Mum claims her daughter was ‘robbed of her childhood’ after hitting puberty at just SIX years old
Teri-Leigh Tweedie-Connor, now 10, has been ‘robbed’ of a normal childhood and gets mood swings like a stroppy teenager
A MUM has told how her daughter has been “robbed” of a normal childhood - after hitting puberty at just SIX years old.
Sarah Tweedie-Connor, 36, noticed her daughter Teri-Leigh was growing pubic hair and small breasts and stood a head above all her friends four years ago.
Now the 10-years-old has been diagnosed with a non-cancerous brain tumour called hypothalamic hamartoma - which causes her to experience the symptoms of puberty years earlier than her peers.
Despite being in year five at primary school, Teri-Leigh is often kicked out of school playgrounds because at 5ft 2 with a “mature face” she looks and acts more like a teenager.
Single mum Sarah, a dinner lady with three other children – Kian, 15, Ewan, 12, and Georgia, seven – said: “It’s heart-breaking to see my daughter wonder why she looks nothing like her friends.
“She’s so self-conscious.
“While other kids who are Teri-Leigh’s age are running around concentrating on nothing but being children, my daughter is worrying about the changes in her body and battling mood swings.”
Teri-Leigh is now undergoing hormone injections to prevent her periods from starting – but this will not reverse the effects of the condition so far.
Sarah, who lives in Coventry, West Midlands, added: “I just want my daughter to be able to enjoy her childhood without feeling self-conscious.”
When Teri-Leigh was six years old, she was 4ft 8, and stood a head and shoulders above her school chums.
Over the next year, Sarah noticed her daughter had developed pubic hair and small breasts – despite only being in year one at school.
Sarah said: “My eldest Kian, then 12, was only just starting to show signs of puberty, so I was really surprised to see Teri-Leigh was at the same stage.
“I was shocked, but tried not to let on to Teri-Leigh that the hair was anything unusual.”
Medics at Walsall University Hospital began tests and discovered Teri-Leigh’s bone growth matched that of a ten-year-old – but they were not sure why.
Sarah said she realised just how different her daughter was from her peers in September 2013 when she was banned from an adventure park at six years old - because she was too tall.
Related Stories
She recalled: “She exceeded the height limit by a couple of inches.
“It was humiliating for her, so the whole family left.
“I was furious she’d been pointed out and made to feel like a freak.
“But at the same time it gave me the push to consult with medics and discover the cause of her early puberty.”
Concerned, the mum shared her fears with the school nurse, who suggested Teri-Leigh could have precocious puberty.
Medics at University Hospital Coventry began tests and at seven years old, Teri-Leigh was prescribed monthly injections of a hormonal therapy called triptorelin to halt her sexual development.
But the hormones caused her to have mood swings like a teenager.
Sarah said: “She’d break her toys, scream, kick and cry with rage.
“Getting her dressed for school when she threw tantrums was a battle.
“At her size, I couldn’t handle her physically. It was a nightmare.”
In August 2015, Teri-Leigh was diagnosed with hypothalamic hamartoma – a tumour on the brain which affects one in 200,000 people – at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
The tumour can cause epileptic fits, precocious puberty and behavioural problems.
Sarah said: “Though the word ‘tumour’ devastated me, it was a relief to finally have an explanation about why Teri-Leigh was developing the way she was.”
She began further hormone treatment to stop her periods starting early – but this did not reverse the effects of precocious puberty so far.
Sarah said: “She stands taller than all her friends and is experiencing things that none of them can understand yet.
“I try and talk it all through with her but at the end of the day Teri-Leigh’s just a child so I can’t blame her for not fully understanding.”
Now 10 years old, Teri-Leigh’s breast are developing and she still has mood swings.
What’s more, she is taller and stronger than her 12-year-old brother, Ewan.
She and mum Sarah are raising money for Hope for Hypothalamic Hamartoma UK.
With the help of Teri-Leigh’s school, Parkgate Primary, the family have raised £2,000.
Sarah explained “We want to raise awareness about this condition.
“Strangers mistake Teri-Leigh for a teenager acting up when she has mood swings in public, and I just want to tell them that she’s just a child.
“If only people were not so quick to judge what they don’t know about.
“We hope by sharing her story we can raise awareness about this relatively unheard of condition and end the stigma my girl has to face on a daily basis.”
What are hypothalamic hamartomas?
Hypothalamic hamartomas are rare, non-cancerous growths in the brain.
They are present at birth, having developed in the womb.
They do not expand or spread to other parts of the body, but do grow in proportion to brain growth.
As a result, their size remains relative to that of a sufferer's brain for their lifetime.
The condition can cause a diverse range of symptoms, that vary in severity from patient to patient.
In the majority of cases, a patient will develop these symptoms in childhood.
Broadly speaking, the condition falls into one of two main types.
One, as in Teri-Leigh's case, is linked to early puberty.
For those with central precocious puberty, symptoms can occur as early as two or three years old.
Children undergo the physical changes associated with puberty.
This is often caused by the growth being attached to the hypothalamus, the region of the brain that links the nervous system to the endocrine system, which produces hormones.
The health problems associated with early puberty include being short of stature, and problems with age-appropriate psychosocial adjustment.
In girls, physical signs include breast development and the appearance of pubic hair.
In boys, the condition triggers growth and development of the genitals as well as growth of pubic and other bodily hair. Furthermore boys will experience a deepening of the voice, and acne.
Source: National Organization for Rare Disorders