Leg pain and SEN

[Secondchoice2]

Posting in AIBU for traffic. I had no responses elsewhere. Last night my 6 year old with ASD fell asleep crying because he cannot read. It was his first day back at school and they had all had to choose library books. He had chosen one that was too advanced for him. He thought that he had to read it because he had chosen it. He was sobbing and saying he can never catch up.

He woke up screaming at midnight because he said his legs hurt. He has been crying about leg pain intermittently for two years.

However, his legs did not hurt at any time during the summer.

In the last two years, we have taken him to the doctor, he has had scans and blood tests. They can find nothing physically wrong with him.
Could stress make his legs hurt? I am so confused. Any help appreciated.
YABU anxiety cannot cause leg pain
YANBU anxiety can cause leg pain

I’m assuming they’ve already checked him for hyper mobility. It’s strongly linked to people with autism and adhd. (Around 50% have it)
My son has it and it causes leg pain. It could be that he has to sit still in an awkward chair and cannot stretch his legs out or perhaps certain movement at play time and PE - alongside growing pains. It’s worth considering.

Around the same age my daughter would wake up now and again crying about her legs hurting. Dr says it is growing pains and can be very painful. Her dad also had bad pains when her was young

I was also going to say Hypermobility.
Does he get regular movement breaks in the school day? Or any sensory circuits?
I’d speak to school staff about the books. Maybe they can narrow down his choices as choice making in itself can be anxiety provoking.
They can also explain that books can be enjoyed on many levels and some people like to look at pictures to see what’s happening. A social story might help.
Often children have a reading book and one for pleasure or extension. Does he like non fiction?
You could look at Blanks level questions for ideas for questions to ask him. No pressure though.
He might like noisy books, lift up the flap or comics.

As a mum and a nursery nurse - I think he’s very overwhelmed and it’s all come to a head after returning to school and the structure of the school day.
one of my own children struggled to learn to read and it is very hard as a parent to watch how difficult it makes things - he couldn’t read the board, he couldn’t read the questions, he couldn’t even read to cheat !! and that frustrated him.
So your little boy has come home and can’t read his book and then he’s gone to sleep and his leg pain has made him cry and be awake, pain is always worse when you’re sad and he’s really had a rubbish day - aside from the other valuable suggestions about hyper mobility and him sitting in unfamiliar position.
Heres what I’d suggest, he can’t learn to read overnight so in charity shops and supermarkets book stands buy books that he can enjoy and have them to look at, try to read the book he’s chose from school with him and help him with some of the words sounding it out, then choose a book he’s got that he does enjoy and read that with him (as it becomes familiar he might remember the story) or you could make your own story up with him helping by looking at the pictures.
Give him a spoonful of calpol for his very real pain - then give him a spoonful of magic (I used to buy the sprinkles you use for cupcakes) and treat it like it’s a secret.
warm baths might help his pain too but mostly lots of love and reassurance.

Could be growing pains. Both mine get these. They can be really painful. I give Calpol and rub the leg until they fall asleep