Absolutely no warning

[krystaltps]

Does anyone else find that when their AS child is ill, they don't or can't tell you? Callum does this every time he's sick. He did an exorcist impression from the back of the car yesterday, I only knew to shout "Duck!" because I was turning round checking on my other son who also gets car sick . Seriously though, it's the same if he has a bug. He's seven now, and I had thought as he got older he'd be able to tell us. Is it an ASD thing, or is it just the way he is?

[adamsmum]

poor you Adam do's this he also suffers with bad ears but we only find out it's dab when his ear drum pops maybe it's a high pain threshold

[Tylers-mum]

Yep, T is exactly the same and I seem to remember posting a question on here about it a long time ago.

He never 'acts' ill, is never laid up on the sofa or in bed, he's his usual hyper, noisy self. He broke him finger and foot once and you would never have known.

He is 6 and is just now starting to complain that his belly hurts or he's going to throw up but as for other illnesses like ear ache, headache, viruses etc, he couldn't tell you. I only know b/c I'm his Mum and can sense something an't quite right with him.

[Zemanski]

When Com was 11 he came down one morning and asked, ' is there some sort of illness that makes your neck hurt inside when you talk?'

 

he now knows what a sore throat is

 

the question is, had he really never had one before or had he simply failed to find the words to express it?

[justamom]

Hi

 

I think it might be a bit of both, high pain threshold thing and not being able to explain what they are feeling. My son Keegan has AS and a few other medical issues. He has arthritis in his knees and he does not complain much... He very rarely lets us know that he is sore, we can tell by the way that he walks and the most obvious sigh when his knees swell up, thats when i begin to panic.

 

Our dr said that he should learn his bodies own limitations. How???? . He simply cant explain what he is feeling. Luckily I know the signs and try get him to rest, which is an impossibility.

 

justamom

[mel_jayne]

My 9 year old son getting dx is never normaly ill,although tonight he's sat down watching tv and i noticed he wasn't looking to good when i checked him he has a temp,i asked him if he was ok and i got a yes.We've all been bad with a sore throat and high temp So it looks like another week with another one off school.He's not going to like that.Can't handle change,so been off school not going to help.

[something_different]

I never usually say when i am feeling sick or ill.

 

Always been that way, when i was young mum would guess for herself if i was sick. usually if i threw up lol i could be sitting and she could ask me if i was OK and i would say yes, and 2 mins later i would be sick.

 

I do know when i am feeling unwell though, just don't say so,

now i just tend to go to bed.

 

Not sure if its AS related though as i am not dx AS,

so could just be the way i am

[OPooh]

My ds never is able to explain that he is ill until he's really bad - so yes like actually at the toilet being sick. I think it's a mix of not thinking that telling me will help and not knowing how to explain it.

[loulou]

Hi,

 

Kai is the same. I can usually tell if he's not well b/c he goes pale (he is dark skinned). I've looked down his throat before and seen huge red tonsils. When i ask him if his throat hurts, he says, "I think so".

 

He has never come and told me he doesn't feel well. When he gets a virus it usually brings on a mega asthma attack. The first sign i usually get is he will just flop on the sofa and start wheezing big-time.

 

One thing he has done before is tell me he needs to go to the hospital. He can't actually explain what's wrong. He is usually right though and we'll end up at the hospital for nebulisers!

 

Loulou x

[mossgrove]

I think sensory issues come into play here.

 

J rarely tells us he is ill, but I am not sure he realises he is ill in the same way that most people do. He can have a number of symptoms, but not really make the mental leap into using that information to conclude that he is ill. This is getting better with time though.

 

 

Simon

[Elanor]

Another thing that might come into play is a communication problem - particularly given your son's young age. He may simply believe that you already know that he is ill, and there is no need to tell you.

 

This is a theory of mind porblem - he expects you to know how he is feeling/what he is thinking, without having to tell you. My son used to get really angry and say 'but you know I'm ill/tired/bored/hungry etc - and sometimes swore that he'd told me although he hadn't (and he really beieved that I must/should know). He has learned more as he's got older, but fundamentally he has an expectation that I can read his mind.

 

Elanor

[UltraMum]

J once led the GP on a merry dance before we realised the pain/communication problem - he had a high temperature, not touched by the Calpol so we trotted off to an emergency appt on a Friday evening! [as you do ...]

