Cyclical Behavior... | Autism PDD

I am new to this board and am wondering if anyone has seen this in their child or if anyone has any suggestions....

My son is 3 1/2 with a PDD-NOS diagnosis. He does have stims but is very easy to redirect (biggies are scripting, spinning his body in circles, and eye stimming - wiggles objects in his peripheral vision). He is verbal and wants to be social with peers - is interested but needs facilitation with appropriate peer interaction (he is a hugger). What I am seeing is that for most of any given month...he appears very high functioning and then for about 5 days out of every month we see an exageration in his "autistic" behaviors with a steady decline to about day 3 of the 5 day cycle - day 3 he is a mess (slurred speech, inability to put more than 2 words together, he is frantically seeking sensory input - body checking, head butting, very rough play, and EVRYTHING goes in the mouth)...he is very hard to reach. Then on day 4 we see a steady improvement and day 5 he is 95% back to his "regular" self. We have had an EEG and a BEAM (sp?)..no evidence of seizures. He has been on the GFCF diet for 3 months.....has anyone seen anything like this in their children?? By the time I was able to get him to a neurologist, he didn't exhibit any of these behaviors and I am sure she thinks I am exagerating. I have an appt. with a DAN Dr. in a couple of months.... and am hoping that there is something that we can do to help.

Anyone else see this type of cycle??

Thanks...

Hi optimistic and welcome,

I know my son who is 5 will have really good weeks and really bad ones. I don't know if it is a cycle or not I don't really keep that close track of when it happens, I just assumed that it could be from any changes at school or home. Like now for instance he has been off from school for a week and doesn't go back until the second week in Sep. and it seems like he has been showing alot of his old behaviors and the bad behaviors. I think alot of it has to do with the loss of stucture. He loves structure and I don't give him as much as they do at his school. Plus just simply not getting up in the morning and getting on a bus is a big factor. I think alot of us parents see alot of up and down weeks with our kids. I just assumed this is how he is and will always be. Good luck with your son.

Nita

As Paul has gotten older his cycling has gotten less. He began intervention when he was 2 and always had an irregular pattern of 3 wks good--2wks bad--great--disaster, etc. He is 10 now and over the last few years it has become much more consistent. He is much more predictable day to day, not that there aren't the ups and downs but I think they are more "typical". We spent 5-6 years on the cycle--and may again. The consistency is nice though for a change.

pat

Hi Optimistic,

Welcome to the board. I have a suggestion that may help with the Doctors. Could you video your son doing a simple task on a good day and the have him do the same thing on a bad day so the Doctors can see solid evidence of what you are talking about.

I have never heard of cyclic behaviour like you say, but in the Autism field nothing surprises me because all of our kids are so different. I would be looking for allergens or toxins in the environment. Like, is there any spraying done in the area, cleaners you may only use once a month? Also does he see particular therapists that time of the month etc. If it is a while before you see the DAN Dr the more detective work you can do yourself the better able the Dr will be able to help.

Good luck and keep us posted on the outcome.

I have heard of cyclic behaviour in some people that have bipolar. But I have never heard that term used with someone that has autism or is on the spectrum.

Tammy

I've not heard it used in connection with ASD either. I guess I just translated it into "ups and downs". Paul was never stable or consistent until he was about 7. Every skill would come and go for 1--3 wks at a time. But cyclical probably isn't the proper word. That is a bi-polar thing as in "rapid cycling" meaning mood changes every within days vs. more typical bi-polar which is weeks and months of one mood then swithcing to the other.

Hi Optimistic,

Maybe just a shot in the dark but I saw that he's on the gfcf diet, have you ruled out a possible cross contamination? also, have you had him tested for allergies? i know many kids who's intolerance is actually soy and not gluten. Like I said, it's just a shot in the dark....perhaps the DAN dr could give you more input, I always tend to relate it to 1 step forward 2 steps back. best ofluck and welcome to the board! Eileen

Thanks a bunch for the suggestions, stories and tips...

I have my camcorder ready and I purchased a cell phone that can take video as well - I am prepared for the next time. I am keeping a food diary and sleep diary and am hoping I can figure out some correlation (contamination, etc.).

Some really good ideas - thanks.

I see this in my son. He is 27mths and not dx'd yet. He will go through good and bad days and even weeks. I think it was part of June and July, where for a couple weeks he just seemed more "normal" and was stimming much less and interacting better in general. I thought maybe I was crazy before to think there was a problem. But then it all came back full force. He has improved still in some things like his speech receptive and expressive, but has gotten worse in some stims and sensory issues (more strange movements of hands and tongue and what not). He still has good times here and there. He adds new things sometimes and things he used to do he stops or slows on. Sometimes he has stopped doing something for a week or a couple weeks and then it comes back. It's all a fun little roller coaster!

Amber

Video taping is a great idea. I just did this myself (went into to debt to buy a camcorder). I am taking it w/us to her next evaluation in November. It will be a year since her last one.

I am not sure if the up days and down days are related to ASD or some other type of mental or physical problem. I do know Anna seems to have this too. There are too many odd behaviours to rule out that nothing is wrong and my gut feeling tells me there is. I don't know why but my gut feeling is that she has the mental disorder my aunt had. Of course I could be completely wrong....but for some reason I don't think it is as simple or write or wrong.

Having this board sure helps in dealing with the ups and downs.

I find this simply fascinating. That at least 2 of you have seen this in your children in such a predictible pattern that you know when it will happen before it does happen. WOW! I have seen predictible behaviors in my child but never anything as concrete as this. I wonder if an endocrinologist would have input? It certainly could be a hormonal thing if it occurs in such a well identified pattern.