my son wont stop pinching his body and he has bruises all over him from that, as well as biting himself, I dont think he can feel pain, or he likes it! I dont have a regular pediatrition, because we dont have insurance, so when hes sick we take him to the free clinic. I cant take him to the free clinic for that! I am just really worried, because I have a disorder where i have panic attacks and when i was young i would injure myself, and my son hyperventalates just like me. am I just being too paranoid? all my friends that have seen him are so surprised that he does that and say i should get him help.
Are you not elegible for state aid or something like that? You definitely need to seek out a professional opinion for him, there are numerous things that could be causing him to do this, and you need to get him evaluated so that you can figure out the best way to help him. Have you tried contacting a children's hospital near you and seeing if they have anyone that works on a sliding scale based on ability to pay?
If you have a University near you contact the psychology department and the child development center. Most of the time they will help you for free. There are a lot of free resources for people who have children with behavior issues.
theres a place i can get him evaluated, my husband doesnt think its neccessary, cus hes afraid they will pop him full of pills. But Im thinking that I will take him. I didnt know if other kids do this? I tried looking it up on the web, but they only have articles about teenagers.
I can get you some articles about kids that do this type of thing. If you take him to the right place they will want to observe his behavior before doing anything else. Usually with self mutilating behavior meds don't help. Just let me know if you want those articles.
They can't medicate him if he's under 4 years old. As to your anxiety disorder being genetic, I get the feeling it's more of a case of him mimicking you hyperventilating and so forth. Even if you don't think you do it in front of him, kids are alot more observant than you think. But really, utilize one of the assistance programs.
It could be a sensory integration disorder. My son was just diagnosed as having a severe SID so I've been researching it recently. Some kids with hyposensitive versions of SID will seek intense stimulus and hurt themselves, it's because they don't process sensory information right. My ex husband refused to allow my son to be evaluated for all sorts of reasons. I finally left him. they tell me with earlier intervention my son would have been doing alot better, he needs intensive therapies now to help him. please reconsider what is in your son's best interest
Sometimes little kids just do weird stuff. My son is five and went through a phase of hitting himself in the head. We were kind of worried at first but we just didn't respond to it and he stopped doing it on his own. I'd say since your son is so young it would probably be ok to give him some time to see if he will outgrow it. It's most likely nothing to be worried about. If you do have him checked out by a doctor and get a perscription you don't have to give it to him. That choice is totally yours.
well, he is starting to reduce the biting his arm now. but he has a new thing... he pinches his right nipple! geeez.
I wouldn't worry about it too much. Unless he is inflicting SERIOUS injury on a REGULAR basis, he's probably just fine. He probably has inherited some of your anxiety issues... In my experience, tempermental things pass easily through families. My son has some of my anxiety issues(some of which I think are his own ticks, and some I think he has learned), and has done strange things to cope. When he was younger he was a nipple twister too... He's crank them until they got all red. It looked painful to me, but I think it just helped him get his mind off what was bothering him. He stopped eventually. Little kids run through a gamut of coping mechanisms as they learn to deal with their world... Some kids do more extreme things than others depending upon their needs. I think if he let up on the arm biting and has moved on to something else that it is less about self-mutilation and more about finding a way to deal with his feelings in a way that he can control... The physical stimulation probably helps him in some way. That being said, if you feel like he needs a hand to calm down there are some great herbs I use occasionally with my son that help a lot. Lemon balm, cat nip, and chamomile are all calming, mildly sedative herbs that you can make into teas. They are very gentle and totally safe for little kids, and he won't get hooked. Also, they won't make him into a little zombie like prescription meds... No creepy side effects. When Leo gets really anxious or nervous I'll make him a cup and he'll slurp it right down... He even says that it makes him feel better.
By the way... My mom has panic attacks and hyperventilates, when I was little I had nervous issues(grew out of most of them), and now my son has some nervous issues too. It's not as huge a deal as the medical establishment would have you believe... Doctors aren't always necessary. You'd be amazed what an established routine, a healthy diet, and a few tricks(like herbs and supplements) can do for a child that has behavior problems.
Thanks Ivoryvision! you really made me feel more at ease. I guess it really is more of the fear that he has my disorder, and when he hyperventalated,my husband mentioned it, and is new with the anxiety disorder thing, we havent even had our one year anniversary yet, and he still freaks out when i have attacks. And so he doesnt know that if he mentions something like that, im gonna start freaking out! He has calmed down alot since the beginning of this thread, when i posted this in the beginning, he had BRUISES it looked like he was beaten! catnip tea, huh.... i hate tea, but i never knew people drank that!
I've never been diagnosed with anything, but I know myself well enough to know that I did inherit some of my mom's "glitches". I see some of the same stuff manifesting itself in my son, and worry for him. I try not to make it a big deal but it's hard for me not to feel bad for the things he learns from me... Being nervous and overly cautious about stuff. Combine learned behavior with inhereted traits and things can get kinda hairy. Like I said, it's not something to stress out over... In your case I think it would make matters worse. Try to relax, and keep an eye on the way YOU react to things, and really be concious about setting examples for your son. I have a hard time of it sometimes, but when I go out of my way to overcome issues I might have, I know that Leo is watching and learning. Catnip tea is actually really good stuff... I like it, and it helps me calm down too. You should give it a shot, along with some of the other herbs mentioned, for yourself and your son. I swear by it.
When my friend was a toddler, hed walk out onto the driveway, bend over, and bang his head on the concrete whenever he was angry.
