6 year old hearing voices

[trulybadlydeeply]

I'm getting very concerned about my 6 year old DS. He has had a recent spate of naughty behaviour at school, and he has said that he hears voices which tell him to do it. He does not hear them all the time, but at the moment it is most days. He says the main voice sounds like Grandma but is not Grandma, and says horrible things to him and tells him to do bad things.

He had this last year in Year 1 for a while, and then it went away. We alerted his teacher to it at the time, but as it seemed to go away we didn't do anything more.

Physically he is well. When he joined in reception he was down as a "vulnerable child at transition", and was under the specialist teaching service for a while, but mainly because he has a twin brother with complex needs who went to a different school, and there was concern about the effect on him, and the pre-school had also raised some concerns over his level of interactions with others. He was soon discharged though as he settled well in reception.

I'm concerned now as this doesn't seem to be going away. I have told him to ignore the voices, and he says he does, but sometimes it's really hard. I have told him that I will tell his teacher, so if they get really bad he can go to her and tell her.

Should I be doing more? Seeking a medical opinion? Or should I acknowledge it and just try not to make a big thing of it? This is a new one on me. He and his twin are DC3 & 4, so I really should know what I'm doing by now...

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

Haven't got any experience but didn't want you to go unanswered. Could you talk to Senco at his school? Have you spoken to his GP?

[Iwantakitchen]

Could you give us an example of bad behaviour he has at school?

[peacoat]

I'd take him to the GP.

[ALaughAMinute]

As hearing voices is normally associated with schizophrenia or bipolar I think you should see your GP.

Schizophrenia or bipolar would be very unusual at his age but I think he almost certainly needs medical attention.

[AIN]

I definitely think you should see a GP about this. It can be common in they way children have an imaginary friend, but I haven't heard of it being in the form of negative voices. Especially as they have a distinct voice (I.e. Not his own voice). It probably is nothing, but if not early intervention would be better.

[Jasonandyawegunorts]

Please don't panic, Under the age of 8 hearing voices isn't uncommon, as just like imaginary friends the ability to distinguish imagination from reality isn't fully developed.

That said, it never hurts to get these things checked.

[MrsKCastle]

I think in your situation I would get a GP appointmen- probably without him there initially. I'd also start keeping a record of his comments about the voices, but without pushing or questioning too much, so he doesn't see it as a way of getting attention. I'd also tell the teacher and ask them to be on the lookout for anything unusual/changes in his behaviour.

[Viviennemary]

I agree with taking him to the GP. And also that it's not uncommon for children to have imaginery friends or even think they are two people bad child and good child. He is only six.

[Holstein]

I wouldn't worry too much about bi-polar/schizophrenia yet- as PP says, they don't come out until much older.

What i am wondering is that it's a way of him rationalising his behaviour and his impulses, which he still is not old enough yet to have the maturity to control. The voices may sound like grandma, because he subconsciously wants to believe someone else is making him do naughty things. My DS read in his head from a very early age, but the voice in his head is mine and not his own!

Definitely speak to SENCO in school, and to GP, see if they can get CAMHS support. It is very difficult being the sibling of a child with a disability/additional needs, it can have a huge effect, that a child of his age cannot express verbally.

Does he have the opportunity for time one-to-one with each parent? I realise that is hard enough with twins, let alone when they've other siblings too and added additional needs in the mix!

[JoeBloggs123]

Anxiety can cause children to hear voices, which could explain bad behaviour in school as well.

[bookwormish]

Hi, just wanted to reassure you (I hope). DD has heard voices since she was 7yo. We went to GP as she was also having behavioural issues at school. Whilst we did receive a referral for CAMHS, the voices are a 'non-issue' and are as camhs explained, social imagination and her way of understanding the world. It is a very very common experience for people even though it is barely talked about. D's voices are similar to your DS's. It started off like an internal monologue and is now a few people. They told her what to do, frightened her, said things about her, usually negative, and caused her to have 3rd person conversations. She mainly hears them during heightened anxiety and its taken us about a year or so to really unpick all this, although I had my suspicions it was predominately anxiety related. At NO point was schizophrenia, or any other mental health condition mentioned. Young Minds are a really good resource for understanding all this. Yes to the GP, for reassurance if anything, and be as calm as possible especially infront of your DS, even if you are worried as hell! www.youngminds.org.uk/for_parents/worried_about_your_child/hearing_voices www.youngminds.org.uk/for_parents/worried_about_your_child/hearing_voices/getting_help

[trulybadlydeeply]

Thank you all for your responses. I appreciate you all responding. Apologies for not having a chance to read them until this morning.

Iwantakitchen It's nothing really bad. Talking too much when he knows he shouldn't be, laughing when he's being told off, rough play, etc. Today he was licking an ink pad(?) - the sort you use for stamps. That's when he told me that the voices were back, as I couldn't understand why he would want to lick an ink pad.

DH and I talked about it last night, and we are going to take him to the GP, so thank you to all who are suggesting that. DH is also going to talk to his teacher today.

JoeBloggs123 It's interesting you say that - when I spoke briefly to DS about it this morning, he did say the voices come when he is worried, and that he is quite often worried at school, but he doesn't know why.

bookwormish Thank you so much for your reassurance, and sharing your DD's experiences. The links are great too - thank you.