Obsessive 6 year old

[lifesteeth]

My son is a handful, everyone knows he is... he's a lovable little lad sometimes and he can have people in stitches with laughter at times but other times he's rude, cheeky, naughty...way beyond that of a normal 6 year old, he is well known amongst the teachers (and parents!) at the school.

What worries me more however is his obsessive behaviour, for instance when he was 4 or 5 he started kicking up a huge fuss everynight in bed saying he needed his neck warm, this basically meant the covers being pulled up to just the right spot on his neck. Now he needs his covers straight...perfectly straight quilt which lies over him before he will let you out of the room. He's a nightmare with his shoes, they're velcro and have to be pulled to a certain tightness over his foot before he will walk, same with his cap, it has to be a certain tightness before he will "accept" it.

He's obsessed with drinking, if I buy cartons of fruit juice (the big ones) you can guarantee it won't see anymore than one breakfast as he's continuously drinking...if there is no fruit juice it's milk, if theres not enough milk it's water...as long as he's drinking. They take a water bottle to school with them and his is completely gone BEFORE he gets to school.

There are lots of examples, he'll continuously take off his shoes saying that something is in them or they're not tight enough and if his 'conditions' are not met he kicks up a huge fuss, shouts and screams, throws things and turns violent.

I talked to the school nurse about his behaviour and ways, I have had autism suggested to me, ADHD etc as well as being told it's probably his food (he doesnt eat many sweets and we cook food from scratch). Sometimes he's just like an average 6 year old kid but then you see him kick off over the slightest thing, its like walking on egg shells with him. Today for instance we'd gone for a lovely walk to the park, everyone (including him) were happy until he got some woodchip kicked at him accidently and he went nuts kicking woodchip at everyone and shouting etc. his tantrums seem to get worse as he gets older, its getting to the point where as soon as I head his voice "change" I dread the impending tantrum...

You need to get your ds assessed by a pro.

I was hoping someone might have some idea of what could cause these types of behaviours... (I will be taking him to the docs too)

My DS has Aspergers (he is 8) and some of the things you describe are familiar to me. We have great problems with getting his socks just right; and his shoes are done up several times until they are acceptable. Rigid routines and a tendancy to become upset at the unfamiliar are often part of Aspergers and tantrums are common too. Not saying he has this, but I would take him to your GP and ask for referral for an assessment as you obviously have concerns.

I'd ask for an assessment. Some of those behaviours sound familiar. The shoes and sock thing. We also had to remove all labels from clothes (still do).
They said he had 'sensory integration disorder' before they made a diagnosis of aspergers. I think the twot hings often go hand in hand. DS couldn't cope with noise, smells, textures or bright lights.
One thing about the tantrums....even if his does have ASD or something si,milar, you can modify those if he understands. DS is intelligent so we talked about things a lot and tried to come up with coping stratgeies. I refused to tolerate some behaviour - for example, he couldn't bear me talking on the phone. A friend of mine with a similar son used to end her call if her son objected but I didn't want to be ruled like that. So we talked about it and if I needed to make a phone call he had to leave the room or put up with it. It was hard at first bt he has learnyt a fair bit of self control over the years. He now copes with going out - even catches a bus alone to school (for many years he'd have to be dragged out screaming and kicking and often naked as he'd hide his clothes). He now tries foods that aren't pasta and baked beans. Its not an easy ride but being home educated I think has helped cos he has had time to adjust to things as and when he was ready.