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> Of course, since his outbursts are so episodic,

My suspicion is that they very specifically aren't episodic - lots of kids with this style of behavior problem are excellent manipulators. You can't discount the possibility that he's behaving well and poorly in order to extract what he wants out of other people.

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That doesn't sound consistent with the article at all. I mean, the kid seems to have uncontrolled outbursts which don't sound manipulative to me. I mean, he didn't want to go to the mental hospital but he repeated the behavior he knew would get him there. Perhaps it was a gamble to see if his mom would keep her word, but the way the article is written, it doesn't sound like that.

Outbursts can, from what i've seen, be a final attempt to manipulate somebody. If every time you bring up death/suicide, and you get what you want, well then... why wouldn't that child try that technique again.

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