Re: Help understanding new-ish behavior

January 6, 2008

<<But lately Nate has seemed tense again. And over the past week it

has gotten much worse. He has had days when he can't stop

chattering -repeating phrases over and over- his body is tense, he

won't let me take his hand- he was up til 1am last night and didn't

sleep at all three nights ago. He spent almost 24 hours non-stop

talking til his voice was hoarse.>>

Hi Meg.....welcome.

Haveyou had a sleep study done for Nate? If he has sleep apnea which alot of our

kids do it could explain alot. I believe the studies are recommended for our

kids at a certain age....can't remember exactly.

However if he's 11 I can only tell you that was the year from hell for our

daughter who will be 19 tomorrow (ICK!!!) It was the year she got her period and

she was an animal....literally for an entire year. Finally when she got it we

figured out it was puberty causing all the problems. I'm sure you've heard that

when puberty hits you kind of have to throw the book out and start over.

Everything you've learned about your child can change drastically. Believe me I

know how hard that is to take.

There are many single moms on the list who will understand your extra problems

but puberty seems pretty much to be a biggie for all of us. So please continue

to vent here; at least you have alot of company and maybe someone with a boy can

give you more pointers. Have you been to an endocrinologist to have his hormone

levels and bone age tested? How's his thyroid? It too could be changing at this

age.

Not very cheerful I guess but remember you are NOT alone!

Sherry

January 7, 2008

Hi Meg,

My son is 14 and I have to say when he was about 10 or 11 I started to notice

what I would now call psychotic behavior! I was so freaked at first and thought

it was his responding to not wanting to be mainstreamed (as when we switched to

a center school he became " citizen of the month " at the school!) But as the

years have passed I recognize that that he still has these behaviors at times

and I am not sure if he " learned " that these behaviors get him out of doing

things or more likely just allow him to " stim " and be in his own world.

Sleep is crucial and Jake lost adequate sleep for many years (even with the

melatonin). I think it might be worth something to look into Depakote which

acts primarily for seizure control..BUT also as a mood stabilizer! I think alot

of our kids get MANIC and don't sleep for nights here and there (or have

chattering - Jake does that). Jake used to be up sometimes three different

nights a week...going to bed but getting up at 3am for the rest of the day! One

thing we have noticed is that he completely sleeps through the night with the

Depakote. It has only been a few months and he is not completely titrated

yet...so we are still not sure what we think. Medication is a difficult choice

for any parent and of course our kids are so different. I would never recommend

anything to anyone else, just share my story and invite you to check out what

your healthcare provider thinks.

good luck,

susan

________________________________

> To:

> From: megaklee@...

> Date: Sat, 5 Jan 2008 23:56:54 +0000

> Subject: Help understanding new-ish behavior

>

> Hi

>

> My son Nate is 11. I'm terrible at remembering specifics but about a

> year ago he seemed different- wasn't settling down to sleep, wasn't

> as happy, seemed to be regressing in his self-care skills. In August

> I shared a room with him on a family vacation and noticed he didn't

> seem to sleep much or well at all. So I started him on melatonin-

> very low dose- and it was a miracle! He fell asleep, he seemed

> happier, more responsive- even his augmentative communication

> therapist (who he see 2x/year) noticed a huge difference.

>

> But lately Nate has seemed tense again. And over the past week it

> has gotten much worse. He has had days when he can't stop

> chattering -repeating phrases over and over- his body is tense, he

> won't let me take his hand- he was up til 1am last night and didn't

> sleep at all three nights ago. He spent almost 24 hours non-stop

> talking til his voice was hoarse.

>

> I know his routine has been off due to the holidays- but I don't

> think that's the reason. He did have a stomach bug Christmas day (me

> too!) but we both recovered from that. I wonder if maybe he's sick

> but there aren't any other symptoms.

>

> Other things- he's hitting puberty. He's getting a new tooth. He

> can go for a long time (in a day) without urinating. His bms aren't

> really regular but he's not constipated. I gave him a probiotic for

> the first time a few days ago which was probably too high a dose b/c

> he had diharrea.

>

> I'm raising him alone and although people are supportive, I don't

> know where to go for answers. Or no one really has any answers.

> I've googled everything I can think of.

>

> I'd really appreciate any ideas...

> Thanks!

>

> Meg

>

> Messages in this topic

_________________________________________________________________

Share life as it happens with the new Windows Live.

