My two year old has made my family's life a nightmare

by Kyle
(Abilene, Texas)

Hi, I have a two year old that has turned our lives into a living hell. We have three boys ages 9, 2, and 1. My middle son has always been very distant with myself and drawn to my husband. I've always felt something was off. He likes to line things up or separate them into groups almost compulsively.

The last 3-6 months his "tantrums" have worsened. He seeks out hurting himself and other (esp. his brothers and myself). When I finally have had too much and sit down and cry he laughs at me. He doesn't sleep well.He yells out about once and hour. He always sounds terrified. Most of the time he will eventually go back to sleep. He has irrational fears. For example he is scared of clowns, bugs, monsters, baths, and snakes. None of these things he has come into contact with.


When he gets something such as the things above in his head he will only concentrate on that thing for hours. He goes in to hysterical rages. He will thrash around for like an hour and if we get near him he will try to inflict injury on us. We moved a few months ago and that seemed to intensify everything.


He has been put on Risperdal just in the last week out of fear of what he will do to his baby brother. We can't get in to have him evaluated for another month (we've been on the waiting list for 6 months). We don't know what else to do. I feel like at times he's perfectly "normal" and then it's like a light switch is flipped. He seems like he enjoys hurting us. I have told my husband it's like he's possessed. I'm so scared for my other children. My nine year old starts therapy next week but I know that won't change the real problem. We are desperate. Thank you so much for listening. I have tried to focus on the seemingly more important behaviors but I could go on and on for days.

HI Kyle

By now you have likely gotten some help. These symptoms may be indicative of a bigger problem. I would have your child evaluated by a specialist to see if autism is a possibility. Children who are bipolar at times will demonstrate the aggressive behaviors you describe but are not normally consistently like this. Other symptoms are similar to a child with a mood disorder. Phobias of the things you describe are not uncommon in children his age, and are by definition irrational. However, the fixation raging and crying definitely suggests he is distressed. It would be very important to have your child evaluated and very important to report any history of bipolar disorder in your family if it exists.

Please keep us updated on your progress.

Sincerely Kristen