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SN children

odd behaviour from DS1

15 replies

sphil · 24/02/2007 19:12

Not sure where to post this but I'll start here! Sorry - will take a while to explain. A week ago DS1 started telling me he had 'fuzzy lines' in his vision. He says he's always had them but over the last week he described them a number of times, in exactly the same way each time. I took him to the optician today and she could find absolutely nothing wrong. She took me aside at the end and implied strongly that she thought he was making it up - she was v nice about it and said it's quite common.

Then two days ago he started a strange facial movement - sort of dropping his chin to his chest by opening his mouth and rubbing his chin against his chest. He's obviously not aware he's doing it as he looked very puzzled when I questioned him. This has got more and more frequent - today he's doing it once very 20 secs or so. I checked last night but he didn't do it in his sleep.

We're moving in a few weeks and I wondered if both these things could be stress related. He's also been quite stroppy at home (v unusual), reluctant to go to school and switched off in class. He's always had some odd body movements at times - a sort of twitchy dancing - but this has got much worse recently. He's fidgeting all the time - couldn't sit still at all in the opticians room.

As some of you know, DS1 has no dx, but has dyspraxic and a few AS traits. Some of these have become much more marked in the last two weeks.So I wondered whether his behaviour could be down to the impending move, or be a symptom of his SN, which may be becoming more obvious with age - or both!

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nikkie · 24/02/2007 20:01

Do you have a PAed? or a good Gp? May be worth mentioning , does sound to be stress related though could be related to his SN as well.

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Tiggiwinkle · 24/02/2007 20:09

Anxiety would defifitely make his AS traits worse Sphil-my DSs AS symptoms become much worse and more noticeable at times of stress. The tic could also be just a sign of anxiety too, but if it continues I would mention it to your GP. I think tics are very common in young children, but if they continue over many months can be a symptom of tourettes as I am sure you know. (Tourettes being one of the "co-morbids" of AS and dyspraxia).

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Jimjams2 · 24/02/2007 20:40

I'd try different coloured lenses with him - you've always said he has "features" and lenses may help. they're the same as the ones used successfully by some people with dyslexia. DS1 has a red pair. I think you need to see a behavioural optometrist, but I could have the name wrong. If you have no luck googling (I think Donna Williams has something about them on her page as well), let me know by email and I can pass on a phone number to you.

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Fubsy · 24/02/2007 21:01

Jimjams, you beat me to it re the behavioural optometrist. Theres one based either in Truro or St Austell i think, do you know another one?

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Jimjams2 · 24/02/2007 21:05

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sphil · 24/02/2007 21:09

Thanks - have googled and will definitely pursue. I think Saker has done this for her DS - will search archives.

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PeachyClair · 24/02/2007 21:11

The only other thing I can think of- has he spotted floaters? They can be really annoying if you have an obsessive style personality and latch onto things, that could be what he's trying to dexscribe and then either dislodge or is being stressed by them?

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sphil · 24/02/2007 21:27

I wondered about this Peachy because I get loads of them myself. But the questions I've asked him don't seem to fit - he says they don't move around, are black and look like scratches on his eyes . Mind you, he's not bothered by them - more interested! It's me that's bothered.

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Saker · 24/02/2007 23:05

try this for behavioural optometrists.

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sphil · 25/02/2007 08:21

Thanks Saker - that's the site I looked at. There's one listed fairly near here and two near where we'll be when we move to Somerset. They all describe themselves as optometrists rather than behavioural opotmetrists though - will that be the same thing?

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Saker · 25/02/2007 09:32

I don't know to be honest, I should phone them up and ask them. I think it's worth getting your Ds1 checked given his dyspraxic type symptons anyway since scanning problems etc are common in children with dyspraxia.

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sphil · 25/02/2007 12:42

Yes - although he was very cooperative at the opticians I noticed that he had real trouble with some of the tracking activities and using one eye at a time. He did it all but it obviously made him very uncomfortable.

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puppydavies · 25/02/2007 12:59

just a thought, his description sounds similar to a migraine aura. i had this for the first time a few months ago and it really freaked me out. there was no headache, just the visual disturbance - a growing patch of zigzag lines that turned into a totally blind spot gradually spreading across my field of vision then clearing.

there are lots of descriptions online, with illustrations of what the aura can look like - i recognised it instantly when i saw a pic, maybe your ds would too?

for example here , search for 'visual migraine", "ocular migraine" or "migraine aura".

you never know...

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PeachyClair · 25/02/2007 13:03

Puppy that's a good idea, that's what I get too! Migraines can be genteci- Sphil do you or DH get them?

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sphil · 25/02/2007 17:02

Yes I do. Had thought of this, and I know you can get the aura without the headache - but he says he's always had them and they're always there - they never get smaller or bigger.

I think it's a good idea to get him to look at some pics though. Would fit with stress - and with too much time on the Dr Who website...

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