Last July I wrote a post about how I was worried about my five year old daughter, Leila. I'm sad to report that things are just getting worse. She doesn't seem to be doing any better at school. She is on an Individual Education Plan and getting extra help with her work, but her progress is not good. She can barely read, when at this age Lucy was reading by herself. Leila can spell out all the letters in a word but then has no idea what they say. Her writing has improved a little, well, at least she can write her own name now. Her drawing is quite good, at least that's something.
More worrying than ever is her behaviour. It still seems like she doesn't hear things properly, event though a hearing test came back ok. Her speech is underdeveloped and she doesn't sound words properly, kind of like a deaf person, but as I've already said, she's not deaf. She has difficulty in understanding simple instructions and will insist that you've said something that you haven't. She screams and cries all the time, she's incredibly fickle. When playing with others she gets bossy and if they don't do everything she says she ends up having a screaming and crying fit like a toddler. It's getting to the point where no-one wants to play with her.
I find it difficult to explain but it's really like she doesn't understand, she doesn't understand rules, what you are saying to her or how to play with others. She spends most of her time in a mood or tantrum. I am really worrying now. She was always my good girl, slept well and was good at occupying herself. She was never demanding or difficult to look after. So why is her behaviour so bad now? It seems that she is having difficulty in understanding the world around her and is reacting by behaving like a toddler. (I never had the terrible two's with her, maybe she's catching up now!)
I do not think she is autistic. I did have suspicions in the past, but things don't add up. She does have learning difficulties and I think these are making her behaviour so bad.
I know I worry too much.
If anyone else has a five year old like this I'd love to hear from you.
Hi, Sorry to hear you are going through a tough time with your daughter. I know you don't think she is autistic, has she had an assessment for autism. I suppose if she has learning difficulties she is getting frustrated regarding her lack of understanding and this frustrations is manifesting itself through her behaviour. She perhaps didn't behave this way when she was younger because to her the world was very simple. But now she is getting older and questioning things and wanting more information and understanding, she is finding it difficult to process all this. I'd take her to your GP and ask for a referral for an assessment, firstly with the behavioural nurse. The nurse should be able to assess whether your daughter needs further assessment. Good luck. x
ReplyDeleteThanks for your reply Jonty. I have made a decision to talk to her school and then go to the GP for a referral. I guess we forget just how difficult life can be for youngsters sometimes.
Delete