Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Intermittent Explosive Disorder

Hi. Has anyone any info/ experience with this. It has been suggested as an explanation for the behaviours ds9 has that can't bee explained by giftedness and don't work for ASD, ADHD or any other condition. I am at the point where I need a diagnosis.

I've attached a few informational sites below. The first is an overview on IED, and the second is one on DMDD, both of which have anger elements to them. DMDD is a more recent diagnostic category, which appears to have some relationship to anxiety and depression in adulthood.

https://childmind.org/guide/intermittent-explosive-disorder/

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/top...uptive-mood-dysregulation-disorder.shtml

It is not a very encouraging diagnosis. Everyone will still claim he chooses to behave badly and needs more consequences. He is sort of a Jeckyl and Hyde child. Mostly he is sweet, co-operative and funny. But the rest of the time it is like he is possessed briefly. Good thing I don't believe in possession by demons.

I'd rather look more closely at DMDD than IED. It seems to have a better prognosis.

It says he has to be irritable or angry nearly all the time for that. My first thought was he isn't but I suppose that he always has a very short fuse and is easily upset. The age of onset works better (I would say about 6 months).

At this point any diagnosis would help. Late winter/early spring (NZ) is the worst time usually too so I do wonder about SAD as well. Or it maybe that everyone else is less able to cope with him.

Thanks again.

Look at SAD or anxiety first.... also maybe finding a therapist that can work on emotion regulation may be helpful....

Potentially a play therapist or a dialectic behavioral therapist

Make sure they've ruled out all potential medical issues - my kid's severe anxiety, depression, meltdowns, & violent outbursts/panic attacks turned out to be significantly rooted in undiagnosed celiac disease. (Looking back she'd probably had it for years, so there were probably also multiple nutritional deficiencies.)

She didn't have what used to be viewed as the classic presentation (a skinny kid who stopped growing and missed milestones - she was growing, heavy and putting on weight, ahead on milestones, etc.). Now, 18 mo on a gluten-free diet has made a big difference and we may still see more improvement; the celiac expert we saw said that brain inflammation takes the longest to recover.

We saw a dozen different professionals (medical doctors, counselors, OTs, you name it) before someone finally thought to screen for it. Rate of occurrence is believed to be around 1 in 133, but only a small percentage are actually diagnosed.

Anyway, it may not be your issue but since it's easily and often overlooked, and was 100% assumed to be a psych/behavioral issue in our case, I thought I'd mention it.

Thanks. His older brother is gluten intolerant and I have always suspected ds9 would be better off without it but it was just too much. I have a co-operative GP do I will ask for a referral for bloods as well. Maybe allergen prick testing too? He doesn't seem to have more than mild seasonal allergies but that doesn't mean it isn't more underneath.

Trying to get him gluten free will probably be a nightmare though.