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Common Behavioral Issues in Children

Behavioral issues beyond the normal growing pains of childhood. Sometimes, behavior problems can indicate a more serious problem that may need professional help. Understanding common behavioral disorders in children is helpful for understanding their behavior.

These five signs could indicate that your child may be suffering from a behavior disorder. These signs are intended to help you identify your current concerns and allow you to seek professional advice.

1. Defiance

There are many possible causes for disruptive behavior disorders, but the most common ones include attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional Defiant Disorders (ODD), and Conduct Disorder (CD). These disorders often have overlapping symptoms. In cases of ODD and CD, excessive refusal to obey authority figures can be seen.

2. Inattention

Children have a tendency to struggle with concentration from time to time, particularly if they are distracted. ADHD may indicate that your child is having trouble concentrating or moving from one task to the next without finishing any. Overactivity and impulsivity may also be signs of ADHD.

3. Physical Aggression

Physical aggression can range from tantrums to negative interactions and interactions with other children. This behavior must be addressed. CD can lead to the harming of animals, as well. You may experience an increase in fighting and destructiveness, as well as disobedience.

4. Blaming Others

Are they quick to blame others when your child is in trouble? While it's natural for children to try to avoid trouble, this behavior will be more obvious. You are looking for a lack of responsibility and refusal to admit to mistakes.

5. Antisocial Behavior

CD boys, especially, are more likely to be antisocial. CD and ODD are more common in children who display severe antisocial behavior from early childhood. Repeated violations of social rules will be evident. This will lead to defiance of authority, disregard for others and other behaviors.

Children with behavioral issues can cause stress and frustration in the family. Brain Balance is a solution for children suffering from behavioral disorders. So, you can visit our centre Global Child Wellness Centre.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in Children

Obsessive compulsive disorder is a common neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by the presence of obsessions and compulsions that are time consuming and cause distress or interference in the patient’s life OCD is characterized by the presence of obsessions or compulsions that are time consuming (at least one hour per day), cause subjective distress or interfere with the patient’s or the family’s life. Obsessions are intrusive, unwanted ideas, images, fears, thoughts or worries that are experienced as uncomfortable, unpleasant, distressing or anxiety provoking. Compulsions are repetitive behaviours or mental acts performed to ignore, reduce or eliminate the anxiety or distress caused by the obsessive thoughts. Compulsions are usually executed according to certain rules the patient feels driven to follow. Obsessive compulsive symptoms vary considerably not only from patient to patient but also in the same patient over time. Even though there are many similarities in the clinical presentation across the lifespan, children and adolescents with OCD also show specific features. For instance, the younger the patient the higher is the probability of having compulsions without obsessions. Children are also less likely to recognize their symptoms as ego dystonic, making them less willing to resist the urge to perform a compulsive behaviour. prevalence of OCD was 1.1% in boys and 0.5% in girls among adolescents in the 12- to 18-year-old age group. . In childhood onset OCD, the most common obsessions are aggression and contamination while the most common compulsions are related to washing/cleaning, and checking. Approximately one out of 100 children develop obsessive compulsive disorder. When a child has OCD, a difference in the way his or her brain processes information results in uncontrollable worries and doubts called “obsessions.” The child then performs “compulsions” — repetitive rituals or habits — in an effort to decrease the anxiety caused by the obsessions. But the decrease is only temporary, because performing the compulsions reinforces and strengthens the obsessions, creating a worsening cycle of OCD behaviour. OCD is diagnosed when obsessions and compulsions are time consuming, cause significant distress, and interfere with daily Functioning in school, social activities, family relationships, or normal routines. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is more common than juvenile diabetes, but it can be difficult to diagnose. Kids tend to hide their symptoms out of confusion and embarrassment. Many parents and teachers do not recognize signs of the disorder. The availability of appropriate treatment has dramatically improved the outlook for children with OCD. Children can gain control of their symptoms and learn strategies to manage recurrences.

