Violent statements...

nlg319

New Member
My difficult child#3 is 5 yrs.old. For the past week or so when we lie down at night, after reading, he usually goes through his routine questions about reptiles..Do snakes like sun? Do turtles like rain? After I've told him it's time to sleep,(I lie down with him to keep him in his room)He has started making frightening statements, out of the blue. The other night, he started sniffling, like he was going to cry and said, "I don't want to kill Daddy". Last night, he was holding his older brother's teddy bear and said, "I don't want to beat up Teddy". I asked him if he heard anyone telling him to do that, he said No. Earlier that night, he had been very sweet with the teddy, kissing him,tucking him in. At first it was just him saying that he wanted to think about happy things and he didn't want to have bad dreams. I hold him and reassure him and we say out loud some happy things for us to think about. Then the more violent stuff came.
I'm scared that this is an indication of some more pathological behavior or voices. Can children this young hear voices? What should I do?
 

SRL

Active Member
Children this young can hear voices so we take it seriously but it can also be one of those things that "just happens". Most of the time what we see reported here is that if they are actual auditory hallucinations then the child is also experiencing a lot of other emotional and behavioral instability simultaneously. If your child is otherwise calm and stable, I'd be less inclined to be concerned. I would quietly make sure that knives and things with sharp edges were locked up when he's not supervised and at night. I'd also put a stop to any violent programming, reading, or video games if he's exposed to any of those. Kids can pick up the darndest things even from seemingly innocent children's programming.

Since it looks like you have a difficult child 2 that is under psychiatric care it might be a good idea to put in a call to his psychiatrist and run it by him/her. But I probably wouldn't be alarmed unless you are seeing instability otherwise.
 

totoro

Mom? What's a difficult child?
Hi-
If he is having Night Terrors and not just nightmares they can come out in his imaginative play and talk at times. With some kids who do have very graphic and morbid night terrors like my daughter, she will talk about horrible things that seem to come about from things she actually dreamt about.
K screams all night and thrashes in her sleep, when she has remebered her dreams they have been pretty disturbing.
K also has Auditory Hallucinations, it does not mean they are automatically Schizophrenic, but it is serious if it is indeed a true Auditory Hallucination. Hers is a man's voice, most times saying mean things and lasting longer than 6 months and while unmedicated. Her's is a part of her BiPolar (BP).
Also when K has been really confused or manic she has said "I have to kill you". All of theses things are very scary but are all part of her instability, I would make notes about what and when he said things, and but a call in to psychiatrist.
I myself try not to make a big deal about it, because I know she is unstable... we talk about her fellings and I ask her if she is angry and how she feels, we are working on new medications.

Good luck
 

tiredmommy

Well-Known Member
I can imagine that would be very unsettling to hear. I agree with the others that you should start a log and call the psychiatrist.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
I adopted a foster child, and they are really hard to diagnose if they're from the system. I have a few questions:
1/ Did his birthmother abuse drugs or alcohol while pregnant?
2/ Do you know of any psychiatric disorders in the family tree
3/ Is he seeing a developmental pediatrician? Especially if his birthmom abused drugs and alcohol, that communication disorder (which my son also had) could be a form of autism. I'd want someone to keep an eye on his progress.
I'd like to add that the info we get on foster kids is often wrong. Because of a lack of history it really takes professionals a longer time to figure out what is wrong. If the child was exposed to drugs and alcohol in utero, there is a very good chance that the child has some form of alcohol/drug effects. Autism is more common too in kids who are exposed to substances in utero.
If the birthmother or birthfather have any psyschiatric disorders, they can be inherited. My son really puzzled everyone until he turned eleven and we finally got the right diagnosis. It takes a lot of digging and seeing professionals who are VERY good. And the answer if very young children can hear voices is "yes." I specifically know a mom who is bipolar. Her older son is bipolar and has always heard voices, as far back as he can remember. Her younger child heard voices as young as age three, maybe earlier. I'd want him to see a really good child psychiatrist (with the MD).
 

nlg319

New Member
Thanks for your reply and interest. Answers to your questions are:

1)Did his birthmother abuse drugs or alcohol while pregnant?

Birth mom reports no abuse of alcohol or drugs, but I suspect there was alcohol use.

2)Do you know of any psychiatric disorders in the family tree?

Information from Birth Mom is vague as she is not accepting that she has done anything wrong and has appealed the the court's decision of terminating her rights. It is suspected that there is mental illness on her side. There is no information from Bio. Dad's side. Birth Mom is limited intellectually, and not very cooperative. He has not seen her in over 2 years and even when he saw her, she was a stranger to him as he was placed in care at 3 weeks old.

3)Is he seeing a developmental pediatrician?

He is not currently being followed by any specialists. He did have a Nuerological Evaluation, which resulted in diagnosis. of Ataxia, as far as speech delay was concerned. He also had a Psychological Evaluation done at Children's Hospital in Boston, which is where the diagnosis of ADHD and Communication Disorder came from. I wanted to do that evaluation to see if there was any autistic tendencies, but the reports came back that he did not fit anywhere on the spectrum.

I think you are absolutely correct in what I need to do next. I need to find a good child psychiatrist to evalutate him. Should I also look for a developmental pediatrician? He is one of 6 children, all have a variety of issues. Their diagnosis's include PTSD, ADHD & ADD,Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD), Developmental Delays, and Sensory Issues. No BiPolar (BP),or Psychotic Illness.
 
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