Keeping Our Young People Safe

At just 10 years old Scott* was renowned for his explosive behaviour.

At school, the teachers and other students reported having to walk on egg-shells not knowing what was going to trigger him or when he was going to explode. Scott has a list of diagnosis, ranging from Pragmatic Language Disorder, Sensory Processing Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, suspected ADHD, as well as Intermittent Explosive Disorder and Generalised Anxiety Disorder.

Life was tough for Scott, who had even spent time in an inpatient neuropsychiatry ward, but his parents, family, friends and teachers just didn’t know what to do, or how to handle his explosive behaviour.

He was constantly getting into trouble and in detention because of his behaviour, most of which the young child was unable to control. With a violent history, on several occasions, Scott had hit his parents and siblings and had even made multiple suicide attempts. It’s hard to imagine trying to take your own life, especially at 10 years old.

When police arrived, Scott was being held down by a neighbour. When he was let go, he rushed forward punching his mum a few more times, the police surrounded him, but Scott continued to fight. The young child was eventually handcuffed and for his and his family’s safety was forcibly sedated and transported to the hospital.

Scott’s behaviour was recognised as a medical issue and this incident was caused by an overload in his body resulting in an intense meltdown over which he had no control. Scott was experiencing intense anxiety, but his body took overexpressing it physically. 

Working with Scott’s behaviour was difficult but our KOT facilitator Rachel was able to make some progress using ‘Collaborative and Proactive Solution’ methods by Dr Ross Greene.

Rachel adjusted her adult expectations to avoid conflict, and outside the heat of the moment was able to chat with Scott about his challenges and why he found things like answering his worksheet difficult.

“When Scott felt like he was being listened to and his anxiety was taken seriously, he was able to come up with his solutions, managing his behaviour and being empowered by choice. Scott has had and will continue to have many struggles in his life, but together with medical support and the Kids on Track program, his future is looking safer and more stable”, says Rachel Windermere’s KOT Facilitator.

 

*name changed to protect privacy