Wildcat, A good step in the right direction. Yes, I would agree from the symptoms you are describing that further evaluation of your five year old may be needed to determine the cause and come up with a plan of care. Tourette syndrome is a neurological disorder and can be accompanied by other disorders such as OCD tendencies and/or ADD/ADHD. Bipolar disorder can manifest in young children. To learn more about tourette syndrome or bipolar disorder in children, you can consult some of the following sites: Tourette Syndrome Foundation of Canada: http://www.tourette.ca/whatists_symptoms.php Child & Adolescent Bipolar Foundation: http://www.bpkids.org/site/PageServer?pagename=fd_about_2 The best advice I can give you is to keep you appointment and have your little one evaluated. The litterature recommends early diagnosis to reduce psychological harm that may come with the additional trial & tribulations she may face at school due to her illness. The other tip I can share with you is if your child is diagnosed with something like Tourettes, talk to your child' teacher. Sometimes an educational session with the children of the class or the school can help foster understanding and minimize teasing. Hope this helps. Danielle, Bilingual Health Educator

hi Danielle, We, my chouette-chouette and I, are worried about our 5 year old. She has a motor tic and an Explosif temper that are two markers for Tourettes syndrome... but I see several of the below in her. She is a bit the drama queen and will say things like ... la vie n'est pas bell eh maman? ... life is not good eh maman? Her pediatrician is refering us to pedia-psychologie depts in our "Region". It is an adult hospital with a dept for children. is tourettes neuro or psycho? My father was bipo and I am... can bipo be manifesting at 5yrs? is a children's hospital with a psycho-dept better than an adult psych hosipal with a children's-dept?

Children and adolescents with mental health issues need to get help as soon as possible. A variety of signs may point to mental health disorders or serious emotional disturbances in children or adolescents. Pay attention if a child or adolescent you know has any of these warning signs: A child or adolescent is troubled by feeling: •Sad and hopeless for no reason, and these feelings do not go away. •Very angry most of the time and crying a lot or overreacting to things. •Worthless or guilty often. •Anxious or worried often. •Unable to get over a loss or death of someone important. •Extremely fearful or having unexplained fears. •Constantly concerned about physical problems or physical appearance. •Frightened that his or her mind either is controlled or is out of control. A child or adolescent experiences big changes, such as: •Showing declining performance in school. •Losing interest in things once enjoyed. •Experiencing unexplained changes in sleeping or eating patterns. •Avoiding friends or family and wanting to be alone all the time. •Daydreaming too much and not completing tasks. •Feeling life is too hard to handle. •Hearing voices that cannot be explained. •Experiencing suicidal thoughts. A child or adolescent experiences: •Poor concentration and is unable to think straight or make up his or her mind. •An inability to sit still or focus attention. •Worry about being harmed, hurting others, or doing something "bad". •A need to wash, clean things, or perform certain routines hundreds of times a day, in order to avoid an unsubstantiated danger. •Racing thoughts that are almost too fast to follow. •Persistent nightmares. A child or adolescent behaves in ways that cause problems, such as: •Using alcohol or other drugs. •Eating large amounts of food and then purging, or abusing laxatives, to avoid weight gain. •Dieting and/or exercising obsessively. •Violating the rights of others or constantly breaking the law without regard for other people. •Setting fires. •Doing things that can be life threatening. •Killing animals. If you witness or suspect any of the above, seek assistance from your local mental health unit. They can help connect your child to the resources he or she needs! Danielle, Bilingual Health Educator