hiding from the world, lethargic. help!

[cantgetoutofbed]

my 6 year old ds who has autism and is non verbal has been acting really strange since friday morning.
he is just curling up on the couch, not moving, with a big cushion over him.
today he is still in bed.
although he is pale, he doesnt have a temperature and no rash or obvious signs of illness.
we are wondering if it could be some kind of sensory overload, as he seems to be struggling with bright lights. the only time he perked up was last night after 7pm when it started to get dark.
he had an episode at the end of last summer where he wouldnt wear any clothes or a nappy. though he was hyperactive then.
we are so stressed out with worry.
of course, these things always happen at the weekend. our gp is good at coming out for a home visit to check him over, but its a holiday tomorrow. our nearest hospital with a kids unit is 2 hours away, and they would have to sedate him and admit him.
ohh, does anyone have any ideas or similar experiences?

Hi, might be very different but my daughter who has ASD has not been herself at all over the last three days although she has been eating! Anyway this morning she has been sick 4 times already....maybe it's a bug? I would suggest you phone the GP just in case. I do hope he will be better soon and back to his old self!

Poor wee DS. I could only suggest you keep the brightness as low as possible and create as relaxing an atmosphere as you know he usually finds soothing, fav blankets or bundling up in blankets or fav textured toy, etc with maybe any soothing music on low that he normally enjoys....

He doesn't have a temp...is he drinking and eating ok?...could he have constipation and discomfort maybe...keeping still and curled up??? Perhaps he has some pain? ...tummy distended/bloated maybe, feels soft or firm?...how is his toileting and last poo, urine out-put?

It wouldn't do any harm to phone nhs24 and discuss what you are seeing, etc and they could ask you more and do some checks on the phone maybe?

Does he enjoy a bath maybe?...you could keep the bathroom in low lights and let him sooth in a deep bath, maybe get in with him if he allows holding with you.

I hope he is alright, but don't be worrying too long if he isn't improving or responding any better, especially if he is refusing liquids...don't worry if he isn't eating much...the fluids are the most important thing right now.

thank you guys. he has been eating (home made scones) and drinking. poo and pee ok.
yes he really liked his bath last night.
he is a bit brighter now and has got up and ate 4 scones! a bit better colour too.
fingers crossed!

aww that's great to hear

Just a note, as the "struggling with bright lights" threw up a red flag for me. Hopefully he's feeling much better now, but lethargy and dislike of bright lights are two symptoms - it's always tricky because there's a number of symptoms and they don't all appear and not in any specific order.

Obviously I don't want to worry you, but I would feel dreadful if I didn't at least mention it. Here's a link to the other symptoms that can also be linked to it:

www.meningitis-trust.org/meningitis-info/signs-and-symptoms/children-and-teenagers/

Hopefully it's just a blip and he's doing much better though.

Hi, how has he been today?