I had an e-mail from a parent asking if I had any thoughts about why her child always seemed so tired. The mother said the child had trouble staying awake in school and she didn't think it was a lack of food because she said that she sent packets of dried food for the child to eat during the day and the little girl ate a good breakfast.
I thought about the mother's e-mail for a while and then sent back a message with several questions. First, I wanted to know if the child had had a recent physical examination and whether this had been a complete exam and if a CBC or complete blood count and urinalysis had been done. Anemia can cause excessive tiredness. Also I wondered about the family history and particularly about diabetes and thyroid problems. Both of these disorders should be considered. In addition, I asked if the child had had a recent eye or hearing exam. If children are not hearing or seeing well, they can get tired trying to understand what is going on in the classroom.
Another thing that I wanted the mother to consider was if all the above tests were negative, was that there might be a learning disability. If a child is having trouble understanding either by reading or by listening that can be very fatiguing. In addition, a child could be very bright and just be very bored. A good evaluation by an experienced child psychologist with some special tests should help sort this out.
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