Symptoms may include

Children with OCD suffer from obsessions and compulsions that distress them significantly enough to interfere with daily functioning and relationships. Obsessions are persistent fears or doubts and upsetting thoughts or images that a child cannot ignore or dismiss. Compulsions are repetitive actions or rituals intended to relieve the anxiety caused by the obsessions. The relief is temporary, however, because performing compulsions ultimately reinforces the obsessions. Some compulsions are physical, such as washing, checking, tapping, or walking in a certain pattern. Others are mental, such as silent counting or compulsive praying. Sometimes obsessions and compulsions appear related. For example, a child with an obsessive fear of intruders may check door locks repeatedly. A child with an obsessive fear of disease may wash excessively. Other obsessions and compulsions are linked only in the child’s mind. A child with OCD may fear that harm will come to her family unless she taps in a particular pattern or avoids using certain numbers.

Proper treatment teaches the child to identify OCD when it changes form and provides skills for coping with new symptoms. From time to time, booster or refresher treatment sessions can reinforce the child’s coping skills and teach him or her to manage any new OCD symptoms.

Diagnosis

No laboratory test can identify OCD, but a mental health professional who is knowledgeable about the disorder can conduct a specific type of interview to determine whether a person has OCD. Most professionals use the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) to diagnose OCD—there are two versions, one for adults and one for children.

Communication Difficulties in Children

Definition:

A child with communication difficulties has trouble communicating with others. They may not understand or make words for speech. The child may also struggle with choice, word order, or sentence structure. Sometimes child has choice of words but able to communicate due to anxiety, shyness.

Reason:

There are following reasons due to which child has communication problems:

· BIOLOGICAL PROBLEMS: The child having difficulty in communication due to genes problems having difficulty in the family.

· Child having possible exposure to toxins during pregnancy.

· Abuse during pregnancy may also lead to communication difficulties in children.

· Exposure to environmental toxins like lead is possible reason of having communication difficulties.

· PHYSICAL PROBLEMS such as problem in brain development has a possible effect on communication in children.

Sign and Symptoms:

· Not speaking at all.

· Limited or less words according to age.

· Having trouble in follow simple instruction or direction given by parents.

· Having difficulty in social communication.

TECHNIQUES FOR MANAGEMENT:

We can follow the following techniques for management in the child having communication difficulties:

· Individual or group support talking

· Special classes

· Speech therapy

· Speech tools

Read more: Speech therapist in Ludhiana

How to manage learning disability in a child?

A learning disability is characterised by a group of conditions that affects language processing, which leads to difficulty in comprehension as well as with reading, writing, speaking, and mathematical concepts. It might also affect the attention and coordination of movements. It is a neurological disorder and is difficult to identify as it is a hidden condition, unlike other disabilities. The group of disorders in learning disability involves dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia and dysgraphia. Dyslexia means having difficulty in processing language. Dyscalculia involves issues with number-related concepts, mathematical problems and reasoning. Dysgraphia is associated with handwriting and Dyspraxia also known as developmental coordination disorder (DCD) affects physical coordination and balance.

Learning disability not just affects the child’s academic performance but also impacts interpersonal relationships and may lead to other mental health problems.

Empathise with your child - Parent's role

The parents of children who struggle in school think that their child is lazy and dumb.

They compare them and make them feel inferior. Children with learning disability hear phrases like “You are stupid, you just don’t want to study, and you are scared of hard work”. People with a learning disability are not stupid or lazy. This condition does not involve a problem with intelligence or motivation. They have normal levels of intellectual functioning i.e. average or above-average intelligence. A variation in the way the brain processes information contributes to learning disability. Their brains are wired differently. More specifically, their brain's neural network or connections are the problem. and this variation has an impact on how individuals receive and process information. Parents need to understand that every child has potential, it is not the learning disability that comes in the way of their success but the non-identification and non-acceptance of the condition that hinders their growth. Famous people like mathematical genius Albert Einstein, Hollywood actor Tom Cruise, Apple founder Steve Jobs and many others were able to find their strength and were able to achieve success. Hence, parents need to identify their child's strengths and provide the support they need to achieve their potential.

