My 7 year old's difficult behaviour

[Serenajohnson]

So lately my 7 year old has been displaying some odd characteristics.

he likes to keep himself to himself and doesnt really engage much with our other children.

Whilst this in itself isnt a bad thing, he is difficult to get through to some times and I feel somewhat at a loss as to how to go about helping him.

He Is at the top of his class in school however and seems extremely bright but sometimes gets in trouble for causing disruption.

I have spoken to a number of other parents who seem to think it is normal behaviour.

But the doctor seems to think it could be Aspergers syndrome or similar.

Having read up on aspergers syndrome It does seem familiar.
I am not really sure how to go about dealing with it though.

His response to discipline is also different to our other kids.
I sometimes get frustrated and get a bit harsh with him when I am disciplining but It seems to work.

Any advice would be great.

Hi Serena
I have had similar thoughts about my eldest who is also 7. Fantastically bright academically but seriously lacking in the practical skills department. Has trouble concentrating and is easily distracted - also if he gets in a mood it will last for AGES.
He has been like this since a baby though. It wasnt until I had my second that I realised his 'differences'. My youngest has what I would class as standard behaviour and development. My eldest has always been more difficult to deal with regards to any discipline - just more intense I guess.

Sorry - none of this helps! I have always put it down to his personality but me and his dad, as well as other family members have often wondered if he may be on the spectrum of aspergers. Has your son always shown similar traits? Did the GP suggest anything that you could do that might be a positive step?
When I get really frustrated with my eldest I have to remind myself that he just doesnt respond well to certain things - for example I regularly count down how many minutes he has until he needs to do something he doesnt want to do eg get dressed.
Keep us informed x

2 of my 5 children have similar, very hard to deal with 1 let alone 2. GP was a great help and suggested a few things, some i wasn't so sure about, kind of like home therapy but i was a bit worried. we are coping though. :)

Thanks for the replies.

My husband can be quite heavy handed with him when it comes to discipline, it does seem to work because soemtimes he just wont listen when i am telling him off.

I dont know wether it is a good idea and sometimes feel guilty.

Are there any medicines that help?

Well to continue from my last post, my gp actually suggested this to me, saying i wasnt being hard enough, but with their mother not around i found it difficult to be too hard on them,especially heavy handed.