Hello. My name is Tina. I have a 5 year old son who has been having behavioral problems since he was about 3. He was diagnosed with Asperger's when he was 3. I have been doing research on the subject and I do not agree with the diagnosis. He has bas mood swings. He will go from being a happy child, to screaming, throwing things, hitting, kicking, banging his head against the wall. Sometimes, his moods will last all day especially on weekends. He runs out in the streets like he has no sense of danger. He will hit and kick me and will hit his 18 month old brother with no remorse. He also has seperation anxiety. It got so bad, I had to start sending him to school on the van. He used to throw big temper tantrums when I had to leave when I used to take him to school. He is in time out almost every day at school. They will sometimes send notes home saying that he had been bad all day. He will get under his mat, poke holes in his paper, stomp his feet and lay in the floor. He will not listen to his teachers. Luckily, he goes to a special needs school so he cannot get kicked out. He takes Mental Health there but they have not tested him to see if he has bipolar or ADHD or what. It's like no one will listen to me. I've seen his PCP, a few Phsycologists, and his mental health therapist. I have made him an appointment at a Behavioral Clinic so I am hoping they will be able to figure out what is wrong with him. Does this sound like Bipolar? I need help!!
kcstar73
Monday, July 19, 2010 at 01:49 PM
Dear Tina,
I'm sorry that you and your son are having to experience so much turmoil, and that you are still in the process of trying to figure out what the possible causes for it all might be. I have a 25 yr old bipolar child, who was probably bipolar from birth--we dealt with a lot of very difficult behaviors as well. I suspected something different was going on with my child than simply the ADHD diagnosis she was first given. It took a few years before comprehensive testing was suggested and conducted as part of doing a complete psychoeducational evaluation. (I suspect/hope things are different these days, and that psych-educational testing is initiated much more quickly, and before any kind of medication treatment is suggested or started. I would not rely on school testing, but would seek an independent/private PhD psychologist to conduct it.) Testing revealed that although her overall IQ was above average, and her verbal IQ was in the high-superior range, she had some developmental learning differences (nonverbal learning disabilities). Her behaviors in part were responses to her inability to keep pace with academic and social demands and were her poor/immature means of compensating. That was not all though. There were indicators of cyclical emotional instability as well that were revealed through testing. She is also bipolar. Kids were (maybe still are) very often diagnosed first with, and incorrectly treated for ADHD back when she was seeing psychiatrists and psychologists. Treatment of ADHD with stimulant type medications in someone with bipolar disorder can have catastrophic results. It did in her case too. Additionally, we were referred by a psychiatrist (seen later in the whole process) to a neurologist to first rule out structural neurological problems, which was a routine step in that psychiatrist's evaluation process. An MRI and and EEG were conducted. It was revealed that she was experiencing abnormal/slow brain wave activity, even though seeming fine. She had experienced a couple of brief seizures previously, but appeared to recover well and returned quickly to normal. Doctors were unable to explain 'why' she'd had them, nor did they prescribe any follow up or ongoing treatment as there had only been 2 seizures, a full year apart.
When we were still trying to pin down what could be going on with our daughter, the point was repeatedly driven home for us that while kids are still very young it can be especially difficult to tease apart what could arguably still be age-related behavior and what definitely isn't, and/or what else 'it' might be. Guess what I'm getting at is that it isn't really possible for non-professionals who haven't spent considerable time directly observing and getting to know/testing/examining your child to give you a very useful answer as to what you might or might not be dealing with, and that comprehensive testing of your son may provide you with the most illuminating information/answers that you/he could use the most right now. The reasons for types of behaviors you are seeing could come from one, or unfortunately even several developmental or psychiatric illnesses which can have overlapping similar/shared behaviors. With our child, testing revealed quite a lot more that even the best mental health professionals wouldn't be able to figure out the underlying reasons for just from ordinary observation.
Over the coming years, differences in severity among possibly various issues going on with him (if more than one is involved) may increase and/or decrease. Such has been the case with my daughter. For now, bipolar disorder is under good control for her and has been for several years. The non-verbal learning disabilities will always pose problems for her regardless, and are the most difficult hurdles for her to deal with at the moment.
Sorry this reply got long. I hope some of this answer can help you at some point along your way at least, if not right now. Don't lose hope---some days can get pretty dark and difficult, leading to having doubts that things can ever change for the better. With persistence, they often can and eventually do.
Take care...