What is wrong with my child?

Question

My nine year old daughter is highly gifted yet VERY impulsive. She does things like hits or yells at people when she does not get her way. She gets with her friends and starts to run around and disobey me. She has gotten in trouble at school for drawing pictures of other children burning in hell. She is very jealous for her sister and can be just nasty to others. She can be really sweet at times but those times are becoming rare. She has always been a spirted child but this is getting to be something I find very hard to deal with. She has terrible anxiety issues ( washing her hands 50 times a day, sleep problems, feelings of eminent doom). She has an appointment with the pediatrian in a couple of weeks to discuss these issues (I am leaning towards ADD although is has no attention issues nor is she a struggling student...maybe she is just bored. I also know young hormones may be involved. Does anyone have any advise, serious answers olny.

Mom has ADD.

Answer 1

This is very similar to my now 11 y o daughter's behavior a few years ago before she was diagnosed with ADHD, anxiety, depression and OCD. She is one of the most intelligent students in her class as well. Her pediatrician is a great start. be sure to be honest with him/her and do not sugar coat your daughters symptoms. Since it is a couple weeks away I would suggest you begin a journal. Log every thing you are concerned about. This will give you an idea of how often these behaviors occur because we tend to forget things when we get into the Dr. Office. Hang in there, it took us 2 years to get a complete diagnoses because we were constantly told she was too young to diagnose anything besides ADHD. Ask for a referral to a counselor or child physiologist. Feel free to contact me if you want to talk further.

Answer 2

Well ADD might be an issue, you might also see if she could be bi-polar. Other than that, I would suggest a form of discipline that will send the message to her that her behavior is unacceptable.
I am NOT advocating Abusive Punishment. Something like having her sit in a chair facing the room but unable to communicate with everyone for a few minutes might be acceptable, or denying her a favorite beverage, toy, TV show, etc. when she is being unruly is also a possible form of punishment. Spanking should be reserved for only the most dangerous of offenses, like waving a knife around, endangering herself or other children, things of that nature.
Of course the list could be expanded, but it must be done with care and consideration.
One further bit of advice, do not punish when you are mad or angry, this will usually involve excessive force and/or unneeded levels of unhealthy punishments.
You should make the punishment fit the crime, so to speak.
Another possibility is that she might also be developing Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, the washing of her hands 50 times a day is a very strong indication and this can be remedied with a medication. Do not be afraid to bring all this up with her Doctor. Tell him/her all, you do not know what will be helpful.
I hope this helps you out a little
Peace and Blessed Be

Answer 3

feeling of eminant doom? I have a client with a child who had these same types of symptoms. He turned out to have a type of personality disorder. He was also hearing voices that told him to do bad things. This however was against his Christian upbringing, so he failed to tell his parents about it. After being treated for Add and depression, he was still not doing well. He should really be seen by a psychologist to have her behavior analyzed. They'll know what to ask her to get an honest response without planting ideas into her head. I would say not add. There are so many different disorders. Just remain vigilant and look out for her best interest. I always tell people that diet (food) truly affects a childs behavior. Sugar, preservatives, MSG etc... all reak havok with a childs brain functions! Their little systems cannot handle the overload of this crap in all of our food today!

Answer 4

This sounds like OCD, ODD, or pediatric bipolar disorder.It could be something on the spectrum (Autism), but I don't think so because her problems would be more socially related. It could still be ADD as a symptom rather than the diagnosis (there is a difference). Good luck at the doctor's. The sooner you get treatment, the better the prognosis.

Answer 5

It sounds like she may have a mild form of OCD ( obsessive compulsive disorder). When they don't get their way they tend to act out. OCD can be mistaken for ADD or ADHD and may go untreated until the child is in their late teens or early adulthood. The earlier they find out the better. The doctor can tell you more. There is definately a medical condition that is to blame for her behavior. Good luck!

Answer 6

She might have OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) - the handwashing and anxiety lead me that way, or be bipolar - based on the night and day moods. Both of these are serious conditions that need to be addressed by a Psychiatrist ASAP.

Answer 7

does not sound like ADD or ADHD to me.

although it might possibly be something like childhood bipolar disorder
or aspergers
or sensory integration disorder
or lead poisoning
or terrets syndrome (i know i got that one spelled wrong)

who knows!

my daughter has aspergers but they started with ADD and went through the list and each time they tried to diagnose i did not feel good about it. i got all the information i could about each diagnosis and the only one that matched her perfectly was aspergers, so we took her into a child psychiatrist (one of the best in the area) he asked all the questions and diagnosed her with aspergers. she is doing so much better, but she used to have no social skills, and was very impulsive and did not have safety awareness, she also had symptoms of OCD and anxiety problems. she is doing so much better like i said!!!! she now has weekly occupational therapy appointments and psychology appointments to help her.

i forgot to mention, my daughter is also very very intelligent!

Answer 8

Has she suffered some type of trauma? That can make kids act out in all kinds of ways. But she's showing signs of obsessive behavior (the hand washing) Maybe she should see a counselor and rule out OCD.

Answer 9

the washing hands is more OCD. I think it is best to wait for the doctors report and look into a psychologist for her. She definitely has some behavioural issues that need to be addressed with consistent discipline too

Answer 10

She's not ADD. She may have a mild anxiety disorder. She may also have OCD. She might have a mix of things going on with her. Be patient and let the pediatrician be your best guide.