Is this typical behavior for AS?

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Registered: 03-27-2003
Is this typical behavior for AS?
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Fri, 06-02-2006 - 1:02pm

Today, during Haley’s home study, there was a concern that the tutor brought to my attention. While doing math lessons, she became somewhat frustrated and told the tutor that the dark chaos (pronounced “chows”) planted a bomb in her head and the hero chaos were trying to get rid of it. Chaos are a Sonic the Hedgehog video game character that Haley loves. Talking with her, I tried to explain to her that these things are not real. She says she knows but they are real to her.

This sort of thing happened in the classroom earlier in the year too, where Haley would get frustrated and say that her head was going to explode. She would draw pictures of a volcano inside her head. And for some time she always has said that she has too much going on in her head. That her brain is crazy.

I thought the head exploding thing had stopped but apparently it is coming back again. Is this a "typical" AS behavior or does this sound like it is beyond AS? I have made note of it all and will be talking with her social worker on Monday and will be bringing it up with her nurse practitioner as well.

Thanks!



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Mom to Erin (19) and Haley (10yo Asp
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Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 06-02-2006 - 1:21pm

Yes it sounds typical AS and it is great actually that she can verbalize it to you. And using favorite characters is a very typical AS thing too as well as not really understanding the difference between real and fantasy. They do get that eventually but past typical children. They are very concrete and nieve so they believe everything verbatim including cartoons. I still have to quiz and explain to Mike sometimes what is not real. He will say Harry Potter is not real but I will still catch him trying to use a charm to levitate things and get upset when he can't.

Adults with AS have often described how thier sensory world will be overwhelming. So much going on at one time that they cannot process. To me this sounds like what your daughter is talking about. They just can't process everything and they hear, see and sense EVERYTHING.

Cait has been able to express when there is too much and she just can't understand. I am sure she feels her head would explode. Mike definitely gets this but doesn't communicate it as well as she does. I don't even think he realizes when it happens because his brain just goes into overload. He has a hard time recognizing even how his body feels or when he is frustrated, hot or hungry so I would guess he would have a hard time recognizing that as well and instead meltsdown.

Best thing I find to do then is definitely give them a break and some sensory stuff. I know one adult with autism described needing to go into a sensory deprived type room after a day of too much input. She would turn off the lights, sounds, everything and just sit. Perhaps fiddle around with some different relaxation type stuff and see what works for your dd when she feels like that. Or even getting her to signal you when it is starting to happen and then coming up with a plan of what to do when it does.

Renee

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Fri, 06-02-2006 - 1:33pm

Thank you so much, Renee. I really appreciate your input and advice. So it sounds like one more thing that will point to her AS diagnosis. Gosh, I am so glad I have been keeping track of all these little things. Whew!

I think that is the case with Haley too... just too much information. From the way she has described it to me, it is like it builds and builds and if she hears one more math fact or whatever, it just spills over the top. Math seems to be a big trigger for her. She will express the head exploding thing, start poking holes in her clothes and even my couch with her pencil, and pick at the sores she has created. Thankfully the picking has improved though. What a nightmare that was. You should see her arms. Yikes!

She isn't always good at describing how she feels but for the most part she is. In the past she would just go into instant meltdown. Now she expresses things a little better before that point is reached.

I will definitely talk with Haley and experiment with ideas that help to settle her down when overloads happen. I know when she was in the classroom, she would have such a hard time coming home from school. Tantrums and meltdowns would happen almost as soon as she left the school building. We both decided it would be best for Haley to go to her room and just lay on the bed quietly for awhile until she felt like she was calm. It helped occasionally but not always. I will talk with her tutor about it Monday. She isn't familiar with AS so I may have to educate her on what little info I have myself so far. LOL Thankfully the school year is over in 3 weeks. :)

Thanks again!!!