 

The GP asked whether he had a sore throat and he said no, so she checked his tummy, ears, nose, eyes etc etc had a sample of wee - couldn't find anything.

 

Finally asked if his throat was sore again and he said 'no' but she said - I'll just take a look - Result? Two enormous tonsils!

 

Needless to say I no longer take his word for it!

[sarahjane]

Hi I have a similar problem, on friday I was called to H school as he had been sick. he has given no warning and had seemed fine in the morning, his teacher said she had never seen anything like it- projectile and copius, however he was completely unfazed, the rest of the class were in the playground when I arrived and came running up to tell me the gory details, H justy wanted to know if he would be ok to play his playstation! Also moaning because he had been made to put some spare clothes on! He was obvious unwell all weekend but never said a word , and refuses to take any medication so you just have to leave him to it.

[elaine1]

tom seems to be extra sensitve to pain and will wail at the slightest twinge - so i always know when he is ill. He will come and tell me when he feels sick too, mind u its sometimes after the event!

Edited January 23, 2006 by elaine1

[krystaltps]

Hi all, thanks for your replies. It's possible it's partly communication, but I think it's mostly sensory, as he acts absolutely fine before and afterwards. We just used to say he was "as tough as old boots" but since the AS thing came about I started to wonder. He tries to tell me every morning that he's unwell - he's learned from watching his younger siblings that a sore tummy can get you the day off school. He told me two weeks ago that his neck was ill (tonsilitis). But with the sick, he makes no move to try to get to a toilet, or even keep it off himself - he just carries on as normal and casually vomits as he goes. It's even happened while he's been talking or eating - he just doesn't seem to get any warning. The most we got at the weekend was he was more non-communicative than usual, he hadn't spoken to anyone other than his sister for nearly two hours. I actually had an argument with my husband because he was trying to make him talk!!

Anyway, good to know we're not the only ones.

 

P.S. The worst was when he got the playstation, dvd, video, tv, sockets, two sofas, carpet, walls and floorboards without even moving. Impressive

[ksasnic]

Nick is the same.. never tells me until you see him just acting differently.. his behaviour changes but only ever so slightly.. he will hardly ever tell me though I always say are you feeling all right and if he's feeling a little different he will move his hand as in a wave motion - but this only tells me whether he's feeling a little under the weather not what the problem is.... He rarely offers this up front waits until he's being sick and then that speaks for itself..

 

This is a little scary at times as when he was little he had meningacoccal sceptaceamia and meningitis so with him not letting me know anything now its a little disconcerting as you never know whether he is ill with something that could turn into something potentially life threatening.. Another thing that I have noticed is that he can't smell anything. its only been going on for about 6-8months now but then who knows if it was there earlier but he was never asked whether he could actually smell something.. I must make an appointment tomorrow though as now its been going on too long and it hasn't righted itself yet..

[Kathryn]

Krystaltps,

 

No you're not the only one! I nearly called an ambulance once, thinking my daughter had acute appendicitis when she was doubled over howling in pain for ages. They were actually period cramps she was experiencing. I now check the calendar whenever anything like this happens - just in case! She can recognise pain alright but seems to have has trouble pinpointing the location and identifying the type of pain (even one that recurs monthly): definitely a sensory problem. As you say, ksasnic, this makes it difficult to assess whether or not the problem is serious.

 

K

[microsoft_admin]

im like that blah opps i think i puked on the forum

[pingu]

Hi There.

I have to add my experiences as we have just realised this ourselves. Kieran was ill at school last monday. It had been his birthday (7) on the Saturday, sunday he was fine, and monday morning he said his belly was moving !! I got a call from school just after dinner to ask for him to be picked up. When i got there the teacher said he had been fine, and had eaten a tangerine for his snack, then gone off to have dinner. When he got back in the class rooom he had gone white, and his teacher asked if he was ok but as he went to reply all that came out was so everyone else on the table had to move fast !! When i collected him he looked terrible he didnt even look like kieran. I was shocked at how i never noticed the degree or severity of his illness, but thats when i realised he never tells us when he feels ill, I thought it was just him, I make sure the world knows about it if i am ill

 

The good news is after 1 day throwing up and another feeling dizzy (which he described as "going Backwards") he was back to his normal self.

 

Well have a good day everyone, i hope that health is on your side

Take care

shaz