Can autism get worse?

[loupin]

More advice needed I'm afraid!!!!

Does any one have experiance of their childs behaviour worsening in some areas and almost regressing. My boy is 6 (asd, learning diff, spd). He is coping well at school but at home his behaviors are becoming more autistic then we have ever noticed before. He has also started to be really problematic with his food he says that food gives him tummy ache and so will only eat shreddies or sandwiches or a chocolate bar. He is almost uncomfortable at the sight of a hot meal.

If that makes sense to anyone please send me some advice!!!!!!

To give it more clarity (just read it back & not clear!) Heis speech is more muddled, he has started to make jerky movements, his eyes flicker a lot and blink lots, his understanding is getting worse, he is avoiding busy places and luckily telling me he doesn't like shopping etc (not that i go with him often). His loathing of his 4yr old brother is at explosion point. He is becoming fussy about clothes light smells. The list is endless. I do wonder if all these things have always been there and i havent noticed or if they are coming out now or if he is getting worse.

Edited November 11, 2006 by loupin

[Cat]

Many of us notice that our children and adults for that matter appear to have periods of regression it's not uncommon.

 

However I think the key to your sons behaviour could be in the line

 

He is coping well at school but at home his behaviors are becoming more autistic then we have ever noticed before.

 

Quite often children do 'appear' to be coping at school but the cost can be quite high and this could well be what you are seeing. I am not an expert but I have seen and heard about this many times and I also have first hand experience of this times two.

 

When they put all of their energies into coping at school the stress has to come out somewhere. It sounds like he is on total overload for most of his out of school hours and it may be worth looking into this - even though school will probably tell you that there are no problems.

 

I am a firm believe in the fact that children with ASD often develop obsessions and phobias when they are under extreme stress it's yet another form of coping but the real porblem has to be unearthed before you can help with the overload.

 

I am more than happy to discuss this with you in more depth if you would like to just pm me and we can chat.

 

Cat

[JsMum]

You could request that he has a full examination, rule out other conditions, request bloods and genetics testing to rule out anything there.

 

My opinion is you need to have him seen by a specialised childrens peadiatrition, and may be a full 24 hour observation.

 

Even if it turns out to be the Autism and he is regressing it needs to be assessed and regulary monitored and support and the right services putting into place.

 

JsMum

[elun1]

Hi Loupin

I think they go through stages to be honest. This is certainly how it is for my youngest (aged 5, autism and Learning difficulties severe) He is always very 'autistic' but he has periods where he is practically unreachable and when I'm just tearing my hair out he becomes more sociable and a bit easier to manage. Some of the behaviours are just part of his autism though e.g. the constant rocking and tiptoe walking. I think it's very slow steps with their progress and sometimes it seems as if they're regressing. Certain behaviours sometimes become more pronounced and then fade away again e.g. my son never used to flap but this emerged when he was about 4, a couple of years after his diagnosis. He has periods when he's doing it all the time, then it fades away but then returns.

Take care Elun x

[Kazzen161]

I agree with Cat - it is often related to increased stress/anxiety.

 

Karen

[Bullet]

I have found with Tom that the quieter and less cluttered the environment the more "tuned in" he is to things. His ASD is obvious for most of the time, but the more noisy the place the less likely he is to respond to you. He copes best in small, calm places with lots of visual clues.

For myself when I'm out somewhere I keep a rein on things, which in strange situations results in me being in a foul and upset mood when I'm home. At home I let things slip and do lots of pacing, bouncing on my heels, lightly punching my head, waving my fingertips, muttering things over and over, just as a way of letting off steam. I also bang my wrists and elbows together and am a lot more hyper.

I just wanted to add, from my own experiences, please make sure the teachers are not confusing your ds being withdrawn with coping well. Just because a child is quiet does not mean they aren't struggling.

Edited November 11, 2006 by Bullet

[mossgrove]

There are (at least) two things that can cause this.

 

Autisic Regression is well documented and can be extremely traumatic for all concrned. I don't think that is whast is happening here as Regression tends to be more all-encompassing.

 

Secondly there can be changes in the external circumstances that make Autistic behaviors much more noticeable. School is perhaspos the prime example of this as children have to 'pretend to be normal' and hold it together for long periods of time with the inevitabe consequences when the child gets home. There are a couple of other threads on this.

 

Anything that causes stress can make Autism 'worse' such as chages in routine or transitions.As a child gets older hormones etc. can play here part too.

 

Simon

[Suze]

I,m a big believer in autistic regression as my son has experienced it twice.I posted a while ago about this and I believe that around the age of 6/7 is a really troubled time for our kids.My son moved up a gear at school, began to realise his differences from his friends and everyone ,s expectations of them/him increased.Also behaviours that they did at 4/5 could very often be put down to immaturity and age etc.But when they do them as they get older they can suddenly appear to be odd.Another difficult age is the onset of puberty and adult hood which again has huge expectations / implications etc.But this regression is just a reaction to the environment they are in and under.Change that and they can improve.My son had a few really steady years from 7-10.........at the moment things have got a bit rocky as his hormones kick in and puberty begins.Good luck love suzex

[loupin]

Thanks all!

I think that the coping at school is probably the underlining cause of his behaviours. I posted the other week for tips regarding his violent behaviour at home after school and again the recurrent theme was him doing well at school and keeping a lid on it. The psychologist is going in next week to see if she can see any areas of stress that we can alleviate but i'm not hopeful. the ot went in last week and said that he is really happy and even has a best friend at the moment!

I dont know......!!!!!

Thanks again.

[madmooch]

Hi, My son is going through a regressing phase at the moment too - I'm sure it is linked to school and the fact that he was being bullied on the school bus

He comes home from school and demolition isnt the word for it, he tears the house apart

The handflapping, noises he makes and aggression are all worse too.

 

 

Clare

[noogsy]

hi my wee boy gets worse if he is stressed.when louis is blinking and twiching more and he is obviously upset i spend a huge amount of time reasuring him and trying to find out what is wrong with him..somtimes i never get to the bottom of what is wrong .but when i do find out what has upset him im thrilled cos it means i actually reached him and he managed to tell me.which is a big thing for us....i hope you find out what has stressed your babe...love noogsy

[butterfingersbimbo]

can't really add anything but just wanted to send you a hug <'>

[jlp]

We have things that come and go (there was a time where his speech was very poor due to a stammer), fears, obsessions and as someone else posted, G didn't flap until after diagnosis (he doesn't know about the AS yet)

 

Another thing I've found is that behaviour is more obviously different as the child gets older. A paddy at 3 or 4 is fairly common with all children whereas my son, at a tall almost 7, attracted a fair few glances today with his tantrum.

[chriss]

It sounds as if he is getting better at telling you what upsets him which can only be a good thing. Like other people have mentioned my son has had periods of regression but things do calm down and if he is able to tell you what makes him feel bad it has got to be good for the future.