Brown-Earle

Q: I did major surgery recently and my son, who has never wet his bed, started doing so. During my stay in hospital, he thought I would not return. How do I deal with a child who has regressed because of a traumatic experience?

A: All individuals may become nervous, anxious or intense after such an experience. The child may also have been worried that he or she could have lost his or parents parent.

It is normal for the physical symptoms of the bed-wetting to accompany the emotionally challenging stress the child has experienced. Give the child time to heal. Re-establish routines and pursue enjoyable activities with your child to make him or her feel comfortable again.

Q: I am distressed because my son has got into the habit of sniffing glue. It seems he can do nothing else. It is affecting his schoolwork and we have many quarrels over it. Sometimes it becomes physical, but he keeps sniffing. What can I do?

A: Please get your child to a medical doctor and a psychologist/addictions counsellor as quickly as possible. This is now clearly an addiction. Sniffing glue can cause hearing loss, short-term memory loss and or permanent brain damage. The medical doctor will determine if there are any physical damage so far and the therapy from the psychologist/counsellor will include building self-esteem as self-confident children are less likely to abuse drugs.

Q: My child cannot keep still and has a very short attention span. Help!

A: Your child may have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, also called ADHD. This disorder must be officially diagnosed by a psychologist or a psychiatrist as it is similar to other disorders and a full psychoeducational evaluation will be necessary to make a definite diagnosis. Your child, if diagnosed with ADHD, can receive special help so he or she can function well and learn well.

The behaviours you have described must present themselves for at least six months before any specialist can say the child has ADHD.

Having problems with your children? Write to Ask the Doc, c/o The Gleaner, 7 North Street, Kingston, or email: helpline@gleanerjm.com. Dr Orlean Brown-Earle, child psychologist and family therapist, has the solutions.

Dr Brown-Earle is also an associate professor at the Northern Caribbean University, lecturing in the graduate and undergraduate psychology and counselling programmes.