Should there be a concern?

[A friend but logged out]

I have had a child for 4 years and I've always had a concern with some developments but there seems to be something more and more as time goes by. I have talked to parents (wonderful parents) concerned but not rushing to have anything diagnosed.

Anyway, child has been doing this for awhile but its getting to be alot lately. Lots of making noise-beep, beep/blowing lips together for that noise/squeaks just out of the blue/high pitched squeal/ ooooooo (short o sound)/and more. It took this child over 30 min. because of just talking, talking, talking and then making these noises. They do it also when making crafts/playing/being in quiet time.

Talks very loudly also, to the point other children complain their ears hurt from it. Nothing works to quiet them-played the whisper game, quiet game, etc. Nothing has worked.

Has trouble doing activities (coloring, recognizing certain colors, holding utensils at times, pencils, crayons).

There are other things but right now this is whats on top of my mind that has me concerned. Any ideas from anyone in this should be a concern or just development for this child. Going on four here soon also.

[Blackcat31]

There definitely seems to be some things that would warrant concern but as a child care provider all you can really do is document the things you see and let the parents know you have concerns.

Does your school district require mandatory preschool screenings? Ours does and the recommended age is 3.5 but a parent can do it any time between age 3 and Kindy entrance.

I would definitely refer them to their pediatrician and/or the early childhood screeners.

Unless we are specifically trained in diagnosing developmental delays, I think we can only point out what we witness. I would for sure document everything you think is out of the normal range. Every little detail counts.

[Mom&Provider]

I'm not a medical professional at all, but it sounds to me almost more like this child is experiencing tics vs developmental delays - although I'm sure one comes with the other if the child is constantly fighting to hold back the motions of the tic their body is forcing.

I would definately speak with the parents more opening about your concerns, nicely of course and not suggesting anything specific being wrong, just that they need to have the child looked at.

[countrymom]

I had a dcb like this, told parents but they denied it. He went to school. The school started complaining, they still wouldn't do nothing. Last year a teacher had enough and told parents that they had to do something. He goes for lots of therapy now. I'm almost positive he has aspergers. One of the biggest complaint with teachers was that he would be impulsive he would make those strange noises all day even during tests which was bothersome to the students. Also, does he have no emotion control or filter. This boy I had still goes up to strangers and talks smack with them, its very rude and parents aren't doing anything about it.

[Willow]

This is the definition of sensory seeking behavior.

A child can be sensory seeking for a myriad of reasons....nervous system dysfunction, neurological issues, anxiety etc.

Definitely encourage the parents to get him screened but there are things you can do to help him if it's just a benign problem.

Offer a lot of varying tactile activities. Lacing cards for example, with them usually come regular cotton laces, but with mine I also threw in some plastic ones, some very soft pieces of yarn with taped off ends and some very tightly curled thicker ones. When kids switch from the different textures it excites the sense of touch and wakes up the brain a bit more than using the same old plain cotton laces would.

Love play doh but watch what it does to a kids face when you mix sand, cous-cous or water into the dough.

Cut a hole in a cereal box and stick a surprise item in they have to try to describe so they REALLY focus on the touch. Make sure you vary the textures and weights....feathers, blocks, a small wax candle, an orange, a can of soup, a measuring spoon.

To up the ante on the same concept fill a small bin with rice and hide the "treasures" in there - small plastic coated paper clips in large amounts are fun to fish out, marbles, pom-poms, gummy bears, and Mr. Potato Head pieces (which I'll then challenge them to identify BEFORE they pull them out) etc.

And you don't just have to stick with playing with touch, smell can be a fun one. In plastic cups put a slice of lemon, a dash of ginger, cinnamon, pepper...tell the kids to close their eyes and let them take a turn smelling them.


A kid who is sensory seeking will adore these games and you can at times see visible relief in their demeanor and near instant improvement in terms of their behaviors.

[Unregistered]

Intervention is THE KEY!

The parents should look into getting help through the school district- in most states (I only know CA laws) the school district the child lives family in (weather they plan on attending those schools or not) offer programs for children who are not yet in school with early intervention programs that help with children that show signs of delay development or learning/acedemic disabilities such as autism or hearing/seeing difficulties. The goal is to make sure that they get the help they need before they get to school, so that way they may not have to take remedial classes in JH/HS due to an undiagnosed learning disability.

One of my teachers said that one of the parents at the daycare center she used to work at was a migrant workers and the DCM didn't have much money and couldn't take off days from work but the teacher noticed that the son wouldn't respond much when spoken to and didn't talk much and she would try to tell the DCM but the DCM would just ignore it. DCF left and came back to the facility off and on (because of migrant program) for a few years until finally teacher told her that if she didn't take DCB to the doctor that she would call CPS, and finaly DCM took him to the doctor and sure enough- he was deaf. And the doctor said that if he would have gotten help sooner he could have gotten a hearing aid but it was so long that he was now completely deaf instead of partialy deaf.