It's common for colorful kids to have mood swings....however it's important for parents, teachers and caregivers to look beyond the basic disability because... not all behaviors are created equally.

Let's take a look at the most common causes of short tempers and mood swings:

Mood Swings And Lack Of Sleep

While some colorful kids are boundless bundles of energy... their sleep requirements are the same as the general population in their age group.

Plus after school activities, homework, tutoring, and jobs often keep colorful kids going until late in the evening.

School aged children between the ages of 6-10 need 10 or more hours of sleep to function properly...and many teens will bottom out with less than 9.5 hours of shut eye.

If activities mean putting off homework until 7 or 8 o'clock at night the child is almost being set up for a meltdown. This is where sacrifices and schedule changes will have to be made.

Mary Carskadon, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and human behavior at the Brown University School of Medicine believes in the 12 hour rule for limiting after school activities.

Here's how the 12 hour rule works:

Think of your child's schedule in 12 hour shifts. If a child gets up at 7am for school they need to stop activities, have homework done and start winding down at 7pm in the evening.

This doesn't mean banishing them to bed. You can all unwind with a family reading session, TV time, or games until the designated bed time.

Scheduled deceleration just helps kids get into a slow down mode, and if you are consistent...even on weekends, your child will begin to fall into a scheduled sleep cycle which will get them to sleep earlier and faster.

Mood Swings And Daily Stress

No kid wants to fail, so colorful kids are under a lot of stress to succeed.

Colorful kids also have to deal with issues beyond their control...and it's very stressful.

It may not seem apparent, but

• kids with hyperactivity disorders strive to sit still,,,
• kids with attention deficits want to follow the lesson and...
• kids with reading issues want to read at the same level as their friends.

When colorful kids are not able to accomplish their personal goals, they get frustrated.

A frustrated person lashes out at people they trust will understand and forgive their outburst.

Here's an example:

Johnny, a 10 year old, very colorful kid will successfully get through a disciplined karate class without incident...then have a meltdown on mom at the grocery store on the way home.

This is stressful for mom... but for her sanity... there is power in knowing that her child feels secure enough in her love that he is able to vent his pent up frustration.

Fortunately stress related incidents usually follow a pattern.

As parents and caregivers we can learn to predict tantrums and make adjustments to prepare for them.

If like in the example above... Johnny acts out after karate class...forget about going to the store, and get him home where he can vent without embarrassing both of you.

In school...colorful kids might have trouble:

• settling down after recess
• right after a tough lesson
• or for any range of reasons... from too tired to too talked out

Look for patterns, and take action to defuse the situation.

Watch, listen, document, and predict stress related behavior and you will prevent emotional explosions.

Mood Swings And Medical Mayhem

Medical conditions are a very overlooked area in the intervention and treatment of colorful kids since many of their behavior problems are assumed to be caused by their disorder or misdiagnosed as mental illness.

Fluctuations in blood sugar, thyroid issues, even prescription drugs in combination with certain foods can affect behavior in youngsters and teens.

Here are some of the main culprits:

Blood Sugar Drops

Busy schedules, and busy minds makes it hard for some colorful kids to maintain healthy eating habits. Furthermore, a child could have a medical condition that affects the amount of sugar being used in the body.

The result... hypoglycemia aka...low blood sugar, a common cause for sudden moodiness.

Hypoglycemia causes irritability, anxiety, and confusion, so a skipped lunch, or a lunch too high in sugar without enough protein to balance things out will cause behavioral changes.

Thyroid Conditions

Thyroid conditions often make their first appearance when kids are teens.

Too much thyroid hormone will make a person irritable, moody, anxious, and it can mimic depressive type symptoms.

Too little thyroid hormone will cause sluggishness, depression, and a feeling of being tired all the time.

High or low, both of the above conditions can be easily diagnosed with blood work.

If you suspect that your child could have a medical condition on top of a learning disability....

you can ask your pediatrician or neurologist to check into it.

Drug Interactions

Some foods and over the counter medications don't allow proper absorption of prescription drugs.

Other foods and over the counter medications will interact with prescription medication and cause negative effects, like increased hyperactivity and sleeplessness.

If your child is on medication for attention deficit or another reason, make sure you know what things will counteract the prescription.

You can ask the pharmacist for a drug interaction list...or give your prescribing physician a call to make sure you are following the guidelines and restrictions of the medication.

Tackling The Trauma

The best tools for tackling the trauma of a colorful life are patience and understanding.

Learn as much about learning disabilities as you can, and use that information to help the family, the child, and yourself through the rough patches.

Remember that...all kids want to thrive...they want to be happy...and they want to succeed...

And they are only held back when the adults in their lives give up on them.