Signs of Behavior Disorders in Children (Nursing)

00:01 So what are we going to be seeing with a child who has behaviour disorders.

00:06 Very frequently, we see aggressive behaviours, aggressive behaviours that just take the child over, it's almost as though they don't have control over what they are about to do.

00:20 And you see it happening.

00:22 We might see them arguing with people, they might be lying, they might be stealing.

00:29 They might be very spiteful, resentful, and really take it to a level that we're not seeing with a child who would say that they're hurt, their feelings are hurt.

00:40 No, these children have no border, they have no border between, I'm not happy with you.

00:47 And I'm just going to go ahead and your hand is there and I have this hammer, and I'm just going to smash it.

00:54 We have to be very careful with the kids who have behaviour disorders.

00:59 And remember, it's a disorder.

01:01 It's not just a willful desire to go against, or to lie or to steal.

01:08 We also have to remember that there are neurological disorders that sometimes have behavioural implications.

01:17 For example, one of my clients, her daughter was a person who had epilepsy.

01:25 And that child was being accused of stealing all the time.

01:30 And when we went to the neurologist, when we finally got her the referral to the neurologist, and the neurologist did a full battery of tests on her.

01:42 He came back and explained to the mom and me and the teacher, that this young person, I think she was nine years old, then what would happen is that as she was going and having the aura, she would want something to hold and whatever was closer, she'd pick it up.

02:03 And in the minute and a half that she had the seizure.

02:08 When she stopped having the seizure, and she was back in the classroom, and aware of her surroundings, she would have whatever it was that she grabbed in her hand.

02:18 And she would be having other kids saying to her, you stole that, look at she stole that.

02:25 And so we had to work away, that we were able to say, oh, that might have been something that she took in a moment because she needed it and being able to give it back.

02:36 Before the neurologist had diagnosed this behaviour as being part of the spectrum of epilepsy, and the aura, this child was getting bullied, so that no matter where she went, or what she did, everyone was watching to see if she was going to steal something.

02:58 So, if you are a school nurse, if you are looking at behaviour disorders, you want to be careful to make sure that that disorder that you're looking at, does not have a medical condition underlying it.

03:13 We might see children who deliberately annoy others or that their level of tolerance for somebody coming up to them is so small that they become annoyed with others in a moment.

03:32 One of the cardinal symptoms that we see with a child who has a behavioural disorder is that they don't take responsibility for what's going on.

03:42 It's never their mistake.

03:46 It's never that they did the misbehaviour it's someone else's fault.

03:53 And the child consistently will go and break rules.

03:57 Even when it is known that this is the rule that child will be breaking rules.