What would your mental diagnosis be for a 10 yr old girl who does this?

Question

I have a niece who has a problem. My Brother & his wife know something is wrong, but are in denial. I've searched the web and have come up with a few conclusions, but wondered what others think. The Child is a 10 year old female, oldest of 3 sibs.. She is quite large for her age (5' 120lbs). She is on the verge of obesity. She does well in most subjects except reading, she is a VERY slow reader. She has major out burst where she will harm other children, but has no remorse after the fact. She goes in trance like stares and can tune out the world if she wants. She sneaks food (mostly carbohydrates) and hides her leftovers anywhere she can shove it. She has been know to be crule to animals, she has vandalized public property. She is very lazy, and will throw compleate temper trantrums if she has to ANYTHING. She will NOT eat any green vegetables, and diet insist of rice, potatoes, pizza, ice cream, cake, cookies, and hot dogs. She had no developemental delays as a baby.

A big thank you to those of you who gave valuable input. First off, I just realized that I had a type-o in my original question. She weighs 140 pounds, not 120. A big difference, I know. According to her doctor, she should be between 90 to 110 pounds.

To those of you who think I'm a terrible Aunt for caring about my niece and her well being...I suppose you would have rather read a question that asked..."how do I give a good ********?" Or my personal favorite..."how can I get pregnant at age 15?" That's the kind of question I see you like to answer. I KNOW that no one can actually diagnose a person who they have never met, I was just looking for answers. (Which is what Yahoo Answers is all about...right?). I have a son on the Autism Spectrum, and my brother had a very difficult time excepting his disability. He is very unconfortable around my son. I have found that early diagnosis and intervention is the key to my sons on going success.

Answer 1

It sounds like she is on the Autism Disorder Spectrum Scale (a.k.a. the scale).
It could be high functioning Autism, Asperger's Syndrome, or Pervasive Developmental Disorder.
My daughter was not diagnosed until she was 10 years old with Asperger's Syndrome.
Her pediatrician missed it, her therapist (who saw her first when she was 4 years old), her occupational therapist (she was diagnosed with sensory integration dysfunction) missed it, and her school missed it (although to be fair - it is a private school with only 97 kids in it, and they have never seen anyone like my daughter).
They all missed it because they knew her well and didn't want to see it.
We had been getting pieces of the puzzle since she was 4 years old.
Each piece made sense - but did not tell the whole picture.
There is a reason why the symbol for autism is a puzzle piece.
Last year - after pushing and pushing we finally had a psychological exame done by a PHD.
It was supposed to be a 3 hour test.
3&1/2 hours later (all of it was just playing games to her) she was done.
The results were the result.
What I mean by that is - there was nothing specifically tested for.
Whatever she "had" was what floated to the top (for lack of a better term).
It could have been Bi-Polar, Terrets, ADD, Depression, Asperger's, Dyslexia, or something other than that.
After all the testing was in - the result was Asperger's.
I was not happy at all.
I had done internet research and hit every bad site you can think of (it's the mothers fault for not eating right... its society’s fault for having so many preservatives in their food..they are a burden and will be on society for the rest of their lives....stuff like that).
Once I calmed down, and found some decent websites we discovered that she was soooooo Asperger's.
Classic text book type.
Once we knew what we were looking for it was very obvious.

As far as the food issue, many people who are "on the scale" are allergic to many types of food.
Milk, sugar, and wheat are the biggies.
Now you would think that if you were allergic to a food that your body would reject it (like strawberries - you get all blotchy and swell up).
Not so with these types of allergies.
In fact it does just the opposite, it makes your body crave it - to the exlusion of other foods.

If your niece goes to public school ask for the school district to come in and do an evaluation (or if she goes to a private school you can still request the school district to come in and do testing, that is part of what your taxes pay for - the key is you have to know to ask for an evaluation).

Getting the diagnosis has changed our lives.
Is she magically better?
No, but now we know what we are dealing with and are working on coping strategies.
Best of all - she now knows what she has and is working on things too.
She is getting better about the physically lashing out thing too.
She understands that she is not bad - she is just wired differently, and that has made a world of difference.

Some website that helped us were
http://www.autism-society.org
http://www.aspennj.org/WhatIsAS.html
http://www.thearc.org/

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
Give your brother/sister-in-law a copy of this.
I'll check back in day or so, if they want to contact me add to your message and I will get you my email address and/or phone number.

It's hard.
I know.
There is help.
When you get help - it's better, I promise.

Answer 2

Diet, espescially in young children, can have a large effect on mood and behaviour. That, mixed with lack of discipline, can lead to many back things.

The parent should put the whole family on a healthy diet. It easier to prevent sneaking junk food, if there's no junk to sneak. Plan family outings involving exercise - hikes, swimming, games of tag. Induce a reward system for good behaviour and studing. Reduce the amount of TV time and increase the amount of reading time that is required - whether family reading time or on her own.

Also, remember discipline is not a curse word. It doesn't mean running a military style household, just making sure they know who's in charge and that bad behaviour is unacceptable and punished, while good behaviour is rewarded.

I'm not saying those are her only problems, and that there isn't also a psychological problem, but you've got to start somewhere, and the best place to start is at home. A child should never be medicated unless it is absolutely necessary and all other routes have been tried first.

Answer 3

Her diet is not her fault, she is only 10. Her parents buy the food and she eats it. If they want her to eat healthier food, then they should buy healthy items and deny themselves for her sake. She is probably tired after eating all those high fat food which would not make her lazy, it just means she need to eat more fruits, vegetables which will give her more energy. Although she has not had any developmental delays she sound like she might have some cognitive delays because of neurological deficiencies. Take her to get psychological evaluation test done, and they will test her reading levels and compare her to other children at her age. She might be mildly Mentally Retarded, which would explain why she gets frustrated and throws temper tantrums. The only way to know for sure is to get her tested. It might also be dyslexic and there are a lot of programs out there to help her to learn. Good luck.

