11 year old son behaviour problems

getcarter

Hi, I'm just going to ramble for a bit so bear with me.

My son has had seizures for about 4 years, no diagnosis yet, has a seizure of one kind or another most days but this isn't the problem though may be connected.

His behaviour this past year is getting worse and worse. He is always acting up in class so he's the centre of attention, school is having a real hard time with him, they've got a classroom assistant to help but they are paying for that themselves because they can't seem to get any money for him as he has no diagnosis.

Joe seems to be permenently angry, seeking out confruntations (sp?)so he can then come to me and say so and so was horrible to me. I can't even trust anything he says as he constantly twists everything around.

We're reaching breaking point, especially as our other son is ASD with ADHD.

Has anyone got any suggestions?

sarahlouise210

Why do you have no diagnosis if your son is having seizures ??? They can prove that you do have Epilepsy...but not that you do not as the tests are often inconclusive. If you already have one child with ADHD do you not see similarities ??? I would suggest a referral to child and family services initially and then get your Dr to refer your son to a Neurologist..after 4 years of unexplained seizures there should be some help for you.

WestonDave

I think you need to really start pushing for a diagnosis - for his sake and for yours.

I would find it hard to conclude that the behaviour isn't linked to his condition albeit not directly caused by it. Seizures would be very frightening for a young boy, and he will be increasingly aware that this is not normal. I'd expect one of two reactions - either he goes into his shell, doesn't want to go to school, and hides in case it happens away from home/parents, or he plays up to ensure that he has someone around when it happens and also to draw attention away from the siezures to what he perceives as behaviour that he thinks makes him seem big and clever to his friends (i.e. being naughty, tough etc).

I think its going to be very tough to get an 11 year old to be able to just take daily seizures in his stride and behave the rest of the time as any other child especially as he doesn't have the clarity in his own mind of knowing what the problem is let alone know that its improving (even if its only medication to reduce the frequency).

That said I'm no expert and I'm sure there may be other answers perhaps from those with direct similar experience.

getcarter

Thanks for your replies.

He sees a neurologist at Birmingham Childrens hosp, had all the tests he can have but they all come back negative. I do see the similarities with the impulsiveness and short fuse but maybe I'm thinking too much.
He's like two children, really quiet before he has a seizure as if he's scared of setting one off (usually happen in the morning before 11am) then loud and impulsive afterwards.

He does see a physcologist (again sp?) and she talks about how to react to bullying and taunts but since he actually seeks it out I don't really know what she can do.

getcarter

bump!.................

amerthyst

Hi getcarter
i no this is a long shot but how about trying something completely different along with what your doing
i once heard that a form of brushing children with special brushes (animal hair Badger i think ?) can help reduce their symptoms and even calm them down
then there is this http://naturalmedicine.suite101.com/article.cfm/natural_remedies_for_add_and_adhd
who know's when all else fails keep trying the suff no one else thinks about.......
good luck to you and your children we're thinking of you all

andyrules

Is it possible he is also on the ASD spectrum? That may help to explain his difficulty forming relationships with his peers. School clearly acknowledge something here, have they suggested any educational diagnoses; has he seen the Ed Psychologist? Make sure his neurologist understands exactly how bad things are.

Think about how your other DS behaves at home, is he copying anything do you think?

Just a few things to consider as you are all having such a bad time.

HTH

Savvy_Sue

I didn't think you needed a diagnosis to get statemented in schools. The whole point is that the statement states what support the child NEEDS, not what's wrong with them.

Try IPSEA if you don't think the school is giving enough support.

anewman

I wonder if the "seizures" are an attempt at gaining attention. I don't mean any disrespect or mean it in a bad way, but if there are no neurological or biological symptoms that would indicate why the seizures are happening, it is one possible explanation. Also they appear to be routine (before 11am) so it could be part of ASD type behaviours. Onset at 7 would also seem to suggest it is behavioural rather than biolgical.

Even if this is the case I suspect confronting him about it will not help and may be counter-productive. Perhaps the key in weaning him off it would be how people respond (i.e. not giving attention). It's a thought anyway - I do not know how people currently respond to the seizures. It should be quickly obvious in terms of the lengths of seizures if they have any relation to attention as at first they will probably increase in duration and frequency in an attempt to gain attention. So long as he is in no imminent physical danger, he does not need attention anyway.

I could be entirely wrong and off the mark and it's difficult to know without being in your situation, but hope you get the help for him you need and things work out.

S0litaire

One thing to think about is his diet.

I've noticed it in my nephew to much processed foods and he starts to get hyper and kicks of his ADHD.

Just make a not of everything he eats in a week and then try changing things like, fruit juice instead of cola, fresh fish or chicken instead of processed shaped breaded chicken.

You might see a change in the ADHD, if not it's something to try until you get a proper diagnosis.

Raksha

My son suddenly started having seizures about 2 and a half years ago. He was in and out of hospital for about 3 weeks before they were able to rule out epilepsy. The results of his MRI scan were sent to the John Radcliffe in Oxford, were he was seen by a specialist, who diagnosed Pyschogenic Non Epileptic Seizures (PNES). There is no treatment we are aware of, but we taught him to deal with the seizure by concentrating on simple movements like walking, and being a bit 'tough' but at the same time supportive.

It looks like it all came about when the whole family were going through a lot of change, and it was his way of dealing with the stress (although for some children it can be a reaction to abuse, and we did have to have councelling as a family for them to rule that out).