We are having trouble with out 5yo son. He is having trouble with behavior both at home and particularly in school. He will call names and yell in class and has on occasion thrown things. I know he is not intentionally trying to hurt anyone, but his behavior is causing concern for his teachers and us. He is a very touchy/feely kid and when he gets upset quite easily looses his temper. Once he has become angry or upset it is very hard to get him to calm down. When at home he will hit, kick, yell and throw things when he is put in time out. We are at the point now where we feel we need to get him assessed for ASD, ADD and the like. Would love to hear from other parents who have been through this and any recommendations on how to deal with this behavior.
2 Replies
Best people to diagnose are paediatricians and child psychologists. Child psychologists are excellent with behaviour strategies. Problem is if it's ASD you need to work out the function of the behaviour before addressing it otherwise you are just pouring water in a bucket with a hole.
ADHD medication can be a game changer for ADHD but I'd still want the support of a child psychologist to help with behaviour modification.
I also would want to know how he's coping with school work. Some behaviour problems can stem from not being able to cope with the requirements. So language assessment and educational assessment might be useful.
Hi, thanks for your advice. We are planning to visit our gp and request a referral to a paedetrician over the coming holidays. With school work he is tracking exactly where he should be. Not falling behind in any aspect dispite the bad behavior. But I feel like he may be keeping others behind because of his behavior.