I hope that someone out there has some advice for me. A little over a week ago, my son, who's almost 8, was sick with a flu-like illness which included a fever. During the fever, as he was trying to rest (he also had a terrible headache) he said he was hearing voices yelling in his head an they were bothering him. Well, he recovered from the illness, but now continues to hear voices in his head during times when he is quiet, mostly when he's trying to go to sleep but also when he's playing quietly, etc. So far, the only things he has told me that they say are "be quiet" and "shut up" (we do not say "shut up" in our house, BTW). Needless to say, my husband and I are very, very worried. We have read through various resources online, which have scared us even more. I called his ped office, and his doctor said to have him evaluated by a psychiatrist. So, has anyone else experienced anything like this with there kids? What did you do? Does anyone have a recommendation for a pediatric psychiatrist in the Portlant area? I have not idea where to start. Thanks!
Hi There,
I know you asked for a PDX doctor, but we have had such positive experience at Marcin Youthcare that I had to share. Dr. Marcin is so kind that we look forward to our visits (my son has autism and he manages his medication in a very conservative but effective way). He has offices in Salem and Corvallis, and a website www.marcinyouthcare.com. His help has changed my son's life.
I hope this helps. Best of luck.
Kate
Wow, Trish, I'm so sorry to hear your son has developed this symptom. Do seek an evaluation soon. If a mental illness is developing here, the sooner your son is receiving care, the better for all of you.
Hearing voices for a brief spell isn't common, but I've had it happen a couple of times. It can pass. Or not. I have known a couple of adults who started hearing voices in their early teens and progressed into lifelong illness.
However this turns out, you know that your son is wonderful. He will be as perfect tomorrow as he was yesterday. Don't judge this any differently than any physical illness. The brain is an organ, just like the heart or stomach, and is vulnerable. Some illness turns out to be chronic.
It can be agony to see our precious children challenged by suffering or fear. And sometimes, such is life. If it turns out to be an ongoing illness, grieve as you must, learn what you can from it, and allow the experience to make you and your family deeper and more compassionate. Fighting, fearing, and denying a new reality are normal human responses, but not especially productive, so I hope you discover early that such suffering can pass.
Blessings to you all. I'll hold you in my prayers.
You may think I am crazy about this one also but have you ever heard of Sylvia Brown? She is a psychic, claims to be God given talent..... she says that children see spirits and/or hear spirits. She says that sometimes, not all the time that children will have a make beleive friend which will not be make beleive to them. They are spirits that come back to protect them. I like Sylvia Brown and when my children were small and they claimed to see or hear things, I always asked them what they looked like or what they said. I never discounted them. Sylvia Brown says that some children are sensitive and can see spirits where adults can't. They grow out of it. There has been many documented cases that children have described a deceased person that they said they saw. Maybe while your son was sick, a deceased spirit came back to watch over him and take care of him.
I wouldn't jump to the psychiatrists this early. Talk to him some more. If it doesn't seem to be bothering him physically then just ask him questions about the voices and if he sees anyone. Now if he is having a bad headache with it, it is probably not voices but the headache and sometimes the blood trying to squeeze through the vessels that are causing the headache are making it hurt and appear that he hears voices and he really doesn't. I would keep an eye out on him and make sure you communicate with him ALOT.
Hi Trish,
Wow, that is very scary and I'm sure you're worried right now! My first thought is that maybe it's more of a PTSD response (post traumatic stress) than anything else ? If it happened when he had a high fever and it scared him, I'm wondering if that's why it is continuing now. The fact that it was brought on by an event vs. out of the blue is a good thing in my opinion. Had it started happening out of the blue, to me that would be scarier and more representative of an organic issue going on.
I am a school psychologist and one Ph.D. level clinical psychologist I'd definitely recommend is Dr. Dan Quiggins. He is located in Portland. Here is a link to his contact information: http://web2.userinstinct.com/36472953-dan-quiggins-phd.htm
I hope this helps you. Good luck!
Sara
Skip the psychology. Psychologist will only make a mess of this situation. Spirits are involved here, nasty ones. You can take him to a very reputable person who knows how to remove them.
Often during a sickness a child meets their own spirit guides (guardian angels),
or learns their life's mission. That did not happen to your son the wrong type snuck in.
Go on line at Powell's and look for Angel's and Companions in Spirit. The book will tell you what to do and exactly how to do it.
Wow, such varied responses?! My first thought when I read that was did he by chance take tamiflu when be had the flu and high fever?! My son got swine flu this past fall, very minor and barely even noticable but we have a newbrn and because that, we took him to our pediatrician to be sure and they confirmed it was the swine.. Gave us all tamiflu and of course wanted to k ow what the drug was about and a lot of what I was reading is that it causes hallucinations, voices in head, etc..
