Can anyone point me in the right direction

[khames]

I need help with my 4 year old ds. I've always known he wasn't like my older two, but I don't know what it is. I'll give as much background as I can, so maybe someone can help me figure him out. He had ear infections non stop from the time he was a couple of months until the ENT finally decided to put tubes in at 10 months. He was on so many different antibiotics, and reacted to almost all of them. Finally they had to give him antibiotic shots because of all the different allergy problems. Well after tubes, he hasn't had anymore ear infections!!!! He talks very, very loud. I've had his hearing tested by an audiologist, and she said he has negative pressure in both ears. She said maybe allergies, so he has been allergy tested, and put on zertec, but with that he was having night terrors. It was scarey for us. So now i put him on some natural allergy medicine. He is doing fine with it, but still talks extremely loud. I'm not sure it works. For the first 3 years of his life I didn't know how to control him. It was like he had ADD/ADHD, then I read somewhere that added food coloring could cause those behaviors. So, bye-bye anything with added dyes. That has helped tremendously. He like like a completely different child. No more running around uncontrollable, not listening, etc... Poor kid, he was awful on color, so I'm sure it felt terrible for him. Anyway, we still have issues. He will be fine, but when daddy comes home, he goes all crazy on us. Or like at church a few weeks ago, they had a 35th anniversary celebration and there wasn't Sunday school only childrens church service, and he kicked, screamed, and threw a fit because he didn't want to go. Now this is the same class he goes to after Sunday school just fine every other Sunday. He will yell at his siblings as if they have to do what he says. He's really mean about it too. It's almost like he has anger issues at 4. One minute he will be fine, then thenext he's not. Then there will be times he will make a mountain out of a mole hill, and literally be on the floor kicking and screaming, throwing toys and arguing with me. It's like he two different kids in one because he can also be the sweetest most compliant child around. It's not a discipline issue because we do discipline, but sometimes I just don't know what to do to make him better. We just had one of those fits tonight. We just came home from grandma and grandpa, and the moment we got home, he had a melt down. Needless to say, I'm stressed right now. Once he was calm, he wanted me to wrap him tightly in his blanket and rock him. Well, if anyone has read all the way through this and can offer any help, I would greatly appreciate it!!

[PeterPan]

I'd find an OT who does a lot of sensory processing stuff and get him evaluated. They'll probably point you to some people from there. OT's who do sensory stuff are really amazing for digging into the why's of things. I told my dh that even though we haven't gone far enough in the process to have effected dramatic change, what we have done in changed my understanding of her. I now GET all the weird things she did. An OT can help you sort that out.

 

It's a process, not just one person or therapy. Just start taking some steps.

[sbgrace]

On of my kids is very sensitive to things like hunger (lowish blood sugar), fatigue, etc. You might see if the fits correspond to something like going too long without eating or similar. My other child had some major behavioral issues with allergy medications. Your son is sensitive to additives. I'm wondering if the natural allergy meds might be an issue for him as well? He might be reacting to another food (dairy for example) or component of food (like phenols) as well. It might be worth tracking a little and trying some adjustments to see if you can pinpoint a cause. I guess I'm saying my experience with that type of behavioral change in my own kids leads me to think you might have an underlying issue.

 

That said, you might instead just have a poorly regulated child who doesn't handle frustration or having his will crossed well! If you think you've got an angry heart issue (you might...I did in my son at that age) books by Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller have been very helpful here. It taught me how to address those very issues (treating others, angry heart, etc.) They are Christian in outlook. I wish I had found them when my son was four...

[mom4him]

You could be describing my youngest when he was about 4. We have done several things to help him. The three that have been the most help have been starting to follow the Specific Carb Diet very strictly, clean our our home of chemicals, and found a Chiropractor that does NAET treatments. I won't say that everything is perfect but I would say that 90% of the time he is enjoyable.

He is extremely sensitive to fragrances, colors, most chemical cleaners, preservatives, and grains.

If you want more info send me a pm.

