Hi All,
I am not really sure I am in the right place but to be honest, I don't know where to start/go for help. I have a very difficult 6.5 year old daughter and I have known for a while that her behavioural issues are more than just typical for her age.
Daily I read information on Autism Spectrum Disorder and other disorders and I am at a loss as to what her diagnosis could be? She doesn't display a lot of the symptoms of autism in that she is extremely sociable and has great social skills. The issues we have are mainly due to her emotions and she has sensory related problems too.
We moved schools about 9 months ago and I was hoping teachers might shed some light on her behaviour and where to go for help managing it but she displays none of the symptoms at school and saves them all for home.
I hate to say it but I am finding it so so hard and find I have a battle on my hands with her everyday. I have started keeping notes of her behaviours because individually they don't seem anything to 'worry' about but collectively it is a real challenge.
Some examples of her behaviour as follows
- Sensory issues with clothes, especially socks/tights/underwear. Does not know how to manage the frustration and often tantrums
- The need for routine/patterns, for example she argues with her brother about who chooses what to watch on TV next and if he deviates from the order of the series it does not go down well (tantrums)
- The need for all of her toys to be in a particular order and the fact she cannot control her emotions if they aren't
- The need for everyone to sit in particular seats at the table, and again, the face she cannot control her emotions if somebody sits somewhere different
- She has a particular plate, set of cutlery and now even a place mat and coaster (they're all the same, she just has to find this particular one).
- She spends most of her time at home whinging, moaning and is rarely happy. She often says it's because she is tired but she gets around 11.5 hours sleep every night
- She ruins any game we try to play as we have to play it a particular way
- She is a real stickler for the rules and if anyone breaks a rule then it does not go down well
Overall she is just very very emotional and it is taking it's toll on the family. The mood she is in dictates the mood of the whole family and sadly she is often not in a good mood at home. She is great if we are out and about and she is distracted but we can't keep that up all the time.
Can anyone offer any guidance please? I don't know whether to see a GP as worry that her behaviours are just typical and it's me who has the issue as I can't manage her.
Thank you in advance,
C x