He is acting wierd

Dara

New Member
I dont even know how to describe this. There is something very off about Sammy. i have noticed it for about a week. It is a bunch of little things but I think something is going on and I am not sure how to figure it out. husband is very worried to.
I will try to describe it: He seems to be going through a downward spiral behaviorally. When he is having his bad days, we have noticed that he seems lathargic one minute and running like a maniac or tantruming the next minute. He also does not fall asleep easily on those days. His eating habits are always weird so we cant go by this. He has developed a strange fear of cake...yes I said cake. He also started making this very stressed out look on his face. Some of the time I think he is playing with looks and others I think it is real. He has been having explosive tantrums that are more severe than the normal ones. He was at the dr mon. and tues. He does have a sinus infection which he has every other week during allergy season so that never bothers him and they tested him tuesday morning for Hypoglycemia which was negative. We are waiting for reports from the neurologist so we can get him into the Mayo Clinic in Minn. But we wont get in for at least 5 months so...
I dont know who to call or even the slightest Idea of what to do about this. I dont thing he does this in school. Today I picked him up and he was sitting in a time out which is very unusual for him and none of the teachers had put him there so I am assuming that it was a sympathetic time out. However, Sammy is insisting that he did hurt this child but it is unreliable info. I am going to ask his teachers if any of the other kiddos are making that kind of face or if it really is a stress/anxiety thing.
Other than that, I just have no idea what to think about this!
 
F

flutterbee

Guest
I was going to recommend seeing a neurologist, but I see you've already done that. I see that you don't have the report yet, but do you have any idea what kinds of things it will say?
 

Dara

New Member
We actually went to the neurologist the monday before this started. His neurologist really doesnt have anything to say about Sammy anyways. All he said in the appointment was that medicating him wouldnt do anything other than make him a zombie. He didnt offer any advice for any of the issues we have. He basically said he doesnt know. Which is why we are going to the Mayo clinic. Maybe they will know.
Do you think I should call the neurologist and see if we need to do something?
 

Josie

Active Member
I see he is diagnosis'ed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). How was he diagnosed with this and how is it being treated?

I've been doing a lot of reading about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) because easy child has it. One thing that is not uncommon is the worry they have done something wrong. Maybe that is what is going on with him thinking he did something to the other child? Or maybe he did do something and just wasn't caught and the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) makes him punish himself?

It might explain his strange fear of cake, too.

When easy child is in the grip of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), she can have explosive tantrums, too. It might be when Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is telling her to do one thing and we are telling her something else. Or if for some reason Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) has her worried about something, sometimes that is all she can cope with and the least little thing will set her off.

Sometimes, it keeps kids awake because they are worried or they have things they have to do a certain way before bed.

Just some thoughts from an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) perspective.

If it is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) related, he needs a therapist trained in CBT/ERP and/or a psychiatrist.
 

Dara

New Member
He has been in ABA therapy other than that nothing is being done because nobody can figure out what to do with him. The doctors and therapists are all at a loss for what to do because he will make progress in therapy but will do the same behaviors at home no matter what we do.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Has he seen a neuropsychologist? He sounds so much like my son at that age. Nobody could figure him out until he got older. I don't think regular behavioral methods will work with your son--he is different. I would try to see a neuropsychologist (they do totally different testing than Neurologists) ASAP. I see lots of red flags and I'd want to pursue it sooner rather than later. Good luck!
 

SRL

Active Member
Even neurotypical children go through times when they act differently than usual. My 9 year old easy child daughter is struggling now for reasons that are escaping me: emotional, outbursts easily, comes out of ballet almost in tears last week when she usually loves it, etc. Most kids have peaks, valleys, and plateaus.
 

busywend

Well-Known Member
Is he on an antibiotic for the sinus infection?

Infections AND antibiotics themselves have been known to throw our kids into a spiral.
 

nvts

Active Member
I don't know about a lot of the issues, but we went through the fear of cake. Here's what happened. difficult child 1 was used to singing happy birthdday at family parties, etc. He went to pre-k and they started singing happy b-day for a child but they changed the song with the kids yelling "cha-cha-cha" in between each phrase. 1. he was lost with the extra "stuff" in the song and 2. the kids screaming after each line freaked him out. Add his nerves about a candle on the 1 cupcake and he lost it.

Ta-da!!!! Fear of Cake!

Beth
 

Dara

New Member
Sammy is on antibiotics but this started before that. We did go for a neuropsychologist visit and it was the worst experience ever. The man never spent any time with Sammy he didnt write a report and said we didnt need to come back. On top of that we had to fill out no paperwork with info on Sammy. Like I said, we are getting him into the Mayo Clinic as soon as possible so maybe they can figure him out. MidwestMOM, you are right, regular behavioral methods do not work on him. They will work in therapy but not in the home. He is very different!
NVTS, I am not sure where Sammys fear of cake came from. Maybe they do sing it weird in school too or something. It is interesting though!
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
I'd find another neuropsychologist. It sounds like you have some big issues. So sorry the Mayo is such a long wait!
I guess I'd put the cake on the back burner (excuse the expression, LOL!) because it's something that can easily be avoided. I'd deal with-the lethargy and energy issues first. Good idea to test for hypoglycemia. However, we did the 3-hr fast and it was worthless. You really have to do it longer, and who wants to put their kid through that? I would just operate on the assumption that you should up his proteins and complex carbs, and reduce his sugar intake.
Good luck!
 

Dara

New Member
Finding another neuropsychologist has proven to be a challenge. Most phsych and neuropsychologist. wont touch him because he is not 4 yet and has language delay. That has been our biggest challenge with finding someone who will evaluate him. Sammy fasted for 12 hours. He didnt eat anything after dinner and didnt have breakfast so it wasnt too bad. We have a hard time getting Sammy to eat properly. He eats strange things and only those things. Hopefully we will get into the Mayo Clinic sooner than later!
 
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