Teacher's Role in Early Identification

Many times, teachers fail to identify the problem of children who are unable to perform well in class. Making observations is the first step in recognizing a child with a learning disability. First, teachers can pay more attention to the students who underperform in class. When a student has difficulties in reading, writing, or maths, the teacher can make some observations by noting patterns in the errors made by the child. The teacher might then seek the school counsellor's assistance and alert the parents. School counsellors can administer screening tests and then refer the results to a clinical psychologist for a more detailed analysis.

Both parents and teachers play a very important role in helping the child with a learning disability face the challenges of everyday life. Every child is different and so are their needs. All they require is teaching that is specific to their learning styles.

Some Signs of Stammering in Children & How You Can Help

Looking for the Best Speech Therapist in Punjab?

A fluency disorder, stuttering can be described as repetition of sounds or hesitations. Some of the most common symptoms include repeated sounds, added sounds, extended words, blinking multiple times, frustration, long pauses, and hard blocks.

Language and speech in the early years

Stuttering is most commonly noticed by parents between the ages of 2 and 5. These years are when children learn to combine nouns and verbs with adjectives into grammatically sound sentences. Their vocabulary also grows.

Children are exposed to a variety of experiences, both within their family and externally, that are either pleasant, stress-free, enjoyable, stressful, unpleasant, forceful, or frightening in the early years. Children learn to use language and speech to communicate their experiences. They acquire language skills and use appropriate language in various social settings. This is when most children learn fine motor coordination necessary for smooth production speech.

How to find help from a Speech Therapist.

It is important to know when to seek professional speech therapy help. A speech therapist will provide a thorough assessment and offer intervention using standardised testing tools such as SSI4, REELS, etc. Therapy is a form of indirect therapy in which primary caregivers are trained and counselled to address developmental issues related to speech and/or language development.

This is when you need to reach out to a speech therapist

· If your child repeats sound like give me, m- m-m_milk.

· Prolongation in sound - Give me mmmmmilk struggle, or block when I speak.

· Secondary behaviors include facial grimace, eye blinking, and jerky movements.

· His disfluency causes negative reactions in the child.

· If you have a family history of stuttering

· Persistent disfluency lasting more than 4-6 month.

Conclusion

If your child is 2 years old and is not able to point to things or is not able to identify mother or father by saying clearly mama/ papa, then please get a speech therapy evaluation at Global Child wellness Centre.

Spitting In Kids with Autism?

What is Spitting?

A1: To force or throw eject (something) from the mouth: expectorate.

B1: To express (unpleasant or malicious feelings) by or as if spitting.

C1: To utter with a spitting sound or scornful expression like spat out his words.

How to Reduce Spitting in Kids with Autism?

Spitting behaviour in children with autism could be frustrating for the parent to deal with. Some children spit just for fun or to gain attention, while other spit to express their emotion like behaviour due to sensory needs. Children with autism tend to have this kind of behaviour, as they have communication difficulty or need speech therapy.

Some children use behavioural spitting as a self-defence action when they don’t like others to touch them and/or their things (e.g., toys).

How to respond to this behaviour, if the child does it for fun?

It is essential to analyse the reason for any behaviour the chid express. If they do it to gain attention, ignoring them will fade out the spitting behavior.

How to respond to the behaviour when expressed due to anger?

Do not react immediately, stay calm. Analise the reason with ws- Why, Where, When. Tell your child, it is no good or it’s bad behaviour. Make the chid clean his/her spit. Apply time out which would help the chid to calm down.Teach the possible ways of communication, for example, either to communicate using monosyllable word like “NO”,”, MOVE”,” GO” etc. or via hand gestures.

If the chid communicates appropriately then reinforce the good behaviour.

How to respond to the behavior when expressed due to sensory need?

A sensory assessment by an occupational therapist or a speech therapist is made to rule out the exact cause of the behaviour. Then as per therapist advice, providing oral stimulation along with few activities will help the child to control and stop the spitting behaviour.

