My Friend's son

ChanYatChing

Dear Dr T,

I have a question to ask regarding my best friend's 12-year old son.

His major problem is he will beat his mother just because of very small issues. He will beat his sister too but not as hard as his mother. The grandmother has stayed with them for short period of time. One time he beat his sister, his mother and his grandmother one by one because they asked him not to play so much TV game. At night, if he remembered he had something to tell his sister, he will wake up his sister although she has fell into sleep.

The mother thought he has mental problem. Eventfully they consulted the psychiatrist doctor and the doctor also thought that he has mental problem but could not judge the diagnosis for two-time consultation and prescribed psychiatrist medicine to him.  His abnormal behaviours apart from hitting the mother like :

1. Sometimes he won't take bath for two to three days

2. After seriously heat the mother, he behaved nothing has happened the next day. If the mother talked about the incident and asked him why he beated her, he just said that you deserved to be hit.

3. Sometimes he told his mother that I wanted to kill you. I wanted to push you down when they are taking escalator in the MTR. Quite scary.  

Now they have stopped taking the medicine because his son has shown some side-effect after taking the medicine for one month. Her mother in-law and brother in law do not allow the boy to take the medicine any more. Therefore they have stopped the treatment.

From your experience, is the boy really got the mental problem ? What other kind of professional services they should look for in order to help the boy and help my friend. Like every two day my friend was hit by his son seriously.

Also one thing to mention, when he was a little boy, I think he has the problem of hyperactive. Behavious like bomb his bicycle to the bedroom door with strong force several times non stop running stairdown up and down non-stop.

Sorry for the long mail. I really hope that we can help the boy and the mother.

Thanks & Best Rgds,

st

1)the mother is right, medicine have many side effect.
2) try to eliminate sugar, gluten and allergy food from his diet, but he is age 12 already