Grandaughter

Put a mattress on the floor of parent room and tell her she can come in if she needs to and sleep there.

Elrel my point exactly! Thanks!

Please go back to your GP and ask for a referral to CAMHS child and mental health services. Get the the school to support and request she sees an Educational Psychologist. Talk to the special needs teacher and request her help.Your situation sounds very like my GD who has now been diagnosed with autism. These requests will take a while but keep insisting and really get your son a DL to talk to them about the huge impact on the whole family. It may not be autism but it does sound very like my GD's experience. In the meantime try to stay calm find and use anything that can help calm her, certain toys a safe quiet space maybe a cosy quiet corner with her favourite things and a soft blanket or a weighted blanket can help to calm. I wish you all the best but really push at the doctor's and the school. They should be aware of possible autism in girls. Masking at school , melt down at home, social anxiety Do anything to reduce her anxiety, which is likely not coping with over stimulation and looked much worse with Xmas excitement. All the best

The hypnotherapist I saw was affiliated to my GP practice and saw me at the surgery.

It gave me confidence in her.

I guess that’s what I meant by medical.

I would have worried about going to somebody’s house or a room over a shop or something like that. People are nervous of hypnosis.

I had no idea how effective one short session could be in putting me on the right track🙂

I am a hypnotherapist with 0ver 30 years of experience (Not sure what a 'medical' hypnotherapist is Lathyrus3 Obviously you need to seek someone who is properly qualified and insured and belongs to a relevant body e.g.GHR but not everyone needs to have gone through Big Pharma's conditioning. ) I would definitely see if you can find a hypnotherapist to help, not just to discover what has caused this but also to treat her, to stop the disturbing reactions (but NOT to block and relevant memory, until you have found what, if anything, that might be)

Perhaps she is affected by transitions. Bed time, meals, arrival at a place, leaving a place. This would not be an 'overnight' thing, but more likely a development as she is becoming more cognisant as she's developing. Speak to her SendCo at school, any worth their salt will observe and ask their LSAs to break it down with pre-preparation and expectation setting then walk her through it to allow her emotions to catch up with her as the transition takes place. If it doesn't occur at school, it may be that she's holding it in, but those professionals should still be able to coach you in how to manage transitions.

My youngest son had night terrors at that age. It was terrifying for all of us. I never slept at night and grabbed a few hours when he was at school. We later found out that he was bullied at school. He was dyslexic, tall lad with bright ginger hair and gay his head just couldn’t cope with it all and the bullies waded in. Thankfully the bullies stopped after several visits to the school. Night terrors ended after a traumatic time. He’s now a happy 34 year old. Hope all gets sorted properly for you all.

Night terrors?

You know, I’ve just watched (and enjoyed) Pirates of the Caribbean on catch up.

It was packed with terrifying images and music.

All four of the Pirates films were on on over Christmas at family viewing time.

What else I wonder………

Was there a film at school just before Christmas.Teachers often put a film on towards the end of term……could she have watched something that made her frightened, or was there a party with games at the end of term ,were balloons involved…It’s difficult to know what goes through the young mind,poor lass.

Also, imo, never leave a small child to scream, I’m assuming it’s not behavioural, ie she wants something and been told no.

Our son had night terrors around that age, he went off to sleep on but would wake up, sitting bolt upright, staring and screaming. We also had to move bedrooms, swapping his for his sister, as he insisted someone called “blue guy” came out of the wall at night to hurt him.

SpanielCuddler

Need to try to unpick what happened at Christmas. Were there any visitors? Did she see a scary film or cartoon? Was she worried about Father Christmas going into her bedroom?
I’m sure the therapist will have suggestions. A worry monster might help or a cuddly light up toy. I’m sure they’ve tried all sorts of strategies to try to help her.

I completely agree. Also wonder if she started having nightmares and too scared to sleep. Awful situation and I hope they finds answers around this soonest.

Does your GD actually fall asleep, and then wake? Or does the screaming start before she has gone to sleep.
I think there is a difference in this two things.
Also, it isn't that long since Christmas- so it seems there has been intervention and ideas swimming around in what is only a few weeks.
It may sound daft but is the room warm enough? I know my son had terrible nightmares in the cold weather.
She is the same at school, so this isn't a sleep related problem, unless this behaviour has a knock on effect because she must be tired, and when sleep quality is poor the mind can create hallucinations due to sleep deprivation.
The fact that the meltdowns are occuring for no reason leads me to think this is learned behaviour- she scream and people are thrown into a frenzy, it seems. So she gets the notion this is a good way to get attention, this in itself can be quite frightening to the child so the cycle continues.
I think this is far too early for therapy- has the therapy started yet?
The screaming starts when she goes to bed? I would suggest keeping her up a little later- engage her in relaxing but high attention activities- story books, no screens, no sugary things before bed etc.
At some point she will get sleepy- take her to bed and just stay in the room without paying her any attention.
Be calm, read a book, tell her you'll stay until she's asleep, and if she screams. tough though it is, ignore it and carry on doing a different activity in the room.
Eventually she will stop screaming and fall asleep.
Don't focus on the sibling either, don't blame the child for keeping everyone awake. This feeds the attention seeking behaviour. Reward the good behaviour, so she learns their will be a reward if she stops screaming.
If the beahaviour persists into a few months I would seek further help, but I think everyone is reading far too much into this at this stage.

This happened with one of my nephews and it turned out he was autistic but he had had one other two odd behaviours as a child but nothing that really set him apart. He'd been masking for a long time and suddenly couldn't mask any longer. However, it could be that if her sleep isn't good, she might be very tired during the day so it is more difficult to cope with.

