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5 year old not sleeping!!!
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<blockquote data-quote="Marguerite" data-source="post: 75207" data-attributes="member: 1991"><p>This is going to sound crazy, but it should be considered.</p><p></p><p>A young girl we know, she's in difficult child 3's drama class for kids with disabilities, sounds exactly like this. It's so bad that she's never had a full day of school, not in three years. She's been a problem since before she was school-age and she's now 8 years old. When she sleeps, it's so very deeply that she can't be roused. The truant officer even had a go (at the mother's invitation). Picture the conversation. </p><p>Truant officer at the door: Madam, your child should be in school.</p><p>Frazzled mother: I know that, you know that. I can't wake her.</p><p>TO: What do you mean, you can't wake her? You just haven't tried!</p><p>FM: Then YOU have a go - if you can get her awake enough to get her dressed and off to school, you are a miracle worker.</p><p>(TO goes into house, into child's room, tries to rouse child. No response.)</p><p>TO: Have you tried a wet face cloth?</p><p>FM (laughs): I've tried putting her in the bath fully clothed. Look, the bathtub is still full from last night. Bit cold, though... (mother picks up sleeping daughter, lowers her gently into cold bath. Child does not stir).</p><p>TO: I'll make a note on the form. There appears to be something medical wrong here.</p><p>FM (sarcastically): Ya think?</p><p></p><p>Hours later in the day, the little girl wakes and begins bouncing off the walls, apparently totally manic until 4 in the morning, when she collapses into sleep again. The mother is finally giving her melatonin (has to be privately imported into Australia - not yet legally available on the market here).</p><p></p><p>This mother has had her hands full. She's successfully raised a number of other kids but her youngest two are a problem, for entirely different reasons. This girl has been on waiting lists for medical referrals and assessments, though hospital clinics, for most of her life. I've actually read some of the reports - the mother is desperate for ANY advice and while our kids are in drama we have an informal support group going.</p><p>Then finally the little girl's name came up on waiting lists and she was seen by an expert. He found her tonsils and adenoids were badly enlarged. Her chest has developed badly - very pigeon-chested. Yes, the child snores. The specialist ordered sleep studies done, they showed severe sleep apnoea - the girl could die at any minute while sleeping, it's so severe. The mother now sleeps with the little girl within physical reach, ready to get her breathing again if possible, should she stop. It's this specialist who got the girl onto melatonin.</p><p>Another referral, another long wait (for an 'urgent' assessment) - to see an ear nose and throat man. Yes, he will take out her tonsils, but because they are poor it will mean maybe another long wait, a year or more.</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile she's still not attending school, still not learning anything, still manic while awake (most of the night) and almost comatose during the day. But she HAS improved on antibiotics and the melatonin, she is attending school for some of the day, some days a week, which is much better than ever before.</p><p></p><p>Some would just diagnose this kid as childhood bipolar, but the sleep specialist said that just about all of it is related to the sleep apnoea and the grossly enlarged tonsils & adenoids. He said even the manic behaviour - the kid is terrified to go to sleep, she's desperately keeping herself awake because her body knows she stops breathing a hundred times an hour or more. She hates sleeping because she suffocates repeatedly in her sleep.</p><p></p><p>I'm not saying that a child like this is ALWAYS going to have a sleep apnoea cause, but after having seen this girl I would highly recommend checking it out before giving a kid medications for BiPolar (BP) which may not necessarily be the problem.</p><p></p><p>Marg</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Marguerite, post: 75207, member: 1991"] This is going to sound crazy, but it should be considered. A young girl we know, she's in difficult child 3's drama class for kids with disabilities, sounds exactly like this. It's so bad that she's never had a full day of school, not in three years. She's been a problem since before she was school-age and she's now 8 years old. When she sleeps, it's so very deeply that she can't be roused. The truant officer even had a go (at the mother's invitation). Picture the conversation. Truant officer at the door: Madam, your child should be in school. Frazzled mother: I know that, you know that. I can't wake her. TO: What do you mean, you can't wake her? You just haven't tried! FM: Then YOU have a go - if you can get her awake enough to get her dressed and off to school, you are a miracle worker. (TO goes into house, into child's room, tries to rouse child. No response.) TO: Have you tried a wet face cloth? FM (laughs): I've tried putting her in the bath fully clothed. Look, the bathtub is still full from last night. Bit cold, though... (mother picks up sleeping daughter, lowers her gently into cold bath. Child does not stir). TO: I'll make a note on the form. There appears to be something medical wrong here. FM (sarcastically): Ya think? Hours later in the day, the little girl wakes and begins bouncing off the walls, apparently totally manic until 4 in the morning, when she collapses into sleep again. The mother is finally giving her melatonin (has to be privately imported into Australia - not yet legally available on the market here). This mother has had her hands full. She's successfully raised a number of other kids but her youngest two are a problem, for entirely different reasons. This girl has been on waiting lists for medical referrals and assessments, though hospital clinics, for most of her life. I've actually read some of the reports - the mother is desperate for ANY advice and while our kids are in drama we have an informal support group going. Then finally the little girl's name came up on waiting lists and she was seen by an expert. He found her tonsils and adenoids were badly enlarged. Her chest has developed badly - very pigeon-chested. Yes, the child snores. The specialist ordered sleep studies done, they showed severe sleep apnoea - the girl could die at any minute while sleeping, it's so severe. The mother now sleeps with the little girl within physical reach, ready to get her breathing again if possible, should she stop. It's this specialist who got the girl onto melatonin. Another referral, another long wait (for an 'urgent' assessment) - to see an ear nose and throat man. Yes, he will take out her tonsils, but because they are poor it will mean maybe another long wait, a year or more. Meanwhile she's still not attending school, still not learning anything, still manic while awake (most of the night) and almost comatose during the day. But she HAS improved on antibiotics and the melatonin, she is attending school for some of the day, some days a week, which is much better than ever before. Some would just diagnose this kid as childhood bipolar, but the sleep specialist said that just about all of it is related to the sleep apnoea and the grossly enlarged tonsils & adenoids. He said even the manic behaviour - the kid is terrified to go to sleep, she's desperately keeping herself awake because her body knows she stops breathing a hundred times an hour or more. She hates sleeping because she suffocates repeatedly in her sleep. I'm not saying that a child like this is ALWAYS going to have a sleep apnoea cause, but after having seen this girl I would highly recommend checking it out before giving a kid medications for BiPolar (BP) which may not necessarily be the problem. Marg [/QUOTE]
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