said something so i guess just like everything else in my life no one there to help me i'll look else where for maybe one day i'll get some kind of answer for someone to aleast give me some kind of direction i don't want to be like all these other parents and wait for my child to be kicked out of pre-schools or having full on issues with other kids she already doesn't play well with others and im not talking about normal not share toys stuff i mean she focuses on one child if we go to the park and she pulls her hair or throws stuff at the child i say no and it seems she does it more i move her away from that child and she just keeps going back to whom ever it is at the time and so on. im at my wits end she is now not wanting to sleep at night and everything seems to make her want to be mean. she has bite marks on her and im afraid to take her anywhere thinking people will soon think that im doing it and she is the one that's doing it to herself ugg im just so frustrated with the screaming all the time
Hopefully someones else gets the answers they are looking for

[specialmom]

She is too young for a psychiatrist and treatment for bipolar in my opinion.  You will have a hard time finding a psychiatrist that would diagnosis her with this disorder at 16 months.  I don't even recommend diagnosing for add/adhd until the earliest of age 6 as until that point, many different things can go on.

I absolultely would seek an evaluation from an occupational therapist.  Here is why--------  they do different things from other specialists.  They work on giving a child and family strategies to cope with life.  They teach behavioral techniques that help and they do therapy that addresses an overactive or underactive nervous system.  Your daughter sounds like she has both.  Overactive in that she is on edge, seeking input in to her nervous system.  Underactive in that she has a low sensation of pain.  This combination can cause what you discuss. An occupational therapist can help you with this.

How are her motor milestones developing?  How is her speech developing?  She has trouble self soothing at night it sounds.  There are things to try for this (again, an occupational therapist works on such things.)  

Please call ot's in your area and schedule an evaluation to see if they can help you and your daughter.  

In the mean time, she is very young.  Reasoning will not work.  You need cause and effect.  Tell her, you hurt a child-----------  we leave.  And then when she picks a target . . .pick her up and go.  Each and every time no matter where you are or if you've only been there for 2 minutes.  It is teaching her a boundary that this behavior results in leaving.  If you don't want to leave, don't do the behavior.  She is little.  This may take a while.  For sleep and calming, I'd try deep pressure.  Lay her down face first on the ground and say you are going to play "steam roller".  Make truck noises and that beep beep beep that a steam roller makes. Then take a big ball like an exercise ball and roll it up and down her gently pressing for pressure.  It quiets the nervous system.  You can also make a "sandwich" or "taco" out of her.  She again lays down and you take pillows and lay them on top of her (the bread, lettuce, tomato, etc.) and as you layer her up, gently press.  Taco is using something big and roll her up tight in it and gently squeeze.  Again very calming and soothing.  

Wishing you luck.  

[SeriousSam]

Before you have bipolar treatment done by psychiatrists see if a geneticist could test her her the genetic marker.

BTW when she has fits how do you react to them?  I think I have a few possible clues to how to resolve this but if I am right you probably won't like it.

[RockRose]

Kendallsmom,  I saw your earlier post and like everyone else,  I didn't know what to say.  She sounds EXTREME.

Have you had her evaluated by an occupational therapist?  That's a first start.  A pediatrician doing a ten minute consult isn't going to be able to give you a clear idea of the scope of the problem.  An OT will take hours,  and involve physical and cognitive "games" to evaluate her and my guess is her behavior will show itself during an evaluation of that kind.

Secondly,  I think you should keep a timeline for several days noting her day to day activities,  hour by hour,  how much time is spent in contented play,  how much is spent in a rage.  Your frustration comes out loud and clear in your post but it's hard to get a truly accurate idea of the problem.

Also,  when you get her evaluated you need to be specific about her many health concerns and reasons for being in the ICU.

Best wishes.

[margypops]

Could she have seen any biting from other children she is around,are you sure she is biting herself and its not another child doing it , this could be a learned behavior, any siblings .How long does she nap during the day at this age they do nap but maybe if its too long or later in the afternoon it will affect her nighttime sleep Like the others I would agree she does need some help, go back to the Doctor .good luck

[kendallsmom2]

thank you for responding i have brought it up to her drs about getting eval. and they tell me she is too young same with austism or asbergers i have asked about both and they said the little bit that the have done it doesn't seem to be that everything i had read about bipolar disorder says that it runs in families well my husband is and so is his mother and so on that side of the family but i have never read anything about a child younger than 6 being treated for it. It is very strange she can be so nice and sweet at one point than the next she's having a fit about something i just try and deal with it but than she started with the biting herself. I was wondering if she may be acting this way because of the medical history she has had to go through i mean this little child has gone through more than anyone i have known Poked and poked and stays in the ICU and more...i will ask again about anyone that sees someone her age and hopefully like everything else they will listen to me before its gone to far

thanks again for your responses

[mammo]

You definitely need to get your child evaluated by a professional, obviously there is something going on with her.  The sooner you do this the better.

[SeriousSam]

Any chance of being able to afford a child psychologist?