We go through periods of time when our sons symptoms esculate, usually after a change, a move, even for the best can trigger this kind of change. Usually for us when son makes a good step forward in some area like socializing, he will take a step back with sensory, or behavior. I think this is very common with ASD children, hopefully he will get back to where he was soon. How did he do with the move? We are in the process of putting our house up for sale and my son is really freaking out about it, even though we will be moving to a new house in the country, by family that he loves. I know he will love it there, but it will effect him negatively for a while, until he gets used to it. We always go one step forward, two steps back. My son is an aspie who is 12, and he has shown this pattern since he was 2.
Is it common for children to have an escalation of behaviors the older they get??
I think I've seen some posts in the last year say that their children seemed to improve with age.
My ds is considered high functioning. I really hate the terms high and low functioning..... When he was younger, he just seemed kind of quirky to others --- that is, if they even noticed anything at all. Now that he's 10 1/2, it's way beyond quirky. People are noticing stimming behavior from him, perseveration, etc... These are things that the typical layperson would have never noticed in him before. Instead of getting surprised responses like I used to when I reveal to them his dx, now I kind of get a knowing nod.
It's kind of discouraging to us that we have some good supports and therapies in place for him, but feel like we're going backwards in a way. We just moved into a home that has quarters for him to live in as an adult. When we first started the process to buy this home (4 mos ago) -- the quarters was just in case. Now, it almost feels like a certainty that he's going to need them. We're trying to remain hopeful for him. We don't want to create any self-fulfilling prophecies or anything.
Is this typical? Is this just the developmental age getting wider and wider between ds and his peers? Or -- is he truly "regressing"?
Michelle