My ADHD child seems autistic when sick

amother

Sun, May 28 2023, 6:54 am

My son gets sick pretty frequently in the winter. When he's sick even lightly sick (congestion, stomachache..) he acts completely off almost like an autistic child. He completely loses himself with intense tantrums, aggression, meltdowns, mouthing things, scripting... he is generally a smart adorable child with a bit of ADHD but very manageable. He needs a full time shadow in school for those times. I have been no immunological, neurologists, ots, floortime therapists. I'm just at my witts end. We did give him some vaccinations that should boost his immune system. We've been down the PANDAS road. I'm just so frustrated. I'm seeing more of a pattern every year as he gets older. Anyone have any advice or recommendations? One day my child is typical the next 2 weeks he isn't Sad

amother

Currant

Sun, May 28 2023, 6:58 am

How old is he? Does he have friends? How does he play? Why would he need a shadow in school if it’s only when sick? Just don’t send him to school. If he needs a full time shadow it seems like there are other challenges he is having.

amother

Sun, May 28 2023, 7:02 am

amother Currant wrote:

He has friends bh! Bh! Gravitates towards the more wild kids and feeds off them. When he is acting more off he will keep more to himself and script things. There are significantly more challenges in the winter time in the classroom. His teacher does take them out in the winter to air out.

amother

Marigold

Sun, May 28 2023, 7:37 am

amother OP wrote:

The vaccinations are probably not good for him. if you have a child with neuro developmental issues like adhd you should be extra cautious as these children are often poor detoxifiers and the metals in vaccines can sit in the brain for years worsening symptoms
I would look into detoxing

amother

Ivory

Sun, May 28 2023, 8:17 am

This is classic pandas/pans. I know you said you've been down this road, but you didn't say what specifically you tried. Pandas is a beast, it can be really hard to treat, and drs and specialists can be royally unhelpful. There is hope though. If you're interested in knowing more, I can try to point you in some helpful directions.

LovesHashem

Sun, May 28 2023, 8:26 am

imasinger wrote:

I had 2 kids given an ADHD diagnosis that was later changed to ASD.

There's a lot of overlap.

Also when a kid is dysregulated (which happens when sick) the way they act - alot of symptoms are similar with ADHD and ASD.

amother

Tanzanite

Sun, May 28 2023, 8:59 am

LovesHashem wrote:

Also when a kid is dysregulated (which happens when sick) the way they act - alot of symptoms are similar with ADHD and ASD.

I agree. Also, OP, do you notice any connection between this behavior and antibiotics? Some kids can react to medications.

amother

Chambray

Sun, May 28 2023, 9:30 am

A lesson I have learned.
If it looks like asd. It is asd. maybe have him evaluated?
It may be very validating for you. and you can then set him up with therapies that can give him skills for life. Like how to regulate.

Chana Miriam S

Sun, May 28 2023, 9:43 am

Sounds like delerium, since it is related to illness. A perfectly normal person can be completely insane with delerium. It doesn’t sound like he’s that sick when it’s happening though.

Chickensoupprof

Sun, May 28 2023, 10:21 am

Chana Miriam S wrote:

Sounds like delerium, since it is related to illness. A perfectly normal person can be completely insane with delerium. It doesn’t sound like he’s that sick when it’s happening though.

Hah delirium is mostly in elderly people who have UTIs or pneumonia and who are having severe medication (morphine) are also demented sometimes and there are often hallucinations involved.

OT > Fever and being sick is not nice. Kids get kvetchy and needy when they are unwell. An diagnosis like ASD means it has to be existent since always and not only when feeling unwell.
Example here: One day after I gave birth my parents came to visit, my mum was afraid I had PPD because I was in bed all day and didn't want to leave my bed and wished not to see anyone. No, I just had given birth, normal behavior due to circumstances. It would have been a problem if I was now still in bed. Same with a dsick child

Stillgrowing2

Fri, Jul 14 2023, 8:54 am

I have three ADHD kids, one of them also has an ASD diagnosis. The kid with ASD is my mildest mannered of all, he’s very inward oriented and will rather retreat into his own room than throw a tantrum when he gets dysregulated. For us, tantrums are a lot more common with the “pure” adhd kids in a dysregulated state.
It’s entirely possible that many people with different experiences will pipe up now. My point is, kids can present very very different from each other. It’s not a definite science.

When was his last neuropsych evaluation? And I’m not sure I got his age anywhere, maybe I missed it. I’m sure you know that these things evolve over time.