Re: What's going on with my son

January 15, 2008

Leighanne,The not wanting to go anywhere, the not sleeping, and the not eating much makes me wonder if is depressed. You might want to get him screened for depression by his pediatrician. Aggression can be part of pediatric depression as well. In the meantime, a schedule is probably a good thing. Good luck.Liz On Jan 15, 2008, at 2:26 PM, Leighanne Ratliff wrote:I have a 4 year old boy who's name is . He has been diagnosed with PDD-Nos. His attitude lately has been extremely unlike him. In all honesty, I can't figure out what is causing him to act this way. He has been really clingy, fussy, cranky, and whinny. He used to love going to school and now he doesn't want to. He really doesn't want to go anywhere, He hardly eats anything and he used to be really good about eating. He would eat anything you put in front of him and he loved his veggies. Now it's really hard to get him to eat much of anything. Yesterday at his daycare class, he kicked a teacher. He has never ever done that before, or even tried to do that. He argues about everything and yes I know that is a normal kid thing.

January 15, 2008

I would really be concerned that something had happened to scare

or upset your son. Bullying maybe or (God forbid) some form of abuse.

A behavior change like that is a red flag. I know our kids can be

really hard to communicate with, so I would suggest you find some

professional help if you can. And ask all the adults who spend time

with him if they can think of anything that happened that might have

been an issue for him. It might not even be something obvious to us.

Willa

January 15, 2008

i would suggest you watch his sleep. my son had major issues with

fussy, cranky, just being difficult, etc. i started keeping track of

his sleep (after a routine is set). he went to bed, however he

literally tossed and turned all night. I brought this up with his

wonderful peds doc who initially suggested clonidine (which we stopped

after a month) and then melatonin (yes regular docs can suggest

homeopathic meds believe it or not). since we started the melatonin he

has been a much easier child. he does not toss and turn. he goes to

sleep easily. hes much better behavior wise. we still have all the

same aspergers issues as before, but some are more managable now since

he is actually getting enough " good " sleep. his major problem after

discussing it with the doc is that he was not getting enough rem sleep.

oh and yes he is 7.5 yrs and needs 11-12 hours a night. he is the only

one in his class that goes to bed by 7:30 every night, and gets up at

6:45-7 every morning. but definately discuss all your concerns with

your doc(s). just what worked for us, but it wasnt something i had

thought of even looking at and hope it might help someone else too.

Leighanne Ratliff wrote:

>

> I have a 4 year old boy who's name is . He has been diagnosed

> with PDD-Nos. His attitude lately has been extremely unlike him. In

> all honesty, I can't figure out what is causing him to act this way.

> He has been really clingy, fussy, cranky, and whinny. He used to love

> going to school and now he doesn't want to. He really doesn't want to

> go anywhere, He hardly eats anything and he used to be really good

> about eating. He would eat anything you put in front of him and he

> loved his veggies. Now it's really hard to get him to eat much of

> anything. Yesterday at his daycare class, he kicked a teacher. He has

> never ever done that before, or even tried to do that. He argues about

> everything and yes I know that is a normal kid thing. His daycare

> teacher says that she has a hard time getting him to do his work

> because he's really spaced out or kind of dreamy. It's also really

> hard to get him to bed at night he'll lay there and lay there and not

> go to sleep, and when he does he doesn't get much sleep cause we gotta

> be up and to work by 7:30. He goes to daycare class and then goes to

> pre-k and then he has to go back to daycare till I get off at 6:00.

> Then we go home, eat dinner, he gets to play a little bit and then we

> get a bath and then it's to bed, I usually let him watch a movie or

> cartoons for a little bit to kind of wind him down. Then I end up

> having to turn it off just so he'll go to bed. His Pre-k teacher says

> that he won't sit still, he won't follow directions, he's picking on

> other kids, or calling them names or arguing with them. Like I said,

> he loves going to school and now he gets up in the morning saying he

> doesn't wanna go. I'm gonna try the picture schedule and getting him

> back on a routine to see if that will help. If not then I don't know

> what I'm gonna do. Any ideas or suggestion???? Thanks everyone.

>

> ------------------------------------------------------------------------

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January 16, 2008

If he is not getting enough sleep, it could be causing him to zone out or be extra grouchy during the day. Then when he has a bad day, he doesn't want to go back the next day for another repeat. I would try to focus on getting him to bed and to get some sleep and see if that helps anything.