So when I read your post that was my first thought?? My son is only 2 but never seemed affected but in my research online it did seem to happen to a lot of kids so t might be worth looking into if that's the case?!
Good Luck and don't let all these posts scare you. It obviously was triggered by his high fever and hopefully it's only temp but maybe seeing a physciatrust mght help you I. Helping your son work through this and getting those voices out of his head,.. Somehow having himself those voices aren't real and getting his mind to go elsewhere when that occurs again like maybe focusing on something he really loves?! Like if he is in to star wars or whatever, have him think of do ething happy or have him do somethi g to distract his mnd???
Good luck and ill keep your son in my prayers that it goes away!!
Use your mommy intuiton! We have it for a reason and sometimes we might disreguard that inner voice because we might not want to deal with what it is telling us!!
There are a lot of varied responses here, and I guessing that most of the writers have a belief in a christian based religion.
I'm Pagan. I don't believe in god, or heaven, or hell, and I'm quite happy in my religion. In my belief system this is considered a "gift". Instead of going to someone that may or may not put your son on drugs needlessly see if you can get in contact with anyone pagan or wiccan in your area. Withcraft is not evil, it is a nature based religion that tries to maintain a balance of nature.
Anyway, by best friend was diagnosed for years with schizophrenia and multiple personalities. The diagnosis was wrong, it was her gifts that were appearing. Her family was, and still are, devout Catholics. They tried a very painful exorcism on her and when she was 10 years old threw her out of the house and very nearly disowned her.
Most people have internal dialogue but identify with it and don't consider it a separate voice. His own mind is creating the voice and w/focusing on reality he can learn to take the energy out of the voices/trauma. It is important to bring him into this moment and for him to know that there is nothing wrong with him.
THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT HE NEEDS FROM YOU IS CALM REASSURANCE THAT HE IS OK. HELP HIM DEAL WITH WHAT IS GOING ON RIGHT NOW. YOUR CALM IS NECESSARY. GETTING SCARED MAKES IT WORST FOR HIM AS HE LOOKS TO YOU TO SEE IF HE IS OK.
Your son may have thoughts or feeling to talk out - for example he and you where most likely scared by his fevers. Helping him to see that he was afraid, but that he is fine is important. The mind tends to replay what it interpreted as threats. This triggers our survival mechanisms, which then creates a negative emotional reaction and makes the fear more tangible. This launches a cycle that you can change with focusing on reality, reassurance and a peaceful heart. We all have to learn to deal with what we perceive as a threat to our survival. These come and go. Having a good grip on reality gives us the stability to weather these with grace.
I would be very cautious about someone who wants to put him on meds or gives too much power to the voice. Your son has power over the voice. It is the voice of being afraid that is stuck in his head. Ask him directly - what are you afraid of? There is a trend in the industry to diagnose medicate and it is largely unnecessary. This can set off a series of experiences with meds that you don't really want for your child. Additionally, meds are not dealing with the real issue, which is teaching the child to deal with reality right now and stop producing fear. You get more of what you focus on - if you are constantly solving fear, you get more fear. If you are dealing with reality, you become more functional. Of course you recognize the fear, but too often counselors feed it and you end up in years of therapy.
Your son has a chance to recognize that no one or nothing but him controls his mind. These thoughts are the product of fear, fear feeds on fear. It creates more fear by getting you scared, by replaying the old messages and triggering your survival mechanisms.
I am in So. OR. and consult by phone if you would like guidance on this.
Don't panic, your son really needs you to be rational. This is not as unusual as you think it is and panic, more fear will make it worst quickly.
Hi,
My 14 year old son had the exact same situation as your son starting around the same age 8. Actually all my kids have this - but we don't see it as a problem, its an ability. My kids are all psychic and can heal. It has gotten stronger with time. At first I was as concerned as you, and thought something must be wrong - but I know I was the one who was so wrong. Definitely do NOT take him to a psychiatrist ! That is not the answer here. Doctors do NOT understand about the spiritual realm and will think he's nuts and put him on drugs - is that what you want ? To deaded your son into a zombie ? I didn't think so...
