My 7yo niece has come from out west to stay the summer with her dad. Our side of the family has her when her dad is at work. She has been here about 8 weeks and we have had her alot. However, I can't get over some of the antics she has. No one has mentioned it, and only laugh when she does them, but I for one think something is wrong. She only walks on her tippy toes, she cannot sit still for anything, she has very loud outburst with strange sounds, she says so many words wrong that you would think a 7yo would know by now, she can't tell her left from right, she wets the bed every night and often during the day, that I know of ...she has pooped her pants twice since she has been here, her memory is horrible (like I asked her where did you and your dad go for dinner today...she said Jerrys...come to find out that is a place out West she likes to eat. Another time...I asked her if she wanted to go to Busch Gardens with me...she said...her and her dad went 2 days ago...found out it never happened. Many examples like that.) She was standing in line in front of my grown daughter...waiting to go on gocarts...she was real excited...all of a sudden she turned around without my daughter expecting it...and triple punched her in the stomach....my daughter was so upset and fussed at her real bad....but my niece looked like she didn't know what was going on. She picks her nose and bites her fingernails til they bleed. Her talking is not real understandable. She says cuss words. She is real ruff on younger children. She destroys all her toys (snapped the back of her DS player off when she got angry at the game...it was over 100.00). She eats paper and chews on everything......what has happened to her since Christmas....none of this was going on them except the nail biting and she has always been a bedwetter. Mother and Step Dad been married since she was 2...so that is nothing new in her life. Just what is it?????
It sounds like more than adhd, there seem to be some serious psychological issues there. I hope her dad sees that these behaviors are not at all normal for a seven year old and gets her in to see a doctor right away!
I REALLY hope they have her under doctor's care and they are just too embarrassed to tell you there is something really wrong with her. No, I don't think those are signs of ADHD but I am no expert. I think they are signs of something much more serious and I really think you need to talk to her parents. If she has a diagnosis or a treatment plan you need to know what is going on.
Look into Sensory Processing Disorder linked with possible speech issues and *maybe* Adhd ... however the tippy toes, loud outbursts, not sitting still and potty related issues are signs of someone who is not "in tune" with their body Sensory Processing Disorder. I would do some looking into it ... www.sensory-processing-disorder.com is a good place to start and bring it up to her father ... from there you have done all you can do.
**My 4yo successfully lives with SPD and Adhd w/out meds :)
I'll reiterate what some of the other moms said - it sounds like more than ADHD. I would suspect asbergers, maybe autism. It sounds like her behavior is way out of whack for a child her age and she should definitely been seen by a specialist. If her dad will acknowledge that, maybe he can get her in sometime during this summer so that you can go with him and help give an accurate portrayal of how she's been acting since she came into your care (you might be a little more objective than her parents).
Good luck to you and your niece!
Her dad needs to have her evaluated.
Things to look for:
Autisim--Aspbergers
Tourettes
ADD--ADHD--ODD
The odd words and the acting out with punching sounds a like Tourettes. The only other thing I wonder about is did she suffer a head injury?
Please let us know what happens.
Do they think something is wrong with her????
THEY, need to have their child assessed, per overall development.
NO one, can 'diagnose' her, except for a Professional.
And the parents, have to be the one's to realize this or do it.
I'm guessing it's Asperger's (a type ofautism) but there must be something else tramatic that's happened to her sense you last saw her because it's strange to me that she wasn't like this before.
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No, these are not signs of ADHD...she needs to be evaluated by a behavioral psychiatrist...
If you have custody of her during this time - make the appointment yourself and take her in....it will be the best act of love you can give her - as she needs to be able to grow and mature...if she has Aspergers then she will need as well as the family - tools to help her grow and become a productive citizen!!
GOOD LUCK!
I think something is going on too by that, but I'm not sure if it would be ADHD... I'd asked your brother if he knows if her doctors has diagnosis her with anything. Do you talk with her mother, or is she off in her own world? I don't think there is anything wrong with asking or suggesting, tell your brother you are just a little concerned.
My niece used to walk on her tippy toes all the time, shes' 14 now, so not as much, but she still does... I think it's because when she was learning to walk she did, and didn't like grass that she continued even after she could walk with no want helping her...(she's a straight A student too, talks just fine).
Some of the other things, especially the wetting and having accidents sound very concerning. I might think her "memory" was lies, more than she didn't know where she ate or been, that's just me...
Hopefully she can see a doctor before she goes or at least you can find out if there is something going on...
Is there something going on with the move to her dad's for the summer, some unresolved anger at leaving her mom for that long of a time of something between her and dad? Odd that it wasn't there at Christmas (and I don't really count the bed wetting since many children are bed wetters) and now it is. Something has happened in her life in the past 5 months that has thrown her off balance and she is reacting the only way she knows how.
I'm no doctor or therapist on this, but I know many children who are ADHD and ADD and your niece's quirks do not resemble those that I've seen. I have a nephew who is ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder), and his behaviors are very similar to your niece's behaviors. He's very unpredictable, angers easily, and destroys things. It also sounds like your niece may suffer from anxiety too with the nail biting and chewing. I would mention these things to her parents. They may already know, but I think they should have forewarned you about this beforehand. If they don't know, then they are probably oblivious and need to be informed.
My niece was similar to this at that age. She had Tourettes and adhd. My brother was odd (oppositional defiant), he also did the tippy toe walking and very aggressive/destructive behavior.
Anyways, it's up to her parents to get her tested. What does her school say I wonder? Surely they have suggested these issues to the parents. I would bring it up with them in a kind, yet matter of fact way that you are concerned about some of her behaviors and ask if she has been evaluated or if they would seek it out.
no, this is not a sign of adhd, or whatever they are calling it these days, it is however a sign of "gee, i wonder if i can get away with this"tackle one behavior at a time, the next time she wets the bed, put plastic sheets on the bed, i dont care if you live at the north pole, the plastic sheets will quickly convince the child to not wet the bed.next.. she is old enough to know not to break something just because she wants to, do not replace anything for her that she intentionally broke, make her replace the item herself, even if she purposely broke her bed, hand her a sleeping bag, and make her do extra chores to pay to replace the bed. the paper chewing may be a sign of a vitamin defict, as for the nail biting, i plead guily myself, but i dont chew my nails till they bleed though.try her out on a multi vitamin, and go from there.
K. h.
Updated
no, this is not a sign of adhd, or whatever they are calling it these days, it is however a sign of "gee, i wonder if i can get away with this"tackle one behavior at a time, the next time she wets the bed, put plastic sheets on the bed, i dont care if you live at the north pole, the plastic sheets will quickly convince the child to not wet the bed.next.. she is old enough to know not to break something just because she wants to, do not replace anything for her that she intentionally broke, make her replace the item herself, even if she purposely broke her bed, hand her a sleeping bag, and make her do extra chores to pay to replace the bed. the paper chewing may be a sign of a vitamin defict, as for the nail biting, i plead guily myself, but i dont chew my nails till they bleed though.try her out on a multi vitamin, and go from there.
K. h.
It doesn't sound like ADHD to me. Too many things don't fit (I have a son, brother, and mom with ADHD, and worked with kids with ADHD when I was a teacher). But it does sound like something is going on. Does her dad have the authority to take her to the doc and get her checked out? At the very least, he can mention it to her mom so she can start looking into it.
Virtually everything you listed is a sign of Autism, not ADHD.