There is a thing called "wobbly tooth syndrome" where children between 6 and 8 might have mood swings, anxiety, etc.

I wonder if her parents asked her if she would like to redecorate her bedroom ? It would give them all a project to focus on and be fun and perhaps help to break the cycle at night time anyway.

This is slightly different but my son when he was about 7 years old watched a series called The Storyteller with James Hurt and in one episode were red goblins. This series was targeted for children of 7 years or so. After seeing this one particular episode he had bad dreams for weeks so I made him a 'dream bag' and every night before bed we would say a rhyme about bad dreams go away and would 'catch' them in the bag and 'empty' them down the toilet. The bag would then go under his pillow. It worked most of the time. As an adult he watched it again and said he thought they were too much for young children. It was surprising how just one small thing could have affected his sleep so maybe this has happened for your family?

Had she received any medications prior to this behavioural change?
Hypnosis could certainly help her. As ahe finds it hard to express what is troubling her, under hypnosis, which is a form of deep relaxation, she may be encouraged to draw what is causing her angst.

Lizzie pop bottle
‘I think many people are suspicious about hypnotism because of stage shows that appear to make people do things they would not do voluntarily.’

A friend who was a successful stage hypnotist said that in her experience it was not possible to force a subject to do something they would not do otherwise against their will.

JaneJudge

It sounds like she is finding transitions difficult

If you google "helping children with everyday transitions" it gives loads of advice and strategies for dealing with this. I live with 2 people who find transitions difficult, both adult now, both don't have a diagnosis of anything...but learning how to deal with transitions is really helpful

This was just what I was thinking. It seems as if she has become hypersensitive, so that managing any kind of change (eg leaving the house to go to school, dance class, et cetera) has become too difficult for her. This might also explain her problem at meal times or at night time, when the world does feel ‘different’. She describes this feeling sad - a better description might be that she feels overwhelmed, but she wouldn’t be able to explain this.

DD2 is hypersensitive and has always found sounds and smells particularly difficult. As an adult she can now explain how she would sometimes feel overwhelmingly, unaccountably distressed and was not able to pin down a reason for it.

She also had night terrors during which floors of walls would be covered by patterns which she describes as ‘scribble’. Even now many years later she is still very careful about the pattern on bedding, curtains etc which can still trigger that feeling and make her feel quite unwell.

Unfortunately, I didn’t understand what was happening and her dad had absolutely no patience with the behaviour, which was invariably met with anger on his part. We didn’t handle it well. I’m pleased that your GS is getting better support than we gave my DD.

Separation anxiety?
Copied from google:

Emotional Distress: Excessive fear or anxiety when separated from a primary caregiver or attachment figure (parent, partner).
Worry: Persistent worry about losing or harm coming to attachment figures.
Avoidance: Reluctance or refusal to go out, attend school/work, or sleep alone.
Nightmares: Recurrent bad dreams about separation.
Physical Symptoms: Headaches, stomachaches, vomiting, or nausea during separation.
Causes & Triggers
Developmental: Realization of dependence and object permanence in infancy.
Life Stressors: Divorce, moving, new sibling, death of a loved one, changing schools.
Genetics: A family history of anxiety

I think many people are suspicious about hypnotism because of stage shows that appear to make people do things they would not do voluntarily.
Therapeutic hypnotism induces a deep state of relaxation during which the patient never loses awareness. I've had it twice and was aware of birds singing outside and the occasional car going by but I did not focus on those things while the therapist helped me to explore the reasons I had consulted her. During the session, you may lose sensation in your feet and hands, especially if you are a 'good' subject. You will be brought out of your relaxed state by the therapist, slowly and carefully.
However, you do need to be ready and willing to experience that state of deep relaxation and I'm not sure a six year old would be able to benefit.

It sounds like she is finding transitions difficult

If you google "helping children with everyday transitions" it gives loads of advice and strategies for dealing with this. I live with 2 people who find transitions difficult, both adult now, both don't have a diagnosis of anything...but learning how to deal with transitions is really helpful

Girls with autism are often missed until they are older as they are more able to hide it and copy other girls’ behaviour. They mask much better than boys, too. As has been said, they are often able to hold everything in at school and then let it out at home because they feel safe there. Have her parents spoken to her teacher about what has been happening? Certainly this reaction is extreme and, although I am not a doctor or psychiatrist, I have an autistic son and mildly affected autistic daughter and have worked with many children and adults with autism. This behaviour seems as if it could be a part of autism. Obviously, something occurred that has set off this extreme reaction.

My eldest grandson behaved just like this at 9. It just suddenly started. He has counselling which seemed to help, although she didn’t share any concerns with his parents. Eventually his parents were getting irritated with him, which obviously made things worse. They refused to have him sleep in their bedroom, which I think would have comforted him. I took him to my house for 2 nights. I went to bed with him and stayed there all night. A couple of times he woke up saying “Nana?” So I reassured him and cuddled him. I think it broke the cycle of behaviour and he never went back to the screaming.
The only thing the counsellor said was that she thought he was going through early puberty and wasn’t mature enough to cope. But that does sound very early for a 6 year old like your granddaughter.

Hypno therapy can be vrey useful. No one can resolve any issues when they are in a high anxiety state. Hypnosis is relaxing

Hypnotherapy for children draws upon their imagination to nurture characteristics such as self-esteem and confidence. It provides a forum to explore their issues, seeing them from a new perspective to help build resilience and coping strategies. Here we learn more about how hypnotherapy can support children.

www.hypnotherapy-directory.org.uk/content/child-hypnosis.html