My 4 year old DS is going through a very tricky stage at the moment. His behaviour is not great and over the weekend we had 2 major tantrums, one that culminated in him screaming and crying for over an hour along with hitting me and trying to head butt me. I thankfully managed to remain calm throughout.
He started pre school in September and seems to be getting on well, has made friends etc, but the behaviour at home is getting very bad.
I understand he has had big changes but my real concerns are that he also has a very short attention span, doesn’t listen to us, can become aggressive (hitting/screaming) towards us, the puppy, and his little sister. He is OBSESSED with a particular type of toy, it’s all he talks about, the games he plays are mostly all focused on it (even imaginative games). He struggles with sharing and is very head strong and stubborn. I also noticed this morning (and have noticed in the past) that he will sometimes hit himself on the head. Not hard and not frequently but it does happen.
I am very concerned about his behaviour and whether or not something else is at play here. He is very articulate and has been from a young age, and he seems developmentally fine, but I do think some of the behaviours he displays are traits of autism.
I do notice a serious deterioration in behaviour when he is tired (understandably), but he has bad eczema and it is causing a lot of sleep issues. I have to lie beside him for him to go to sleep and he comes into our bed every night. We are exhausted.
I have asked his teacher if she thinks there is an issue but she thinks not.
In terms of discipline we have tried naughty step, removing toys, removing tv etc etc, but he doesn’t seem to care.
Has anyone got any tips/advice please?