Worried there is somthing wrong with my 7 year old son

[barking]

Have posted on behaviour/development but thought may get some more insight here......?
I have a 7 year old ds and since the day he was born he has been very loud, sensitive, hot, highly strung, and incredibly active. He is never still - apart from when he is reading or drawing. My dh is very reluctant to take him to a doctor as he rather passive about the whole issue saying he is spirited, that I'm being an 'over anxious mother' but is also scared I will be marking him for life and he will 'become the label' if we go down that road.

We have tried cranial osteopathy, homeopathy, horrendous amounts of excercise, have bought a trampoline, he goes swimming every week, but he just can't switch off - I thought he would have grown out of this by now. I think it is becoming more of a problem as he has 2 younger siblings and I think as much as we all adore him, they are as exhausted and stressed as we are, and I'm worried how it is affecting them. His 3 year old brother has even started saying to him to stop being so silly. A lot of the time he is a wonderful brother, can be very considerate and caring.

He is very bright, doing well at school is quite popular with his peers but few close friends. He has most of the time, a very happy temperament. He doesn't watch tv, (once a week will watch a video) as I think this will excerbate the behaviour. He has a veggie diet with fish plus fish oils and maybe once every couple of weeks has chocolate or bag of crisps.

As soon as he wakes up to the moment he goes to sleep he races round at a hundred miles an hour - I feel like I am running a marathon every day with him. Sometimes he can talk like a professor and other times he will babble, screech, roar or talk in a strange voice at the most incredible volume that I feel the neigbours must hate us.

Today he started shouting and screaming at the top of his voice for 10 minutes because his sister had put grass on top of his head when they were playing. He can't seem to compose himself or his emotions. I have tried meditation and 'how to talk so kids will listen' but the storms he has are so all consuming I can't reach him. When I try to talk to him afterwards he will turn away from me and refuses to engage with the conversation and wants to move on.

We try to have quiet days as I have thought of him being overstimulated but the only way I can describe his reaction to this is that he becomes 'itchy' all over. He will start to bounce all over the furniture, push his siblings over (to create a drama), being almost hysterically happy and manic - one day my midwife was at the house and having not met him before said: 'has he been sniffing glue!' it was meant as a joke but I'm worried his behaviour is becoming more eccentric as time goes on. Another mum admitted to me recently she has to gear her self up for a playdate with him and her son because he is so full on.

Have thought about adhd and aspergers but he can control his behaviour at school. My dm suffers from bipolar disorder and is an alcoholic so am rather terrified that having jumped a generation I am potentially watching history repeat itself.
Does this ring any bells with anyone?
So grateful for any advice.

[barking]

bump

[barking]

just to add something that may be relevant: he can be obsessive about certain things - repeating noises, voices and behaviours during play he will also make things over and over again, at the moment it is pretend sweets and money, this sometimes will continue for months.

[Woooozle100]

Hello barking.

Have you raised these concerns to anyone else? (school / GP etc)

Your GP can refer you to a Child Development Centre where they can assess your son for lots of things. Any diagnosis wouldn't change him - he'd be the same little boy he was before. However, it may help you understand his behaviour and put you in a better position to help / support him.

He sounds a real character! I'd try not to dwell too much about there being something 'wrong' - specially the bipolar connection. Although, naturally it is a worry to you. Wishing you all the best x

[theheadgirl]

Hi barking. This is so difficult for you, as you don't have any family support for exploring your concerns. But you DO sound as though you feel there is something more than just "high spirits" behind his behaviour. I would be very tempted to make a list of my concerns, as you have done here, and go to discuss it with a sympathetic GP. They may then offer a referral to a child development centre, which after discussion with your DH you can then accept or decline.
I can understand what you mean about wanting to avoid a label for your DS, but if he does have any problems diagnosed, he can then get proper support. And if the team at the child development centre don't see any real problems, at least then you can relax and just enjoy him for who he is.
There's no easy answer. But although my daughter has Downs syndrome, I knew she had ASD before she saw any professionals for an asssessment of the symptoms. Don't discount your own intuition. You sound as though you have real concerns about your boy. I wish you lots of luck whatever you decide, keep us posted xxxx