SOME OF THE ACTIVITES, WE USE AT CENTIRE: -

· Chewy tubes

· Blowing Balloons

· Blowing bubbles

· Using straws of variable sizes to drink

· Chewy and chunky foods

· Lollipops (if suggest by doctor and therapist)

· Blow painting

· Blow thermacol or cotton balls into a hole.

How do you teach an autistic child to spit?

Have him learn to put the ball in his mouth and then “spit” it out to drop it into the sink. That might work to teach him the concept of “spitting”

Reward him for spitting in ways that make sense to him. If he can begin to understand the concept, then maybe he will be able to generalize it to spitting out.

Importance of Blowing in Speech Therapy

How does blowing help children development in speech therapy?

Oral motor skills: Blowing bubbles develops the small muscles in your child’s mouth as they pucker their lips and blow bubbles. Strengthening their muscles is important for developing their ability to form clear sounds when speaking and to eat and swallow safely.

Blowing is a basic component of speech mechanism. It improves the respiratory patterns and strength. At Global Child Wellness Centre, we use musical instruments which cause harmonical results. Whistle or blow toys are a great option.

Oral skills can greatly be improved with this form of activity like blowing bubbles. Oral motor input is important for self-calming. Every parent desire their children to be able to blow birthday candles. Most children pickup naturally but children with autism and ADHD may need little help.

Gum massage is a simple effective way for oral stimulation.

Blowing powder or paper or balloons is very beneficial in process of speech therapy for children under age of 5.

Drinking with strains requires a lot of oral motor work. The cheeks tighten; the togue tightens, retracts and lips push. It is a great activity for the togue and the cheeks.

Blowing dandelion seeds off the seed head is a great activity for speech. The number of blows it takes to blow off all the seeds is a time children feel as if they are in fairyland.

We can also use straw for making painting and it also improves oral mechanism. It also improves our respiratory organs and coordination through all the parts of body.

We can also use thermocol balls with straw. It also improves speech of kid.

The Importance of Consulting with A Child Psychologist in The Current Time

What does it mean to be a child psychologist

A child psychologist is a professional who has the clinical skills and training to assess and treat children, adolescents, toddlers, and infants' mental, emotional and behavioral health.

Child psychologists are able to understand the psychological needs of children, adolescents, and their families.

Social and emotional adjustment.
Developmental processes.
Behavioral adaptation.

A child psychologist is also an expert in the mental and behavioral disorders that can affect children.

What does a child psychologist do?

When working with children or adolescents, child psychologists employ a variety of skills and procedures.

Testing and evaluation to assess psychological, intellectual, cognitive, and behavioral issues.

Psychotherapy (talk therapy) can be used to help with behavior management.

Develop prevention programs such as bullying prevention, addictions prevention, and teen pregnancy prevention.

Consult with other healthcare professionals who are familiar with children.

Children with special needs often need child psychologists. They may assist children who have sleep problems, chronic pain, or are coping with chronic illnesses.

Children often experience emotional, mental, and behavioral problems that are different from adults. This is due to differences in ages, cognitive levels, and maturity. Child psychologists may use a variety of therapy methods depending on the age of your child and their unique circumstances. Child psychologists can work with you or your guardians depending on your child's age and specific needs.

These therapies include:

Art therapy.
Behavioral therapy.
Child-centered play therapy.
Child-parent relationship therapy.
Child anger management therapy.
Child trauma therapy.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT).
Emotionally focused therapy.
Group or family therapy.
Music therapy.
Occupational therapy.
Parent-child interaction therapy.

Conflict Resolution in Children. How do you build the skills of conflict resolution in children?

Life will certainly involve conflict, and it might start young; Interpersonal conflict-stem occur when a child snatches a toy from another kid. In older kids, this can lead to disagreements, arguments, or other types of conflict. Educating children about conflict resolution involves teaching them how to solve problems when they are involved in a conflict. Since no one can always expect things to go their way, it’s crucial to teach children conflict resolution techniques from a Carly age.

