Intermittent Explosive Disorder

[BibbleandSqwauk]

Hi .does anyone have any experience or knowledge of this? My 14yo is becoming awful to live with and a bit of research led me to this condition which sounds very like his behaviour. He is waiting on diagnoses for ADHD and Autism, has become (more than is usual for a teen) surly, rude, selfish and then on the basis of the tiniest thing will hugely overreact, smash game controllers, shout and swear and his sister, slam doors repeatedly etc. His attendance at school was only 75% last half term and some mornings he woke up in that angry mood. I'm seeing the GP this week but just wondering if there's any experience out there. Thanks.

Has he always been like this but it has got worse recently?

It's got hugely worse in the last two months but there have been isolated incidents in the past. One I remember clearly when he was 9. Just before we had a Dr appointment to talk about possible ASD he went bananas and nearly broke the TV. 15 mins later in the doctor's office he was calm, polite, no signs at all. CAMHS has sent him away twice but every teacher he's ever had believe s he's ASD so I am now looking at private diagnosis.

May I ask why it’s taken so long to pursue a diagnosis?

utilise a consultant who does both private and nhs so that the diagnosis is respected across settings.

is he different in the holidays when the pressure of school is absent

OP, I also looked into this at a similar age for my daughter.

But in the end she was diagnosed with Pans/pandas which causes intermittently explosive behaviour. They have gaps in between where they're seemingly more stable.

CAMHS absolutely hopeless and we never got anywhere. So I would not expect much from them, unfortunately.

Sounds like how my son, who has asd, behaves when the demands of masking are too high and he is about to have a catatonic shutdown. Are there any demands that you can remove for the time being? Can you chat to the aenco about making school easier for him at least for the time being?

I’ve never heard of intermittent explosive disorder. The behaviours you describe sound more like the consequence of growing up undiagnosed and unsupported with autism and ADHD.

There's a fair bit about it on the internet but I am just getting into it, hence this thread. As to why he is undiagnosed, as I said, CAMHS have sent him away twice after one brief interview. Fortunately all his teachers and schools have been happy to work with me and put strategies in place to support him even without formal diagnosis. I am only now in a position to pursue it privately.

IED is only diagnosed if there is no other diagnosable condition that explains it. It's a diagnosis of exclusion. In your case, the autism/ADHD might explain it. Worth asking the question, but with two other conditions that might be the cause of the explosions, they are more likely to be the cause (which is good because a neurodiverse diagnosis might mean you can work with DS to get to a better place).

BTW I just got told my obviously-neurodiverse (but not explosive) DS was "definitely not autistic because he's a good boy and have you been on a parenting course?" by a paediatrician in a 15-20 minute appt who also said DS was "normal" (after a 3 year wait and seeing numerous other professionals who always referred onwards due to massive neurodiversity flags), so I hope you do manage to get to the bottom of his behaviour with the private route, it's our next port of call to find out what specifically is going on with DS.

Thank you...that's really useful info. On the one hand obviously I'm pleased that he can put on a good front when he has too but it's a mixed blessing because it means no one but me and two other very close relatives see the real him. Good luck with your continuing "journey". It really shouldn't be this difficult to access appropriate help.

Is there anyway you could record one of his episodes OP? If he's perfectly happy during the appointments it might help if you had something you could email to the doctor as "proof" to aid a diagnosis?

I've thought about it, but hard to imagine whipping out my phone in the middle of it all. You'd think they'd be a bit more clued up about why he appears "fine" in front of them.

My 12 Yr old girl is like this. Asd and adhd.
She is hormonal and in the middle of puberty but omg she's a massive drama queen and speaks like a 2 yr old when she doesn't get her own way.
She school refuses and is just a nightmare whenever I say no, so possibly pad too. She has low self esteem and confidence.
I have however started to become a bit more strict with her and remove computer time as she speaks to me like s*.
I know it comes with the traits of neuro diversity but lord I'm not putting up with this level for another 4 years. Its a constant juggling act.

I have several recordings (usually just her voice). But then I kind of know now. When she's going to kick off

I would say that he is masking when he’s at school and then lets out frustration at home. It’s great school has put strategies in place to help him and that he’s not missing school.

Would recommend meds for the anxiety to help him. I went private for ADHD and autism assessments which accelerated progression in this route. I was lucky enough to have private health at this point to cover the assessments. Believe there is quite a weighting list unless cahms is involved. Wishing you the best

@Bluebunnylover thank you. Things have been better lately with some further adjustment at school and private assessment is now underway. Fingers crossed!