RoxannaAutism Happens

( ) What's going on with my son

I have a 4 year old boy who's name is . He has been diagnosed with PDD-Nos. His attitude lately has been extremely unlike him. In all honesty, I can't figure out what is causing him to act this way. He has been really clingy, fussy, cranky, and whinny. He used to love going to school and now he doesn't want to. He really doesn't want to go anywhere, He hardly eats anything and he used to be really good about eating. He would eat anything you put in front of him and he loved his veggies. Now it's really hard to get him to eat much of anything. Yesterday at his daycare class, he kicked a teacher. He has never ever done that before, or even tried to do that. He argues about everything and yes I know that is a normal kid thing. His daycare teacher says that she has a hard time getting him to do his work because he's really spaced out or kind of dreamy. It's also really hard to get him to bed at night he'll lay there and lay there and not go to sleep, and when he does he doesn't get much sleep cause we gotta be up and to work by 7:30. He goes to daycare class and then goes to pre-k and then he has to go back to daycare till I get off at 6:00. Then we go home, eat dinner, he gets to play a little bit and then we get a bath and then it's to bed, I usually let him watch a movie or cartoons for a little bit to kind of wind him down. Then I end up having to turn it off just so he'll go to bed. His Pre-k teacher says that he won't sit still, he won't follow directions, he's picking on other kids, or calling them names or arguing with them. Like I said, he loves going to school and now he gets up in the morning saying he doesn't wanna go. I'm gonna try the picture schedule and getting him back on a routine to see if that will help. If not then I don't know what I'm gonna do. Any ideas or suggestion???? Thanks everyone.

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January 16, 2008

My 4-year -old had a similar problem a few months ago, where he suddenly didnt want to go to school and had trouble sleeping. We thought he was getting sick, but it turned out that his teacher had taken a leave of absence and he had had a series of random substitutes each day. The result was that the schedule was all mixed up and his routine was completely shot. Once the teacher came back 2 weeks later, he was much happier.

Check with your son's school to see if something like that has happened -- routine is really, really important.

On 1/16/08, Roxanna <madideas@...> wrote:

If he is not getting enough sleep, it could be causing him to zone out or be extra grouchy during the day. Then when he has a bad day, he doesn't want to go back the next day for another repeat. I would try to focus on getting him to bed and to get some sleep and see if that helps anything.

RoxannaAutism Happens

( ) What's going on with my son

I have a 4 year old boy who's name is . He has been diagnosed with PDD-Nos. His attitude lately has been extremely unlike him. In all honesty, I can't figure out what is causing him to act this way. He has been really clingy, fussy, cranky, and whinny. He used to love going to school and now he doesn't want to. He really doesn't want to go anywhere, He hardly eats anything and he used to be really good about eating. He would eat anything you put in front of him and he loved his veggies. Now it's really hard to get him to eat much of anything. Yesterday at his daycare class, he kicked a teacher. He has never ever done that before, or even tried to do that. He argues about everything and yes I know that is a normal kid thing. His daycare teacher says that she has a hard time getting him to do his work because he's really spaced out or kind of dreamy. It's also really hard to get him to bed at night he'll lay there and lay there and not go to sleep, and when he does he doesn't get much sleep cause we gotta be up and to work by 7:30. He goes to daycare class and then goes to pre-k and then he has to go back to daycare till I get off at 6:00. Then we go home, eat dinner, he gets to play a little bit and then we get a bath and then it's to bed, I usually let him watch a movie or cartoons for a little bit to kind of wind him down. Then I end up having to turn it off just so he'll go to bed. His Pre-k teacher says that he won't sit still, he won't follow directions, he's picking on other kids, or calling them names or arguing with them. Like I said, he loves going to school and now he gets up in the morning saying he doesn't wanna go. I'm gonna try the picture schedule and getting him back on a routine to see if that will help. If not then I don't know what I'm gonna do. Any ideas or suggestion???? Thanks everyone.

Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Mobile.

Try it now.

January 16, 2008

Hi & welcome here. I wouldn't let him watch ANY tv before bedtime.That is a stimulate even though he is calm watching it. Maybe a half hour of tv time while you are preparing dinner and then I would set a timer for that half hour of tv time. He sounds like he is sleep deprived & that will make him out of sorts. Good luck,Betty Leighanne Ratliff <a_cute_tx_cowgirl@...> wrote: I have a 4 year old boy who's name is . He has

been diagnosed with PDD-Nos. His attitude lately has been extremely unlike him. In all honesty, I can't figure out what is causing him to act this way. He has been really clingy, fussy, cranky, and whinny. He used to love going to school and now he doesn't want to. He really doesn't want to go anywhere, He hardly eats anything and he used to be really good about eating. He would eat anything you put in front of him and he loved his veggies. Now it's really hard to get him to eat much of anything. Yesterday at his daycare class, he kicked a teacher. He has never ever done that before, or even tried to do that. He argues about everything and yes I know that is a normal kid thing. His daycare teacher says that she has a hard time getting him to do his work because he's really spaced out or kind of dreamy. It's also really hard to get him to bed at night he'll lay there and lay there and not go to sleep, and when he does he doesn't get much sleep cause we gotta be up and

to work by 7:30. He goes to daycare class and then goes to pre-k and then he has to go back to daycare till I get off at 6:00. Then we go home, eat dinner, he gets to play a little bit and then we get a bath and then it's to bed, I usually let him watch a movie or cartoons for a little bit to kind of wind him down. Then I end up having to turn it off just so he'll go to bed. His Pre-k teacher says that he won't sit still, he won't follow directions, he's picking on other kids, or calling them names or arguing with them. Like I said, he loves going to school and now he gets up in the morning saying he doesn't wanna go. I'm gonna try the picture schedule and getting him back on a routine to see if that will help. If not then I don't know what I'm gonna do. Any ideas or suggestion???? Thanks everyone. Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Mobile. Try it now.

