Malachi has his stroke on Easer and surgery on June 29. Since surgery we have noticed that he gets very angry. Often for small things like not being able to turn the page of a book. He hits other and himself in the head. Just wonder if anyone else has experienced this. THanks guys!

YES I have!! To start it off before my stroke I lived up to the redhead name. after my stroke Watch out! My husband says I am getting better, or maybe he is learning when not to push my buttons.

I started to realy lose my temper when I was unable to do the small tasks like turning a page. Especially when I lost a common word like " I have to go to the ....thingy" My husband would say bathroom and I would spark "That is what i said!!!"

I also loose it when i am exausted. If we are with friends or out in public we came up with a code word that means "we need to leave before the b*#ch comes out" Our code word is Pumpkin. My favoret line is I will ask my husband if we can go get some pumpkin pie.

My advise is to stay strong and be pacient. Don't let hem hit his head or other people. Reassure him that he will get better because it does. he is learning how to contol it and what sets it off. Let him try to do thing and fail so he will ask for help (I was stubern so this took a while for me). It took me a year to fully understand my new boundrys.  let him know the difficutlys are normaland will get easyer with practice  but you will need to control your anger when it is difficult.

I hope this helps,
becky

I also had a bit of a temper before I had the TIAs last year, but I was never an emotional person per se.  Now post-surgery especially, I cry at the drop of a hat whenever I am frustrated which is often. 

Malachi may just be frustrated and is not able to express it.  Encourage him to express his feelings.  Maybe he needs to speak to a professional?  I just made an appointment to see a psychiatrist because all of this is becoming very hard to deal with as a 29 year old.  I can't imagine how Malachi must feel going thru this as a child.

I hope things get better for your family soon.  You are in my prayers.

He's 2 and has Down syndrome, So Im not sure how much he understands. Happy to know we are not the only ones going through this!!

My daughter is 3 and has had some problems with frustration also. Around age 2 she was hitting herself in the forehead. It really worried us. I decided 2 ask the neurologist, and while we were in his office she started 2 pull on a cord that was hanging on the wall. I told her no and stepped away from it. She immediately started hitting herself in the forehead over & over. I was so glad the Dr. witnessed it. He said it was all out of frustration. We have since taught her a few key baby signs like more, all done, & help. She does not hit herself anymore. Unfortunately I think she will always have problems with frustration. Reading the other posts made me think at least this happened 2 her so young she can't get frustrated about things She could do before her strokes. Do u have other children? I would love 2 talk 2 u more about behavior problems & discipline. Those are the hardest things for us right now. I do have alot of handouts about baby signs if your interested. Have a great day. Danielle

Thanks for all the input. Sounds as if this is just something we are going to have to continue to work with him on. It's so hard to know if his behavior is caused by the stroke, the fact that hes been in and out of the hospital for the past 2 years, because he cant communicate his anger/frustration or because hes 2. Perhaps its a combination of all of it. Either way, looks like I will need to ass a few new signs to his list and teach him help.

I also wondered if u have heard of assistive technology devices. Adriana had an evaluation done last week by a team hear in Michigan that deals with such things. They are great for kids that can hear & understand but cannot speak. There are many different devices they offer like pictures 2 point at & even computers that let them communicate there needs. It also helps them make choices. You can look it up on u tube. There are tons of videos so u can see how it works. They also have ways 2 modify toys & books with something called fanning with thick foam stickers placed on the corners. Sorry I can't provide u with any. I'm not sure how 2 move them here. Not 2 computer savy myself. My daughter just started using the assistive computer at age 3 but I do know a few other mothers with non MM kids that have started at age 2. Have a great day. I hope this can help.

I think anger is worse after stroke - if for no other reason than they tire easier b/c everything takes more effort for them.  We noticed our son was worse toward the end of the day.  Being 2 is hard enough - the sign language should help (even for kiddos w/o MM!).  We had to make up some signals b/c of the rt-side paralysis.  Just do whatever is easiest and works for him.  He may even start making up his own signs!  We also make a small "book" of pictures of familiar things, fav. foods and put them on a key ring.  He could pull it out of his pocket and point to what he wanted until his speech came back.  I would recommend conferring with a behavior specialist to help YOU know how to respond so you can help him calm down.  By the end of the day you are all tired.  Love & Logic http://www.loveandlogic.com/articles.html
has a free newsletter (Insiders club) with tips for dealing with the trials of raising kids and I found them very helpful.  They do take practice, though  :)