When my son was three year -old a friend of a friend at playgroup told me he had “serious antisocial issues”.
She informed me that he had antisocial personality disorder, that he would “probably be expelled” by the time he was six and I’d be dealing with the fallout until he was a young adult.
She told me that he had behavioural problems stemming from a serious disorder.
He had just turned three.
He still wore nappies and played with Thomas the Tank Engine. He stomped in puddles on rainy days and made me finger paintings to say I love you and, when he wasn’t understood or no one would play with him, on occasion, he whacked other kids with his hands, or pushed them in rush to the morning tea table.
I remember feeling humiliated and terrified all at the same time.
A friend of a friend at playgroup told me my son had “serious antisocial issues”. Image supplied.
My baby boy branded psychotic, all because I asked advice on how to stop him hitting other kids at day care.
What I should have done at the time was seek help or advice from a professional, someone to put my mind at ease, (not some nosey mother at playgroup) but as we know hindsight is a wonderful thing and the fear of parental judgement is not.
What I’ve since learnt is that my bright beautiful boy had neither a psychotic disorder, nor behavioural issues, that, in fact, he was hitting other kids because no one else (except his Mama) could understand him. He was frustrated. Some speech therapy and a whole heap of cuddles eventually sorted him out, but not before much angst and heartache was felt by me.
If I’d sought out that professional early enough, his speech problems would have been picked up earlier. But I didn’t. I was worried what they would think of me.
It turns out I am not alone.
A new study has found that one in three Australian parents are reluctant to seek advice about their children’s behaviour or development for fear of being judged.
The survey from Pregnancy, Birth and Baby has found Australians rank healthcare professionals, including GPs, pharmacists and maternal child health nurses, third as the source they turn to most for information on their child’s behaviour and development, behind friends and family.
Dianne Zalitis, Clinical Lead of Pregnancy, Birth and Baby said that while friends and family are an “invaluable source of support for parents”, as many of us know they don’t always have the most up-to-date and accurate information.
The study looked at why parents don’t seek help and they found fear of judgment was the main reason with 33 per cent being afraid of being judged or seen as a failure.
Top Comments
Thanks for a really well written, informative article :))
Psychotic? No I don't think so. You're getting psychotic and psychopathic mixed up. I have a psychotic disorder which is delusions, paranoia, hallucinations and disordered thinking. Nothing to do with psychopathic behaviour. I really wish people wouldn't get the two mixed up. The stigma is hard enough to deal with as it is. I'm not evil, I'm not violent, I don't lash out at anyone even when I'm having an episode. The only person I have ever hurt when having an episode is myself. please remember anti social/ psychopathic is not psychosis. They are completely different things.