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January 16, 2008

I agree with Betty here. There have been studies that have shown that the light from the TV is, in fact, a stimulant for children. You're better off with a warm bath and a story. You don't always have to read a story. You can tell them instead. And they don't have to be brilliant stories, either. For young kids, they love any story that has their name in it. So it can even be a simple story about a regular day with your child, where maybe you did something special. Like you went to visit Grandma and Grandpa and s/he was happy to see them, etc.LizOn Jan 16, 2008, at 1:27 PM, Jewel wrote:Hi & welcome here. I wouldn't let him watch ANY tv before bedtime.That is a stimulate even though he is calm watching it. Maybe a half hour of tv time while you are preparing dinner and then I would set a timer for that half hour of tv time. He sounds like he is sleep deprived & that will make him out of sorts. Good luck,Betty

January 16, 2008

I have been there too. #1 consult your pediatrician before trying

any of this!

1) Check his allergies if he has any. Our son's behavior is affected

by allergies, we went to hard woods hypoallergenic sheets pillows and

an full time airfilter in his room.

2) check his diet. Preservative food dyes, MSG, aged cheeses, sodium

benzonate all have an impact, especially food dies. Even juice boxes.

I think it's the natural preservatives

3) He may be overwhelemd at school. Make sure they are using visual

ques and all his teachers understand his accomodation needs. He also

may need a a break or quiet time during the day.

4) Fish-oil: Trader Joes Omega 3. We started giving our son the

adult version of this and after 3 weeks we saw a big improvement in

attention and focus, supposedly it helps regulate testosterone too

which I think has helped with his impulsivity.

5) Melatonin: we give our 7.5 y/o 65lbs 1 mg of melatonin 30 minutes

before bed. It has lowered his anxieties significantly and reduced

his time from bed to actual sleep from about an hour to about 15

minutes.

It has been a long process for us, but I think we have found our

son's niche. For now at least the stars are alligned. Our 2 y/o

however has started lining his cars up, has separation anxiety and

even lines up his bluberries. Maybe God's gave us our first son to

practice and work out our strategy for the 2nd one.

They are both gifts from heaven and absolute joys, but the journey

has it's bumps in the road too. Hang in there, your find your son's

rythum.

>

> I have a 4 year old boy who's name is . He has been diagnosed

with PDD-Nos. His attitude lately has been extremely unlike him. In

all honesty, I can't figure out what is causing him to act this way.

He has been really clingy, fussy, cranky, and whinny. He used to love

going to school and now he doesn't want to. He really doesn't want to

go anywhere, He hardly eats anything and he used to be really good

about eating. He would eat anything you put in front of him and he

loved his veggies. Now it's really hard to get him to eat much of

anything. Yesterday at his daycare class, he kicked a teacher. He has

never ever done that before, or even tried to do that. He argues

about everything and yes I know that is a normal kid thing. His

daycare teacher says that she has a hard time getting him to do his

work because he's really spaced out or kind of dreamy. It's also

really hard to get him to bed at night he'll lay there and lay there

and not go to sleep, and when he does he

> doesn't get much sleep cause we gotta be up and to work by 7:30.

He goes to daycare class and then goes to pre-k and then he has to go

back to daycare till I get off at 6:00. Then we go home, eat dinner,

he gets to play a little bit and then we get a bath and then it's to

bed, I usually let him watch a movie or cartoons for a little bit to

kind of wind him down. Then I end up having to turn it off just so

he'll go to bed. His Pre-k teacher says that he won't sit still, he

won't follow directions, he's picking on other kids, or calling them

names or arguing with them. Like I said, he loves going to school

and now he gets up in the morning saying he doesn't wanna go. I'm

gonna try the picture schedule and getting him back on a routine to

see if that will help. If not then I don't know what I'm gonna do.

Any ideas or suggestion???? Thanks everyone.

>

> ---------------------------------

> Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Mobile.

Try it now.

>

January 16, 2008

To add to these suggestions about sleep, I'd also suggest you be

careful about TV before bedtime. Perhaps it is alerting him?

Could it be earlier, before bath? Or try going without it for a week?

Not to suggest this is the answer, I agree with the other posts and

think you should check with other adults for a possible problem you

don't know about, and talk to his doctor.