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Mom to Erin (19) and Haley (10yo Asp
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Registered: 03-31-2003
Fri, 06-02-2006 - 1:43pm

I think Renee has given you some great advice. But I just wanted to say that not only is it fantastic that Haley can verbalize what she's feeling, but that the words and images she's using are really amazing! Has she ever tried to write stories? Just curious -- it might be something she's really good at... Maybe give her an outlet of some kind?

Jennifer

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Registered: 03-27-2003
Fri, 06-02-2006 - 4:25pm
Thanks Jennifer. She's never tried to write but I have tried to encourage her to. She has a strong imagination and I agree that she might really be good at it but she balks at it. She refuses to try anything new. I like to dabble in writing myself and have asked her if she would like to sit down together and maybe come up with a children's story we could do together but she refused. Maybe someday I'll get her to. LOL


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Mom to Erin (19) and Haley (10yo Asp
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Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 06-02-2006 - 4:53pm

I agree.....that is fantastic that she can verbalize this experience......good for her. I also agree that this behavior is AS related......son compares himself to an overheated steam engine (he is a train-junky)......the teachers know what he means by this.....he is allowed to go "let off steam" in the resource room (calm himself down) and then goes and fills up his boiler (gets a drink of water).....this simple act helps him deal with the stress and anxiety he has at school.

Christie

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Registered: 03-29-2003
Sat, 06-03-2006 - 12:17am

I don't have a dx yet for my son, but he talks a lot about the computer that is in his head. He will get mad if I make him 'press the wrong keys'. "Mom, you made me press the F1 key and I wanted to press the F10 key!" : ) I've decided that means that I've interrupted his train of thought since he doesn't seem to deal well with that at times.

He also has an imaginary friend, 'yours truly', and he often says that he knows he is imaginary - but I think this friend serves a purpose. He quite often will talk about 'yours truly' being mad or upset. I think it feels safer for him to think about 'yours truly' feeling these things rather than himself! I think it is likely something many kids may do. What we will sometimes do is talk about what 'yours truly' is doing and what would help make him feel better. This sometimes works quite well for us.

Even though the friend is imaginary - as is the computer in his head - I think these things are his way of dealing with the daily frustrations in his life. I am glad that my son can tell me these things - they sometimes come across bizarre - but it does give me clues as to what is going on inside his head.

Nice to know others out there are seeing similar things in their ASD kids!

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Registered: 03-27-2003
Sat, 06-03-2006 - 6:57am

That is really interesting about the "computer in his head". Definitely sounds like something Haley would say and I agree that it probably means his thought process was interrupted in some way.

Haley has the imaginary friends too. Her's are all characters... either Pokemon or Mario Brothers usually. I will have to try and talk to Haley about them that way and see what information I can get from her. Sometimes her imaginary friends do bad things. At school in the lunch room once, she said that one of her imaginary friends shot another. You can imagine how well that went over. Definitely shocked me because I hadn't seen any evidence of imaginary friends at all before that. I don't know if it is all a manifestation of her anxiety maybe or what. Will have to see what I can find out there.

Thanks for sharing that!



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Mom to Erin (19) and Haley (10yo Asp
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Registered: 06-25-2003
Sat, 06-03-2006 - 8:58am

Jill,

Your Haley and my Peter are scarily similar. Very recently Peter was talling me of the chaos in his head. I thought he meant actual chaos (was surprised he knew the word) -rather than the Sonic Character, but thinking about it; he could well have meant the character. He loves Sonic, ansd Pokemom, Neopets...

He has a lot of trouble distinguishing fantasy from reality, which is not helped by us. Recenty he asked me if fairy Godparents are real? (He loves "The Fairly Oddparents"). When I said "No" he asked "How come there are no Fairy Godparents but there is a Tooth Fairy?"

Me: (gulp) "weellll..."

Peter will be 8 next month, he is is 2nd grade, and he is High-Functioning Autistic -which in his case is kind of like AS with a speech & language delay.

-Paula

-Paula

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