My son is 4 years old. He has been diagnosed with stereotypical behaviors of autism. I’ve noticed over the past few years that he seems to have behavior changes and problems with his communication at about the same time each year. I know this sounds silly, but it seems that for the first few months of the year he does great! His behavior is good and we see improvement in his speech and his understanding, but then somewhere through the summer he begins having problems with his behavior (tantrums, defiance, aggression) and he becomes unable to describe things that he used to know, he begins repeating words again, and the words that he repeats are incorrect, (i.e. “I put it on top” he’ll say, “I put it on hot”)
My main question is that I understand that there are peaks and valleys, but is there a reason for the “cyclical” nature of his communication skills? He’ll do fine at the beginning of the year and when he starts falling behind I’ll request appts. and evals, but by the time he gets them it is during his peak times. It’s very frustrating. Just wondering if anyone else has noticed the same thing.
Thanks!
Re: communication skills come and go
I am wondering about seasonal allergies. I know that some autistic children have food allergies and do much better on a restricted diet.
Have you considered taking him to a DAN! doctor? They are well-informed about allergies and sensitivities.
Nancy
Have you talked to a psychiatrist about this? It sounds like something that could be linked to Seasonal Affective Disorder - regression could be a symptom of depression, which can have cognitive effects.
Just a thought.