Answer 4

I would say if she dose well in all subjects but reading then it most likly is a learning dissabilty rather then a disabilty like autism or such. The odd and dangerious things she dose may be phiclogial to the insurcurites of LD and being the oldest has allot of jellousy. The lack of remorse may just be from the angre she has inside from the above mentioned things. Including the weight. Put all those things together and that makes for allot of unhappiness and rebellion. Some kids handle it better then others. Everyones phicy is different. The thing is and most important, this may get worse. Resulting in much more sever problems for her in other perople w/o consoling. LD's resuly in allot of differnt actions. It most like is a combo of things. Talk to the peditracion and get a referall to a child developmental hospital for evaluation. They are great and they test for everything.

Answer 5

sounds like something in the autism spectrum.
there are syndromes that cause people to never feel full. something is wrong with the connection b/t the stomach and the brain to tell the person to stop eating.
she was probably spoiled as a child and given this type of food. discipline.
start by seeing a doctor, a psychologist, a health specialist. she sounds like she needs a thorough exam by all of these professionals.

Answer 6

I took sylvan when my teacher talked too fast in math and o one could understand her in fractions so i took sylvan and im really great at fractons now. Get her parents to Sign her up for sylvan in the reading level. For the food part i would suggest her parents take her to a diectician/food doctor and have them explain what can happen to her if she doesn't eat healthy and to do sports such as soccor.For the tantrum parts i would say her parents take her to not a therapist a psychologist it may be hard to think she might be crazy or something with her brain but it may be and dont get mad about it just try to help her in every way cause being mad at people or you thinking she might be crazy is a waist of time but that can be fixed if you just get through things.

Answer 7

It is very dangerous to attempt to come up with a "mental diagnosis" for a child who isn't yours, and your use of the word, "denial" suggests you're like the many people who like to use psychology words you know. The one legitimate concern I think you have is that your niece hurts other children and is cruel to animals. That is a bad sign, and it is something you should stress to your brother and his wife should be looked into by a professional before she gets much older. If I were you and were talking with them I would limit any criticisms of their daughter to those two things. Tuning out the world isn't necessarily anything more than tuning out a world you're fed up with at the time. The no-vegetables and just-goodies diet she prefers is a normal preference for many kids and her non-slender build is just a sign of that. (If she's a very tall girl she's also going to have a larger appetite than a tiny girl; if she's stressed out by life for some reason she'll crave the carbohydrates and fats that make her feel calmer). A lot of kids are lazy too. When you say "vandalized property" it isn't clear if she set the city hall on fire or spit down the libary stairwell. If she does well in subjects but is a slow reader there's the chance she's stressed out enough to have the type of concentration needed for reading hindered by that stress.

Other than urging your brother and his wife to get the cruelty (and maybe vandalism) issue addressed by a professional (who will then come up with a diagnosis if there is one other than that the kid is just a giant jerk of a kid), I don't think you should spin your wheels over, or discuss with them, your niece. It is a terrible, terrible thing for a child to know her parents are discussing "all her problems" with half the world. I think you should tell your brother and his wife that any concerns they have about their daughter should be discussed confidentially with a professional and other than your one- more- time mentioning that cruelty is a warning sign you will not discuss their daughter's "problems" with them in the future. If your niece, who is a ten-year-old little girl (people usually call animals "females" and humans "little girls") has parents who think she has something wrong with her and an aunt/uncle who think the same that, alone, is enough reason for a kid to have attitude and anger. This little girl may, in fact, have some kind of mental health issue; but your thing on Yahoo looks like you're just kind of piling on. Even your statement "she has no remorse" is suspect because you have no way to know if she has no remorse or just chooses not to show it by apologizing to someone she's mad at. Again, zero in on the cruelty thing if you must and attempt to convince your brother to have it looked into; otherwise, back off.

I know what its like to believe an extended-family-member-child may need professional help and may not be getting it. I had that, and the hard truth is I had to sit back and watch it all unfold without my opinions on the matter because - when all is said and done - it wasn't my business any more than your niece is yours. I know you may feel she needs help and wish they'd get her help and you probably listed all the things she is/does because you want back-up from someone, and you're not going to get it from your brother and his wife. At the same time, though, the fact that you put your niece's situation online does make us readers think you are more concerned about getting your own opinions validated than you are about what is right and respectful of your niece.

If you have kids or pets tell your brother why you don't want them near his daughter; and other than that, you have to hope that you're wrong about any "mental diagnosis" or they'll get her help for her if you aren't wrong. Its their call - not yours.

Answer 8

High functioning autistic syndrome like Aspergers. The higher functioning spectrum of Autism can be hard to diagnose and identify. Took us 5 years to get my son diagnosed correctly. Take her to a neurologist who specializes in Autism. Autism is not just the kids you see mumbling and rocking.

Answer 9

No please do not feel you're fats.. Me and you're now not a long way from every different both ha! I'm five'five a hundred thirty five and 18 ha:) But, please do not begin considering badly of your self. It's a nasty street to move down. I've performed it and it is so tough to return out of. Do under no circumstances permit anybody make you feel badly of your self. Stay optimistic!

Answer 10

Seriously lady, get a life. You have nothing better to do than to write about other people that you know NOTHING about. You are a judgemental, rude person. Stay out of it. And it sounds like you need to mind your own business with this situation.