There are things in the spiritual realm that are very real, and unless you have a belief in the spiritual world, you will have a very difficult time in dealing with his 'problem.' My advice to you is to pray to the Lord Jesus that you would have clarity to dealing with this ability of his, having understanding and compassion. He will need support during this time. God obviously gave your son this ability, it could be for a reason that you don't know at this point. I could say a LOT more about this subject, because much has come to light in our situation - but do not feel this forum is the place to go in depth here, as there are many who will scoff at this post and think its rubbish - that's fine, I am not here to convince anyone of our reality, and the reality of many many other children (and parent's of) out there. Its like scientists' who can't admit there is a God, there has to be a visible way the world was created, or it must be the big bang theory or evolution. When you do the research you will learn more about this. Here are a few links to start you off:
You've had a lot of different opinions here. I just wanted to add another one for you. :) I don't think your son has any mental illness or has to fight off any spirits. I'm quite sure this is just a lingering affect of the illness. I had a high fever in high school and during it had a particular dream/image that was vivid and negative. It took me a few weeks to shake it. Every once in a while that image/feeling still comes over me, especially when I'm very tired (and I'm 36!). I would stay calm, help your son step away from it with some fresh air and/or favourite books. Give it a few weeks, keep up open honest conversation.
I guess you have to go with your gut, but I don't think I would rush my daughter to a psychiatrist right away, only if the situtation became unsafe, harmful in some way. I would talk with her and find out more of what these voices say and how she feels about them - do they have names -etc. Trying not to make it a big deal, kids have imaginary friends all the time.
Since it seemed to come on with a sickness I would take her to a neurologist, just to have some tests run to ensure infection or some sort of damage wasn't done while she had a fever. Then I would get a second opnion. General practice Pedi's sometimes dont think out of normal childhood sicknesses.
Then for fun, I might go see Rene - she is really nice and maybe can give you a different perspective. http://www.askrenee.com/
Hang in there and give us an update!
You weren't specific about the fever, but was it very high? My mother likes to tell me the story about one time when I had a fever so high as a young child that I actually became delirious. I have no memory of this but she says that it scared the hell out of her! (I spoke of voices, hallucinations etc.). My own thought would be that if that was the case, it might take a few weeks to shake - especially in a kid young enough that they're not able to separate "reality" from the effects of an illness. Perhaps he's just remembering what he may have been hearing last week.
I wouldn't rush to a psychiatrist, either! Wait it out a couple of weeks, maybe try to talk to your son about how the voices were related to his fever. I would be freaked out too, but I think at this point I'd be more angry that his doctor was so dismissive with you. Jerk. Good luck!
You didn't state if you were a believer or not (in Jesus). We had a similar incident with our nearly 16 year old a month or two ago. She wasn't running a high fever though - but she started hearing voices - primarily in her room. I prayed over our family at dinner that night and then the next day went into her room and prayed. I told whatever it was to get out of our house in the Name of Jesus and continued to pray - we have not had any more voices - other than the Lord's.
A very good friend of mine is a pediatric psych mental health nurse practitioner. He works at Broadway Medical Clinic in Hollywood. His name is Kurt Kemmerer. Best of luck to you.
When I was teaching I had a 6 year old who told me she wanted to kill herself with her father's rifle. I told her mother. And her mother got immediate help for the child and herself. The "help" not only helped the child, it helped her, because it becomes a family problem. So "help" is not a stigma. It is a salvation if you get the right doctor. Do research on the web for the type of help that you want--there are many theories--that a pediatric psychiatrist may use. Meet with him/her first to explain the problem to see if you feel comfortable.
And don't wait, you sound scared and I am sure your son senses this. Also this may be serious.
It sounds like your son had encephalitis. You should follow up with your pediatrician, who should refer you to a pediatric neurologist as well as developmental pediatrician. There is more info about it here (be sure to take the link for "symptoms" - and note that one of them is "mental disturbances.") There is so much that doctors don't know about the human body - and much of it has to do with the brain. Be persistent, and make sure they give you the appointments you need in a timely manner. Be aware that this can return, and CLOSELY watch your son with any subsequent fevers. Once you've had an infection settle in the brain, the doorway is open and it is common for the same thing to happen again.
Hi Trish, I understand how you feel I would be worrid as well. Trish children hear things adults dont. Thats been proven fact. How long have you lived in your home? Maybe it's NOT in his head and maybe it's a spirit? DON'T freakout and think WACKKO,,, I have a friend that went through something like this and thats what it was. Her son doesn't hear the voices anymore. Ask your son if it's a women or mans voice, get a little info out of him, write it all down keeping a log of whats happening. when he hears the voices, write it down. I hope and pray it's something like he needs tubes in his ears or needs to have his ears checked (in the canal)? WOW I would really love to hear what you do and how and what works for your lil guy..... I will pray for you and your family
Carla