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manic 4 1/2 year old know that one in spades my son lewis can flip out at the drop of a hat but changed his diet put in fish oils and multi vits and he's a different child loving caring still a monkey but lovely with it oh and stick with the disapline it really does work and giving him options do the thing you want or you go to the naughty spot works but they have to be listening to you in the first place and that can be the biggest battle

all I can say is your not alone out there and try and see if there is a play group for ADD and autistic kids in your area try seaching the net for a thing called Sweet peas UK to know what I mean

hope things are calming down for you

                                    jenny

Hi Urshy,

                 Your daughter sounds like my 3 1/2 year old son used to be, and my almost 5 year old nephew used to be.  My nephew was the worst.  He would  bite, hit, scratch and punch his mother and it always got worse when they had visitors or they were out somewhere else. And the language that came out of his mouth was disgusting.  My sister in law took him to doctors thinking he might have a medical problem like ADD, but the doctors all said there was nothing wrong, it was his behaviour.

                   I have an older son (now 13) who was diagnosed with ADD/ODD when he was 7 and was put on medication for it.  When his dosage kept going up, I did some research and found that the foods he was eating was a major part in his ADD.  I wanted him off the medication as I didn't like giving my son drugs.  I tried to eliminate all artificial food colours, flavours and preservatives.  I made all my own cakes and biscuits , ice blocks, bread  etc so that he could have treats too.  Even my daughter ( who had never had behavioural problems) went on this diet too, so that my son did't feel left out. My sister in law also used this for her son and the change in both boys was dramatic.  My sister in law now has a polite little boy, who every now and then has an burst of anger, but what child doesn't.  My eldest boy hasn't been on medication for over 2 years now and is going into grade 9 in a few weeks.  My nephew is going into prep school.

I would advise you look at your daughters diet and try to eliminate all, or as much as you possibly can of any flavours, colours and preservatives.  Buy bakery bread, rather than breads brought in the shops. They won't stay fresh as long, but that is because it doesn't have the preservatives in it.  The mould inhibitor....the preservative that keeps the bread from going mouldy quickly, is the worst one.  I made my own bread, but I also found yeast was a culprit in my sons behaviour as if he vegemite his behaviour worsened, but if he had vegemite on bread, it was ten times worse.  I brought him Nutella instead and he rarely eats vegemite now, and prefers damper or cracker biscuits instead of bread.

Hope this helps you bit. I know what you are going through....been there done that, twice.  First with my eldest son, and then with my youngest who is now also on the diet. And I helped my sister in law with her little boy also.  Feel free to contact me if want to chat or learn any more about our diets.

Tracey

I was going to suggest the FAILSAFE diet which is same sort of thing as winniepooh suggested. Sure changed my sons behaviour. As with the timeout thing. It didn't work for my son for ages until we found out we were doing it wrong. Int he end we took all the toys etc out of his room and put a lock on his door (if you have another room with no breakables or stimulating things in it use it instead). He was told "you didn't....... when you were asked(or similar )so you have to go to time out until you have been quiet for 2 minutes" (3for 4yr old) and he was then locked inside until he had been quiet for 2 minutes. Now the only problem we have now wtih timeout ( and he only really needs the threat now) is that he has figured out how to pick the lock and escape. Apparently a lot of parents spend a lot of time putting the child back in time out and this gives them attention (even if you aren't talking to them when you do it).

Winniepooh my son reacts to preservatives and colours . If he has a colour he goes hypo 20 minutes later. If he has a preservative he has a violent tantrum about 12-24 hrs later. his worst is preservative 621 (MSG). If you go to www.fedup.com.au it gives you a basic booklet to download that can get you started and there are e-mail groups if you need advice.

I would suggest discipline.... as with anyother undesirable behaviour talking rudely and/or saying unkind things, being sassy or impudent etc. is something that needs to be defined as a boundary. I prefer the corner or sending to room. Even at the first sign of dis-respect. But let her know that this is not acceptable and that there are consequences for treating people like this.