| Benny the Bipolar Puppy ~ Page 4 ~
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As he grew older Benny began to have uncontrollable tantrums or rages out of proportion to any real event. Even though their friends told them that Benny was going through the "terrible twos" Mr and Mrs Dalmay both felt that the problem went much deeper. The word "NO" nearly always resulted in a rage and when they compared Benny's reaction to other children his age they felt strongly that something was wrong. At this point the doctor told them there was nothing wrong with Benny, so they struggled along as best they could. Fortunately Mrs. Dalmay had decided not to return to work till he was settled, and she was able to give Benny her full attention. |
By the time Benny was four years old his mom and dad were becoming very concerned about his behaviour. Compared to his cousin Judy, Benny was constantly cranky and irritable. His mood cycled from mania (or high) to depression (or low) periodes rapidly throughout the day. The other puppies did not want to play with him because he was often mean to them ..... hitting them and yelling at them. Mr. and Mrs. Dalmay were baffled by his behaviour and finally took him to see Doctor Jamson, his pediatrician. After listening to Mr. and Mrs. Dalmay and talking to little Benny the Doctor told his parents that he felt that Benny was suffering from ADHD. He explained to Benny's parents that ADHD was a combination of attention deficit disorder (meaning Benny was unable to concentrate on any one thing for long) and hyperactivity. |
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