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jenniepepsi · Jan 24, 2011, 11:36 PM

My daughter is 7 and has high functioning autism, and general anxiety disorder.

I am curious to know if it is normal for a 7 year old to tell me that she has bosses in her head that tell her what to do. Is that normal 7 year old behavior for some kids, or should I speak to her psychiatrist?

justcurious55 · Jan 25, 2011, 12:34 AM

What sort of things are they telling her to do? Some kids just have active imaginations, you know, going through a phase were they have an imaginary friend or something for a bit. Couldn't hurt to mention it to her psychiatrist, especially if the "bosses" start telling her to do anything dangerous or negative.

Just_Another_Lemming · Jan 25, 2011, 07:11 AM

Jennie, in the past, I have read a number of your posts concerning your daughte. Considering her situation, please discuss this with her psychiatrist. Allow the doctor to do his/her job to figure out whether this is just normal child developmental behavior or something he/she needs to address and help you with.

jenniepepsi · Jan 25, 2011, 07:18 AM

Originally Posted by justcurious55

what sort of things are they telling her to do? some kids just have active imaginations, you know, going through a phase were they have an imaginary friend or something for a bit. couldn't hurt to mention it to her psychiatrist, especially if the "bosses" start telling her to do anything dangerous or negative.

Mostly its just little stuff. Like for example, every night she gets 7 kisses cause she is 7, that was her idea, when she was 5. it adds another kiss each year lol. But if I try to steal a kiss, she says that doesn't count and I ask why and she says 'the boss said I can't tell you'

Just little things. I think it is just her imagination being silly. But I did want to make sure that its not WAY out there and not OK.

jenniepepsi · Jan 25, 2011, 07:31 AM

Oh and she has always had several imaginary friends justcurious, ever since she was 3 or 4 or so. 2 that have been around the whole time, ashley and heady. Lol. And are still a big part of her life. She said she used to have a LOT of invisible friends, but they grew up.

J_9 · Jan 25, 2011, 07:37 AM

Jennie, I have to agree with JAL. You need to take this to her psychiatrist for a formal answer to this dilemma.

Due to her particular diagnosis, there may be more at play than just typical 7 year old imagination.

jenniepepsi · Jan 25, 2011, 07:50 AM

Thanks J, ill make her an appointment. I just wanted to see if it was a common thing for 7 year olds, or even 3/4 year olds as that is her functionnion level.

J_9 · Jan 25, 2011, 07:51 AM

Common for my child is different than common for your child due to her diagnosis. Remember, she is not exactly the "common" kind of child. She's very special and should be treated as such.

answerme_tender · Jan 27, 2011, 10:58 AM

Jennie,

You seem to be down to earth, understanding mother. I have read some of your commits on other post.

My son is authistic, and yes I am aware of different severity levels. But, how your daughter is developing bosses in her head along with autistic signs. Well I was just wondering if you have ever spoke with your doctor about, childhood schizophrenia. Just curious, not saying that she has this or anything, just asking a question.

jenniepepsi · Jan 27, 2011, 11:24 AM

Thanks for answering hon, you bumped the post and reminded me to update.
About skitzophrenia, I did think about that. But its moot point now :P

We had an appointment yesterday with her psychiatrist. And I talked to her about it quietly while ayla played, and then she talked to ayla. She asked ayla about the bosses in her head, and she said 'its just one' and laughed. Then the doctor told her that it was VERY important that she not play a game, or not be silly, and be honest and serious, and asked her 'are they real, or is it just pretend' and she said pretend.
Then she asked her some more questions, about what the 'boss' tells her, what they talk about, what, if anything, they do. And she told me that everything points to it is simply another imaginary friend, and the good news is, like when she was 4 with her invisible friends, she knows they are not real. And the doc said its simply her imagination doing its thing. She said it most likely is HER, thinking, but she doesn't put that together.
Which makes sense to me, I 'talk' to myself all the time, like before a meeting, or interview, I sit and think about what I'm going to say and such. And to a kid I bet it would seem like another person lol.
But thankfully ayla knows its not real and she made it up. Doc told me to keep an eye on her imagination, make sure its not escilating to things like the boss lying for her, telling her to do something bad, or ignore me, or her starting to blame the 'boss' on her misbehavior. Which can happen lol. So I'm supposed to watch for it.