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January 8, 2008

Meg, it seems like you hit each area, we are all here for you and nate!! Has

he been checked for sleep apnea? my has had sleep apnea since he was

little bitty, and is 16 now, just put on his bipap machine(we call it his

nose) and he is out in about a minute. before that he rarely slept, and only

in

spurts, his behavior was a nightmare pretty much. nowadays he still gets a

little moody, but it is usually when i need him to do something, and he has to

pause his muppets, or he seems to think he is hungry again. still

pretty often gets loud in the evening, i think he has sundowner's and being soo

cold we try to find other things to hlep distract him like a game or

something. shawna

In a message dated 1/5/2008 5:57:11 P.M. Central Standard Time,

megaklee@... writes:

Hi

My son Nate is 11. I'm terrible at remembering specifics but about a

year ago he seemed different- wasn't settling down to sleep, wasn't

as happy, seemed to be regressing in his self-care skills. In August

I shared a room with him on a family vacation and noticed he didn't

seem to sleep much or well at all. So I started him on melatonin-

very low dose- and it was a miracle! He fell asleep, he seemed

happier, more responsive- even his augmentative communication

therapist (who he see 2x/year) noticed a huge difference.

But lately Nate has seemed tense again. And over the past week it

has gotten much worse. He has had days when he can't stop

chattering -repeating phrases over and over- his body is tense, he

won't let me take his hand- he was up til 1am last night and didn't

sleep at all three nights ago. He spent almost 24 hours non-stop

talking til his voice was hoarse.

I know his routine has been off due to the holidays- but I don't

think that's the reason. He did have a stomach bug Christmas day (me

too!) but we both recovered from that. I wonder if maybe he's sick

but there aren't any other symptoms.

Other things- he's hitting puberty. He's getting a new tooth. He

can go for a long time (in a day) without urinating. His bms aren't

really regular but he's not constipated. I gave him a probiotic for

the first time a few days ago which was probably too high a dose b/c

he had diharrea.

I'm raising him alone and although people are supportive, I don't

know where to go for answers. Or no one really has any answers.

I've googled everything I can think of.

I'd really appreciate any ideas...

Thanks!

Meg

**************Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape.

http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489

January 8, 2008

Thanks for all the responses.

I stopped his melatonin, hoping we can start up in a week or two. I

am nervous about trying serious medication but only b/c I don't know

enough about it.

I'm a little sad b/c over the past 5 months when he was sleeping well

he was much more engaging. Now it's like he's performing a monologue

and it doesn't matter if I'm around or not. At night when he's

exhausted but won't settle down it does seem a bit " psychotic. "

I'll keep working on it.

Thanks again,

Meg

> Hi Meg,

> My son is 14 and I have to say when he was about 10 or 11 I started

to notice what I would now call psychotic behavior! I was so freaked

at first and thought it was his responding to not wanting to be

mainstreamed (as when we switched to a center school he

became " citizen of the month " at the school!) But as the years have

passed I recognize that that he still has these behaviors at times

and I am not sure if he " learned " that these behaviors get him out of

doing things or more likely just allow him to " stim " and be in his

own world.

>

> Sleep is crucial and Jake lost adequate sleep for many years (even

with the melatonin). I think it might be worth something to look

into Depakote which acts primarily for seizure control..BUT also as a

mood stabilizer! I think alot of our kids get MANIC and don't sleep

for nights here and there (or have chattering - Jake does that).

Jake used to be up sometimes three different nights a week...going to

bed but getting up at 3am for the rest of the day! One thing we have

noticed is that he completely sleeps through the night with the

Depakote. It has only been a few months and he is not completely

titrated yet...so we are still not sure what we think. Medication

is a difficult choice for any parent and of course our kids are so

different. I would never recommend anything to anyone else, just

share my story and invite you to check out what your healthcare

provider thinks.

> good luck,

> susan

> ________________________________

> > To:

> > From: megaklee@...

> > Date: Sat, 5 Jan 2008 23:56:54 +0000

> > Subject: Help understanding new-ish behavior

> >

> > Hi

> >

> > My son Nate is 11. I'm terrible at remembering specifics but

about a

> > year ago he seemed different- wasn't settling down to sleep,

wasn't

> > as happy, seemed to be regressing in his self-care skills. In

August

> > I shared a room with him on a family vacation and noticed he

didn't

> > seem to sleep much or well at all. So I started him on melatonin-

> > very low dose- and it was a miracle! He fell asleep, he seemed

> > happier, more responsive- even his augmentative communication

> > therapist (who he see 2x/year) noticed a huge difference.

> >

> > But lately Nate has seemed tense again. And over the past week it

> > has gotten much worse. He has had days when he can't stop

> > chattering -repeating phrases over and over- his body is tense, he

> > won't let me take his hand- he was up til 1am last night and

didn't

> > sleep at all three nights ago. He spent almost 24 hours non-stop

> > talking til his voice was hoarse.

> >

> > I know his routine has been off due to the holidays- but I don't

> > think that's the reason. He did have a stomach bug Christmas day

(me

> > too!) but we both recovered from that. I wonder if maybe he's sick

> > but there aren't any other symptoms.

