Is this a medical problem? ( as opposed to emotional)

[sw2604]

Ive been having some problems with my son and need some advice please.

DS is 10yrs and has been having some difficulties. He was very badly bullied from yr 2 up to end of yr 4 when I decided enough was enough and moved his school. It got quite severe and I ended up at the Drs with him due to suicidal thoughts/ feelings he was expressing. He had Kidscape support too (courses, books etc)

Moved him after I realised that the school would not budge on their ideas and it felt like a constant battle which of course did not hlp the problem.

He hs been at the school fr over a yr now ( started for new yr with rest of class at yr 5- is now in yr 6) Seems to be happier then at last school.

However his teacher has been complaining of his 'bad' behaviour. Says he backchats , lacks concentration, loses things all the time. VERY unlike him IMO .
And daydreams. This has been a observation by every teacher/ care giver since nursery. He'll just 'switch off' suddenly for a while. This has been monitered by old school SN, however they didnt come up with results for it.

All this on top hows he feels; he says he forgets all the time, feels very confused and doesnt know why. Says he is angry at everyone quite a lot. And that hishead 'feels warm and foggy' sometimes.

I dont know whether this is a throw backfrom bully issues or a far more medical issue. He does have angry outbursts sometimes. Which is Out of character for him.

Just wanted some advice if anyone can help?

I really don't know or feel qualified to express an opinion but the symptoms seem serious enough to warrant a CAMHS ( Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service) assessment.

You can get a referral from your GP. CAMHS do vary in quality but I would have thought that these type of symptoms should be the sort of things they are good at sorting out.

Good luck it must be very worrying for you.

What you are describing could be either neurological or psychological/psychiatric (or more likely a combination of the two). Regardless of the origin, your DS is clearly distressed by it, and that in itself to me is enough to bring him in. My gut instinct would be to have him to the GP for a neurological assessment and possibly referral to both CAMHS and a neurologist.

Good for you for looking at this closely - many parents (and teachers) would just chalk it up to a "rotten kid" and after his rough road at the last school, the last thing he needs is to be unnecessarily criticized.

Thankyou both for replying. I am going to book him a Drs appointment and ask for refs. I feel like I am losing him he really is a different child to a couple of yrs ago and its heart breaking. It so much more than stroppy pre teen stage.

I dont know how to help him. Im unsure if there is any SN that fit this? Did search but couldnt find anything.. Im not trying to self diagnoise him, just want to see if I can get some insight.

If it is pychological, then I need to try and help him emotionally which I want to do correctly.