[Mom0012]

First, I would consider trying an allergy medication for him like Astepro or Nasonex or both. They work in a localized fashion rather than systemically, and they work very well, so you shouldn't see side effects. Three members of my family are on either one or both of these most of the year. If that doesn't solve the ear problem, I would do a trial of removing dairy. That is often the culprit with ear fluid/infections. My daughter had such trouble with dairy that she continued to have pus drain out of her ears and was in excruciating pain even though she had tubes placed multiple times. When we removed dairy, no more problems. There is a book called Healing Childhood Ear Infections written by an ENT who claims that 70% of his patients no longer have problems with their ears if dairy is removed. That's where I got the idea to try that.

 

Second, since you have seen a positive reaction with removing food dyes, I would try an elimination diet and see if you can identify any other foods that may be causing issues. My son has many food allergies that were identified by an allergist, but removing gluten and dairy changed our lives forever and that did not show up through allergy testing (just as dyes wouldn't).

 

Lisa

[gardenmom5]

have your read anything on sensory processing disorder? http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/

 

I'm on a SPD support group that talks about other causes and that many SPD kids have issues with the casein in milk, soy, gluten and yeast, and when those items causing sensitivity (not necessarily all of them) are completely removed from their diet, they become "normal".

 

with all the antibiotics he's had in his life, you may want to consider he may have a big yeast issue. normal yogurt has so much sugar in it, that it doesn't do much to keep yeast overgrowth in check. probiotics, seriously cutting ANY form of sugar (i.e. lactose, fructose, sucrose, glucose, etc.) during the treatment phase will help get his body back in balance. it doesn't have to be permanent.

Edited November 20, 2010 by gardenmom5

[khames]

Thanks so much for all the information. It's alot to think about and try to figure out. He does have major sensitivities to many things, so maybe he has additional allergies that we haven't figured out yet. Ive thought of some things that I forgot to mention which may or may not matter, but I find unusual. He is a very clumsy boy; always has been. He used to constantly bite his tongue or inside of his cheek while chewing, and I mean numerous times a day. He has broken his finger twice by shutting it in a door. He used to stub his toe out of nowhere. It's like he has no depth perception or something like that. We've had his vision checked. I don't know maybe I'm just being silly because he crawled and walked at a normal age. He can even ride a bike without training wheels now, so he does have some coordination. I just find those things a little different. Well thanks again everyone

[gardenmom5]

Thanks so much for all the information. It's alot to think about and try to figure out. He does have major sensitivities to many things, so maybe he has additional allergies that we haven't figured out yet. Ive thought of some things that I forgot to mention which may or may not matter, but I find unusual. He is a very clumsy boy; always has been. He used to constantly bite his tongue or inside of his cheek while chewing, and I mean numerous times a day. He has broken his finger twice by shutting it in a door. He used to stub his toe out of nowhere. It's like he has no depth perception or something like that. We've had his vision checked. I don't know maybe I'm just being silly because he crawled and walked at a normal age. He can even ride a bike without training wheels now, so he does have some coordination. I just find those things a little different. Well thanks again everyone

 

motor delays (clumsiness), chewing the inside of his mouth (oral stimulation), sticking his fingers in a door (sensory seeking), tripping on air (clumsiness/motor delay), etc. everything you describe are all typical of sensory processing disorder. spd is a catch-all name for something that has many facets.

 

My son has been riding a bike sans training wheels since he was four. he has SPD. an older son who also has this, walked at 9 1/2 months old. they can be very late, or even early, and still have sensory issues.

 

normal vision checks only look for 20/20 vision needs, and organic disorders. visual perceptual disorders are NOT routinely checked for unless specifically asked for, and then you need a developmental optomitrist - not a "general" one. there is also visual-motor integration, and that was only checked by an OT familiar with sensory issues for my son.

 

I'd strongly urge you to join a support group for more information. read the link above for SPD, it has tons of information. It has also been referred to as "sensory integration disorder". Carol Kranowitz's book - the out of synch child is very informative in breaking down the various facets with checklists. thing's that you probably don't even think about now, are related. as mom's, we will usually make adaptations for the needs of our child, and never even realize we are making accomodations for them.

 

I should add, when I did a yeast free diet (I could eat anything and however much I wanted as long as it had no yeast or sugar that feeds yeast) for myself, my allergies all but disappeared. It took about a month before I noticed anything, but I felt GREAT - better than I ever had in my life, and had tons of energy. oh, and the dry skin on my legs disappeared too.

Edited November 21, 2010 by gardenmom5