> >

> > Other things- he's hitting puberty. He's getting a new tooth. He

> > can go for a long time (in a day) without urinating. His bms

aren't

> > really regular but he's not constipated. I gave him a probiotic

for

> > the first time a few days ago which was probably too high a dose

b/c

> > he had diharrea.

> >

> > I'm raising him alone and although people are supportive, I don't

> > know where to go for answers. Or no one really has any answers.

> > I've googled everything I can think of.

> >

> > I'd really appreciate any ideas...

> > Thanks!

> >

> > Meg

> >

> > Messages in this topic

> _________________________________________________________________

> Share life as it happens with the new Windows Live.

> http://www.windowslive.com/share.html?

ocid=TXT_TAGHM_Wave2_sharelife_012008

>

January 8, 2008

Hi Meg,

I agree consult with your son's medical physician to at least rule out

anything going on.

I hear you on the med route and yet it is a different type of

behavior, nothing too aggressive, only zoned out and will get upset

when told or need to get into the routine and of course this is the

only time like in my son's case would get upset, something like a

typical teenage mood, only a little different due to, you know there

is something going on.

My son at this time is once again under the supplements which one of

his doc's has recommended since he just went through some virus going

on and his doc had to prescribe antibiotics and I of course gave him

some Probiotics in the mean time until his doc ok it to return to the

multiple supplements he is under at this time.

He is finally sleeping as he had some of these episodes too.

He also regressed in the self-help skills. One thing for sure though

my son is finally expressing out loud and clear for a change which is

nice to hear as he regressed in this area too, he use to have over 200

words, building up to 3 words in a sentence and then it just vanished.

I am applying once again the ABA/VB approach which is helping on the

self-help skills lately with some visual supports and some of the

sensory & motor activities.

My son just return to school this week from his Christmas break and I

actually just let him be while he was off for 2 weeks, let him enjoy a

vacation, its whatever his heart desired. Meaning no therapy, no

bio-med intervention, once in a while allowed him to eat like his

favorite pizza but he actually would not rush into touching it or eat

it right away which was strange because he use to attack it. My son is

under the GF/CF/egg free diet.

My son was recently seen by his ENT doc, ruled out any possible

recurrent tonsils and told me he was suffering from his allergies and

a virus.

Today seen by his Hematologist and lab results given at a later time,

but once again the doc said it is a virus on what he just examined and

told me it could take a little long to wear out.

So, in the mean time I have my son soaking in Epsom Salt Bath which

has helped him tremendously (which some have to be cautious here),

giving him his supplements and is having regular bowel movements which

is a good sign to. I am making sure to give him plenty of water.

I believe I may have to invest in one of those Vita-mix, so that he

could at least have some nutrients in his system even he drinks some

smoothie of some type.

Who knows when this happens so here is to figuring out what is going

on with your son. Good luck.

Just know you are not alone, can relate.

Irma,19,DS/ASD

>

> Thanks for all the responses.

>

> I stopped his melatonin, hoping we can start up in a week or two. I

> am nervous about trying serious medication but only b/c I don't know

> enough about it.

>

> I'm a little sad b/c over the past 5 months when he was sleeping well

> he was much more engaging. Now it's like he's performing a monologue

> and it doesn't matter if I'm around or not. At night when he's

> exhausted but won't settle down it does seem a bit " psychotic. "

>

> I'll keep working on it.

> Thanks again,

> Meg

January 8, 2008

Hi Meg, My son always had regular BM's until I started him on

Risperidal over 2 yrs ago.He went 3 times daily like clockwork after

each meal.He got to the point with the medicine that he may not go

even

once daily.I guess you have seen Dr. OZ on Oprah, anyway he claims

not

going everyday is constipated.Well I did not know that.I was never

regular myself. The Dr.'s recommend Miralax for the kiddos.Psychotic

behaviors or out of sync according to the " professionals " is because

their routines are off track, with every school break.Even weekends.I

can tell a difference in . is a pre teen and hormones are in

affect.Margaret once told me that after came through puberty

the aggression decressed.Wow I hope so. now takes Abilify and

Naltrezone.He is still has SIB.. used to wake up and scream a

happy scream around 3:00 am but once we put him on risperidal he

started sleeping through the night.This summer he had his tonsils and

adnoids taken out and he sleeps even better. Some professionals

thought having the tonsil/adnoids surgery would help his nasty

dispostion but not! is cutting teeth and I do think he gets

irrated about the tooth coming in.Follow your gut if you thinks

somethings is wrong keep pushing for help.Afterall we have to speak

for the child that cannot speak. You sound like a great concerned

mom. Cyndi B