Hi, I am the mom to a wonderful, incredibly smart six year old boy who has had a variety of issues since he was 9 months old when he first got teeth. He was kicked out of his 1st daycare at 14 months after have 34 biting incidents. Since then he spent over a year at home with Dad and when it was time for preschool he was in 3 differrent settings. In first grade he was put on an IEP and was moved to another school that was better equiped to handle his outburts and agresssion. We had him assessed and tested so many times and have received all types of diagnoses.

At home he is a great kid who gets along with his 4 year old brother. He never has been overally social but in the last 6-8 months is much more comfortable in small groups and interacting one on one with other kids. Today after his first suspension from first grade for agression we were able to get a sensory profile completed for school which showed a definitive difference from his peers in all forms of sensory categories.

We have him set to meet with a qualified pediatric OT early next week. We are hoping this will help. The school OT also recommended we consider the Wilbarger Brush protocol.

My husband and I have been through so much in the past several years. I guess we are looking for hope that some of the suggestions we are receiving actually work. We have had our hopes up so many times and had them quickly dashed with another outburst or incident.

Anyone that can relate and provide us hope would be appreciated. We love our son so much and just want him to be happy.

He sounds like a combination of my two boys, who are 10 and 7. My older son was diagnosed in 1st grade, after his kindergarten teacher expressed concerns that he wasn't interacting with other kids. He is mostly an avoider. He would sometimes react to unexpected light touch by hitting that person. He sometimes wrecks other people's things--it seems like he wants to see what would happen and what it would feel like. He received OT in school in 1st and 2nd grades, and private OT over the summer between 1st and 2nd. He also received help from the school social worker 1-2 times a week from Kindy to 4th grade.

Ages 5-6-7-8 (through the end of 2nd grade) were hard--frustrating and stressful. It was in 3rd grade that things finally got better. He started sleeping better, he was having more positive social interactions, his maturity level was starting to catch up with his peers.

My younger son was just evaluated on the 13th (his 7th bday). We dont have the written eval yet. The OT suggested that we try brushing with him. We start next week with OT for him. We did joint compressions with my older son, but never brushing. So we'll see how it goes.

My younger son was a biter. I had almost forgotten that until I read your post. As a baby, he was a strong sucker, breastfeeding and on a pacifier. He had a pacifier from day 1 because of his need to suck. He still likes to lick and suck on his fingers. He bit a few kids and the caregiver at daycare when he was 12-15 months. Luckily not enough to kick him out. He is a seeker for most things. Always jumping, climbing, crashing, spinning. He seems to be regressing socially lately. Used to make friends easily, but lately he tells me that he plays alone at recess.

It won't help overnight. It takes time. It's two steps forward, one step back. My older son thrives with routine and structure, so I try hard to provide that at home. That reduces the meltdowns. Try to learn his triggers and how to avoid them.

This post is reminding me that I have more paperwork to fill out for OT next week!

To me it sounds pretty much like he is having a fight or flight response to all the sensory overload in school and daycare situations. Usually children's behavior is worse at home so if he is good at home and like that at school it seems like something about the school environment must REALLY be setting him off.

The brushing protocol can be very helpful for some children and the opposite of helpful for others. It could give him needed stimulation or be overstimulated. One of my children didn't sleep for several days after trying it because she was so overstimulated, the other child seems to be helped by it sometimes in moderation.

Thank you for the repsonses. We had a good meeting with the OT at the end of last week and will begin regular weekly sessions on Monday. We have also found a great therapist that believes in OT and also believes in therapy first medicine as a backup. This is such a roller coaster and knowing that others can relate really does help.

We are set to be trained on the brushing protocal at the end of next week. Hopefully it will help.