I'm not sure what to do (if anything)? I've wondered for a while if DD, aged 8, could be neurodiverse.
She does well at school, most subjects at greater depth, popular, likes school. But she gets overwhelmed by things changing, so changes to routine, school holidays etc. She's known for being over-sensitive at school and there have been a few issues with this - friendship arguments, getting upset when shown videos of something that doesn't affect other children. Her teacher says she's highly intelligent and very imaginative so reads more into things than her friends tend to.
School makes her quite tired. She likes coming straight home for some downtime, usually reading or drawing with some tv. We cut the number of after school activities she did as she was getting tired and overwhelmed. She now does swimming lessons and Brownies.
We have a very structured, routine-based, predictable household. DH is extremely likely to have ASD and this is what works for our family. He provides a very stable home life for DD. Both he and DD are never still. DH's is much more controlled, presumably as he's older. DD can't stay still for very long at all and is constantly on the go. Neither of them like loud noises or crowded spaces. Both of them tend to be very literal in how they interpret things. Both tend to hyper-focus on something to the exclusion of everything else.
DD occasionally gets so overwhelmed she throws a tantrum, more like a two year old. Throws herself on the floor, crying, kicking and screaming. This isn't often, maybe every few months or so, but I'm not sure this would be normal behaviour for an 8 year old. It seems to be when her emotions get bigger than she can deal with and mostly she isn't in a situation where that happens. I think DH has a similar
reaction to overwhelm but he tends to retreat and shut down.
Does this sound like something I should worry about, or do something about? I know girls are known for masking better than boys, but that it can all fall apart at secondary school. She's mostly a happy, chatty, articulate child.
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Wondering if DD is neurodiverse
ConfusedAnxiousMum · 07/04/2024 20:21
CowboyJoanna · 27/04/2024 18:06
I don't know about neurodiverse, but your DD definitely sounds emotionally immature. This may seem a harsh question and i dont want to judge but just to understand the whole picture. would you say youre protective/mollycoddling of dd? how is her independence?
Only reason i ask is i remember watching supernanny and there was a 9-10 year old girl who tantrumed like a toddler, she behaved a lot like your description of dd. in the programme it said it was ever since her older brother died of downs syndrome and ever since then the mum became overprotective of her and started doing everything for her like brushing her teeth, cutting up her food, choosing her clothes etc. Basically the daughter was emotionally 'stunted'
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