My previous post discussed dysmaturity. Just to catch you up in case you missed it, dysmaturity is when a child is one chronological age, but an entirely separate (younger) maturity age; often, but not always, it is estimated that a child struggling with dysmaturity has the maturity of half their chronological age. For example, it might be that a child is chronologically 10 but they have the maturity of an eight-year-old. It might mean they’re 10 and has the maturity of a two-year-old. Or it could actually be the right in the middle at maturity of a five-year-old.
But there is another diagnosis which might seem more in line with something your child is displaying, and that is mixed maturity. Mixed maturity means that a child of a specific chronological age may behave like someone much younger in some situations and in other situations like someone much older.
Now, to be clear, most people have mixed maturity to some degree…you might have areas of your personality in which you are extremely mature and others less so. That’s not what I’m talking about. What I mean is when there are gaping differences in maturity in the same child, depending on the situation. When a child has experienced trauma, their maturity may hamper their integration of sensory, cognitive and emotional abilities into a functioning whole. Trauma can impact a child’s brain in complex ways and the type and the timing of the neglect or abuse can affect their brain’s development.
This is not an all-inclusive list, but here are a few signs of mixed maturity:
- Emotional Dysregulation is when a child feels (and acts accordingly) distressed, anxious or dysregulated for no apparent reason. There is probably a trigger, whether they are aware of it or not…their nervous system is aware of it.
- Physical/Somatic Symptoms that are unexplained or seem to happen for no reason (but are related to a stress response/trauma response. These might include (but are not limited to) insomnia, dizziness, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic migraines, or chronic fatigue.
- Age Regression is when a child’s behavior reverts to a much younger maturity due to a trauma or stress response. This is most like dysmaturity, but includes other symptoms which bring it under the mixed maturity heading.
- Arrested Psychological Development is when a child is unable to emotionally mature or is very slow to progress due to the trauma or neglect they have experienced.
I don’t know if any of this will apply to you either now or in the future, but it’s always something to look for and consider as you’re helping the child in your care heal and work to be their best self.
Sincerely,
Kris