My 4yo DD1 has always had tantrums when tired and/or hungry. Since starting school in September (summer born) they have got out of control - full scale blow outs that can last hours and occasionally involve hitting me or DD2, 13mo. She was struggling so much that I took her down to half days which improved things a little but she would then become hysterical that she'd been taken out of school (she LOVES school).
Things got worse towards the end of term as she virtually stopped eating (normally she's pretty unfussy), couldn't get to sleep, woke several times a night and woke early. In addition to the tantrums we've had a host of new behaviour; rude and aggressive, some days she refuses to use real words, other days she'll go from crying to manic laughing to crying in the same breath. She has become sort of manic and wild eyed even during the brief breaks between emotional crises. Some days she makes loud repetitive noises. She has begun to itch whenever she becomes anxious and scratched a red raw area the size of a saucer.
I was hoping that things would go back to normal over the holidays but haven't improved that much. I am now so run down dealing with the constant day and night tantrums that (after weeks of being ill) I've got pleurisy.
The school are pretty unsympathetic as they've described her behaviour as impeccable but I see a child that is overwhelmed and can't cope. In some ways I understand because up until this point she's more or less been a 'normal' child.
Does anyone have advice about how we should tackle this? Should we expect help from the school? Did anyone else experience this and come out the other side or has she suddenly developed serious issues?