Recommended age to see child psychologist?

angeldaisy

Hi, not sure if this is the right place, but seems as good a place as any.

I'm having a few probs with my son who is 5 and a half. he is in senior infants and has been in trouble a few times at school with inapropriate behaviour.
He is a very bright boy and is having no problems with his school work other than his handwriting. he struggles to deal with the confines of the school - he understands what he needs to do, he just flips sometimes and loses control.

thing is he has been through a lot, I had to spend a lot of time away from him when he was 2 and he couldn't see his dad due to illness for about 4-5mths. he also had mild concussion last year after a fall.

I'm not sure if I'm worrying unecessarily, but was wondering if I should take him to see someone - thing is I'm not sure if he is old enough to be assessed? or indeed who to take him to?
Sorry for the long post.

albeit

Maybe you would get more replies in the parenting forum.

As for the "right age" to see a child psychologist I do not think there is a right age, but if there is a need at some age or if the child would benefit at some age, then that is probably the right time to seek a child psychologist.

It is very hard to tell from your post whether your child needs a psychologist or if he would benefit from seeing one, maybe you can ring and ask the psychologist or your doctor or public health nurse.

Good luck and hope you find answers to your questions and everything works out for you and your child.

Odysseus

From a psychotherapy viewpoint I know therapists who would see children of that age, so I would imagine it's the same for a psychologist, however, as suggested above maybe use your GP as a starting point.

amz5

Have the school suggested that his behaviour is extremely inappropriate? Have they suggested to you that he needs additional support of this nature? If he is behaving in an appropriate manner at home, perhaps he is still settling into the routine of school. Some boys take a long time to settle in and he is quite young for Senior Infants, so it might just be a maturity issue. That said, if you're worried, you should contact your GP (as suggested) as they will make a referral if they feel that it is appropriate.

angeldaisy

Thanks for all the advice. The school mentioned help - but they said that they wouldn't usually do this until 1st or 2nd year.
His class had an inspector in before xmas ( reviewing a new teacher) and assumed that my son was the one who needed the sna in the classroom, he isn't - there is a boy with mild autism in the class.
in the last 2 1/2 wks, he has exhibited seemingly impulsive aggressive behaviour.
I guess I'm worried in case I leave it too late? I have imposed several restrictions in his life - such as tv ban, favourite toy removed etc.
I think I will speak to my gp next time I'm in with him

albeit

Maybe you should also have him checked for any food-allergies as they sometimes can effect behaviour- for example if he has a stomack ache he might be acting out because it is just too much to deal with all together, i.e. behaving and suffer from the pain at the same time.

Have you thought about letting him repeat a year, maybe he just not ready for the pressure of having to sit and listen in school?
Or jumping down one class may be another option.

angeldaisy

I dont think i can link it to food, he has a fairly 'clean' diet, drinks mainly water and only has treats at the weekend.
Not sure keeping him back a year would work as he is already way ahead in terms of what they are learning, I feel that would probably make him more frustrated.
Think what he needs is anger management classes! - wonder if they exist for children?

Odysseus

Can I just add a word of caution here, we are getting near a line of personal advise, which we don't really do here.

Pebbles68

My friend had "play therapy" suggested to her by the school. Her daughter was/is being disruptive in class and no one seems to be able to connect. I don't know anything about it. HOTSPUR, stand up, share, do you know anything about it? My friend is at her wits end. Any info or advice would really help

_Whimsical_

I am in no way qualified to answer this question so I'm not offering advice but I thought I'd ad my two cents anyway. OP perhaps it would be a good idea for you to visit a child psychologist yourself .Even if your child is not old enough to attend a psychologist might be able to suggest strategies to you for dealing with your little boys behaviour .Something like that could be key in helping him out.

Another impression I'd have, and it's in no way advice, is that maybe he's a little bit young for severe sanctions or punishments. Alot of 5 year olds would struggle to understand what the relation was between having an outburst in school in the morning and not being allowed play with their favourite toy that evening. Taking away his favourite things and comforts might make him more frustrated and prone to getting aggressive. It doesnt sound like the school are suggesting that he's poorly disciplined by you, more that he's out of his own control as a result of some issue so he's not being "bold" exactly. He might not understand at all why he's having a long punishment at home over his behaviour. Maybe something like a star chart and a reward system might motivate him better to behave well ?


I think that the teacher telling you that the inspector made an assumption that your child had special needs was quite a brutal way of breaking news that he might have some issues to you. Lots of children do have problems when they're very small and they can grow out of them or get help with dealing with them. Don't stress too much and good luck.

hotspur

Pebbles68 wrote: »

My friend had "play therapy" suggested to her by the school. Her daughter was/is being disruptive in class and no one seems to be able to connect. I don't know anything about it. HOTSPUR, stand up, share, do you know anything about it? My friend is at her wits end. Any info or advice would really help

I don't know much about play therapy, though I have done some sand play therapy using figures and a little with soft toys as a client. Play therapy is not a bizarre or particularly fringe therapy for children, it is quite well established, has a long history, and has multiple research studies demonstrating its efficacy for increasing positive functioning in children with a variety of difficulties.

Like the op with her issue if it were me I would wish to arrange an assessment by a child psychologist for any worrying issue with a child's behaviour.