>

> i would suggest you watch his sleep. my son had major issues with

> fussy, cranky, just being difficult, etc. i started keeping track

of

> his sleep (after a routine is set). he went to bed, however he

> literally tossed and turned all night. I brought this up with his

> wonderful peds doc who initially suggested clonidine (which we

stopped

> after a month) and then melatonin (yes regular docs can suggest

> homeopathic meds believe it or not). since we started the

melatonin he

> has been a much easier child. he does not toss and turn. he goes

to

> sleep easily. hes much better behavior wise. we still have all

the

> same aspergers issues as before, but some are more managable now

since

> he is actually getting enough " good " sleep. his major problem

after

> discussing it with the doc is that he was not getting enough rem

sleep.

> oh and yes he is 7.5 yrs and needs 11-12 hours a night. he is the

only

> one in his class that goes to bed by 7:30 every night, and gets up

at

> 6:45-7 every morning. but definately discuss all your concerns

with

> your doc(s). just what worked for us, but it wasnt something i had

> thought of even looking at and hope it might help someone else too.

>

January 17, 2008

Maybe something happened in preschool or daycare? Are there foods that he may have trouble with that might have been given to him. (gluten, casein, soy, corn, sugar, etc).

I wouldn't automatically think that it's all . Eons ago when my nt son was in third grade (having come from a first through third grade Montessori), he hated his third grade teacher. I told him he needed to work through it. What a big mistake! He never was interested in school after that. I should have asked them to change his class.

Even now, almost 30 years later, when I see that woman around town with her discontented face, I wonder where my mind was! (going through a nasty divorce).

probably has his reasons, 'right' or 'wrong' by adult standards. It sounds like you have a demanding schedule, so this is extra rough for you.

Sending you a cyber-hug,

Francine

In a message dated 1/16/2008 11:45:39 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, a_cute_tx_cowgirl@... writes:

I have a 4 year old boy who's name is . He has been diagnosed with PDD-Nos. His attitude lately has been extremely unlike him. In all honesty, I can't figure out what is causing him to act this way. He has been really clingy, fussy, cranky, and whinny. He used to love going to school and now he doesn't want to. He really doesn't want to go anywhere, He hardly eats anything and he used to be really good about eating. He would eat anything you put in front of him and he loved his veggies. Now it's really hard to get him to eat much of anything. Yesterday at his daycare class, he kicked a teacher. He has never ever done that before, or even tried to do that. He argues about everything and yes I know that is a normal kid thing. His daycare teacher says that she has a hard time getting him to do his work because he's really spaced out or kind of dreamy. It's also really hard to get him to bed at night he'll lay there and lay there and not go to sleep, and when he does he doesn't get much sleep cause we gotta be up and to work by 7:30. He goes to daycare class and then goes to pre-k and then he has to go back to daycare till I get off at 6:00. Then we go home, eat dinner, he gets to play a little bit and then we get a bath and then it's to bed, I usually let him watch a movie or cartoons for a little bit to kind of wind him down. Then I end up having to turn it off just so he'll go to bed. His Pre-k teacher says that he won't sit still, he won't follow directions, he's picking on other kids, or calling them names or arguing with them. Like I said, he loves going to school and now he gets up in the morning saying he doesn't wanna go. I'm gonna try the picture schedule and getting him back on a routine to see if that will help. If not then I don't know what I'm gonna do. Any ideas or suggestion???? Thanks everyone.

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January 17, 2008

Try the picture schedule! Its very easy to do. Take pictures of all the

morning activities like getting dressed and brushing teeth. You can

even draw them if you are creative. Then number them and put them on a

big poster board on the wall where they will be seen. This also works

really good for house rules! we drew pictures of the rules like no

hitting ect and it was a great visual reminder! My son is 6 and he has

high functioning autism. It has helped us alot. Goodluck, Tessa

January 17, 2008

Try the picture schedule! Its very easy to do. Take pictures of all the

morning activities like getting dressed and brushing teeth. You can

even draw them if you are creative. Then number them and put them on a

big poster board on the wall where they will be seen. This also works

really good for house rules! we drew pictures of the rules like no

hitting ect and it was a great visual reminder! My son is 6 and he has

high functioning autism. It has helped us alot. Goodluck, Tessa

January 17, 2008

Hi,

It might just be that your son has some food allergies that are

making him feel aweful. My nephew would act up & be horrible when he

was younger. After many different doctors, his parents found out he

was allergic to gluten & dairy products. They gave him aweful

stomach & body aches. He was young & wasn't really able to

communicate how yucky he was feeling so he just acted aweful. After

going off gluten & dairy he improved SO MUCH. He is 13 now &

perfect! He still stays away from dairy but was slowly introduced to

gluten again, and can handle it in his diet.

Just an idea! Good luck & don't give up!

Jane =)