Every child has a different way to respond to a particular conflict. A child who doesn’t know how to communicate his feelings, might starts to cry when a conflict occurs ofa child who doesn’t know how to manage his anger in an argument might project his anger onto a friend. When a child doesn’t know how to respond to a particular conflict, it can lead to a sense of frustration and confusion which can further lead the child to act out. Following are some of the techniques that parents and teachers can use for conflict solution:

Calm down: Teaching the child techniques to calm down at that moment of conflict is one of the first steps. Backward counting, deep breathing, venting out, blowing bubbles, drinking water, drawing and going for a run can be some good ways of calming oneself down.

Effective communication: Kids need to learn to communicate their feelings clearly in an appropriate way without blaming the other person or being harsh. For this, teaching the use of I statements can be helpful. I statements are sentences that start with the word “I”. This helps the child to express how they feel instead of blaming or judging the other kid. So instead of saying “You are such a stupid boy. You snatch me toys. I won’t play with you.” the child can use I statement- “I feel very angry when you take my toys without asking. I understand that you like to play with my toys but it would be great if you can ask first and we can play together. Another instance can be with the parent wherein the child expresses harshly “Stop telling me to do homework. You irritate me all the time. I will do my homework when I want to. Instead, the child can use the “I statement” and say “I feel annoyed when you keep on checking if I’ve

done my homework because it tells me you don’t trust me. I need to be able to prove that I can do it on my own.” I statement can help the child to be firmer and gentler while expressing their emotions in times of conflict.

Wheel of choice: Another strategy that can be used for conflict resolution in children is to teach them to choose between different solutions that are best for a particular problem. It can help them to either calm down when they are upset or to help them solve a problem. Initially, the parents or teachers can make a wheel for the child wherein they write possible solutions to any conflict which may include- apologies,

asking for help, using an “I message, walking away, asking them to stop, calm down, talk to someone or compromise. Then they teach the child what solution to choose in what type of conflict. Afterwards, the child can be told to make a wheel for himself. This way the child will learn to make a choice when faced with a conflict.

Role Plays and storytelling: Parents and teachers can do role plays with the children wherein they include scenarios like resolving conflict with a bully, fixing a friendship after a fight, or getting along with a sibling. Role plays can help the child understand how to apply conflict resolution in different situations. Children become better problem solvers when they learn to find a solution on their own. For this, the parents and teachers can ask the kids to think about a story that involves conflict and an ending with a solution. This can lead to brainstorming about the possible solutions to the conflicts that occur in daily life.

Children experience different kinds of conflict in their everyday life as they grow. It is important to make the kids learn the strategies to cope with situations that make them upset so that they are better able to work through the obstacles. Conflict resolution for kids is important for their social and emotional well-being. Parents and teachers together can help kids learn how to handle conflict in a controlled way.

Importance Of Consulting with A Child Psychologist

Child psychologist, at Global Child deals with the mental, emotional, social and behavioural problems of a child. She helps the parents by making understanding them about the problems and by telling them how to deal with such situations when needed.

According to the age and needs, a child psychologist uses different kinds of therapies. Such as-

· Behavioural Therapy

· Occupational Therapy

· Play Therapy

· Speech therapy

· Parent-Child Interaction Therapy

It is important to consult with a child psychologist because in today's time everyone is going through a lot of problems and nobody has time to listen to other's problems.

In today's time, children go through a lot of anxiety & stress.

In this situation, a psychologist is the one with whom a child can freely express what things are bothering you.

Sometimes child is not able to express his/her thoughts with their parents and by keeping things in their mind can cause a lot of problems. In this situation, a person must consult his/her child to a child psychologist.

Any kind of difficulty in development and growth of the child, the parents should immediately consult a child psychologist, reason being it is easy to change or overcome any kind of behaviour or problem in childhood only, so that when a child grows that part of the problem has been solved and then it does not become a barrier in the growth of the child.