Autistic dd flat out refusing to walk

[Concernfordd1]

Name changed as outing

My dd, 6, with autism, has suddenly decided that she will no longer be walking

She is non verbal so can't tell me why

I don't know whether she is in pain or has broken a limb, it doesnt seem like it

I've applied slight pressure to her legs and she doesnt react

Today she crawled on the pavement in the rain, and sat in Sainsbury's car park until I carried her to the car. Then she has just wet herself instead of going to the toilet

Whats going on?

I am thinking to take her to a&e tomorrow and then send her to school in her buggy (which by now will be too small but she might just fit)

Has anyone experienced this? If so please help 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️ i'm getting very worried

It must be so hard when she can't tell you what's wrong 💐 Could it be a virus? Has she been tested for flu/covid//strep/rsv etc? Xx

Did they check for worms?
Appendix?

@Concernfordd1 I don't know if this is helpful, but when my then 3 year old son stopped walking for no visible reason, and couldn't explain why (although he could talk) we took him to A and E, and he was eventually seen by a paediatric consultant and was found to have an infection in his hip socket.

He became unwell around 3 or 4 days after stopping walking, and developed a fever. I think he had antibiotics - but can't quite recall.

I wondered if it's something similar for your DD?

So worrying for you, I am praying for a swift recovery for your daughter and strength for you.💕

Thoughts are with u and your little one OP 💐

Yes I think this too. You’re a wonderful mum and I wish her a really speedy recovery. Sending lots of love to you both ❤️

Apologies, missed a number of replies, so comment isn’t relevant.

I assume they checked bloods, urine?
Hope she’s better soon. Ds broke his arm when he was little and it was 3 days before it started to swell he never cried or said a word (he is autistic and at the time was able to talk but very limited communication.) the second time he broke it he came out of school and said, my arms broken. I took him a&e and yes same break. Never showed any pain.
it changed when he was around 9 suddenly he went the other way and any pain/discomfort is horrific to him.
interestingly I’m also autistic and I broke my shoulder when I was 7 and it was 3 weeks before my mum took me to the doctors because i wasn’t moving it. And I’m also very sensitive to pain/illness now as a adult.
Hooefully they will figure it out

Thinking of you it sounds very stressful

hope you get some answers today

I'm praying for you and your little DD, OP. You're in the right place, well done for trusting your instincts.

Sending you a hug and prayers op

Thinking of you OP. Kids go down fast and hard but tend to do the same coming back up, so here's hoping she's gone down hard with a bug and will recover equally quickly and be back to normal.

Hi all,
Some of you might have noticed that we had taken this thread down to have a look into the background, so we just want to say that having done so we are reinstating. It is important on a site such as ours that we are as careful as possible when it comes to threads such as these, we are sure you understand.
@Concernfordd1 we hope that it's good news all the way now for dd. 🌷

Thank you again Hope xx

Thanks everyone for your prayers - i will come back to you properly but for now, dd had some paracetamol in an IV drip overnight and has now perked up. She is having a fantastic time in the bath and I am just grateful 🥺

Will come back to you soon xx

Will have to Google conversion syndrome

They will do another xray of her thigh bones but they dont think there is an issue there tbh

They are very puzzled as am I 🥺

Thank you for this, and to everyone being so nice

This is what i said, dd really isnt a complainer but not sure what it could be as they've only got the thighs to still xray

I hope your boy is okay now? Our kids they just don't express this stuff

I'm sorry they didnt believe you but believed a man 🤢 - and that they were rude to you - its honestly so hard to advocate for them when theyre autistic because you have to do so more than other parents

Sorry for the slow updates

So

Dd is awake and far more perky than yesterday.

She was in pain, of that i'm sure. She is now able to bum shuffle again which she wasnt doing yesterday or this morning. She is trying to eat but also has a toothache i think. She did have two teeth out in august so i'm needing to chase them up for another appointment

She has drunk some of her squash. She has trust issues from the movicol being put in her drinks so now watches them being made before drinking them 😅😅

i've been home, had a shower, fed dcat and given her a cuddle and a snack and she seemed less upset with me by the time I left

I'm sorry I was so distressed yesterday. She was so lethargic and not herself and vomiting and shivering, but today she is doing better

She had a bubble bath which made her so happy as she loves water 😄. She keeps asking for another one so i might see if I can tonight.

She was happy to be wheeled into the play room and played with some animals and trains.

ive got her some balloons so i'm hoping she will eat her rice and then will get them out

The problem remains that we dont know why she isnt walking. She is definitely in pain. But why.

The doctors said that we have to do another xray of her feet and thighs

Then they will take more bloods perhaps tomorrow, so we are in for one more night

If nothing, they are discussing a more advanced mri which will be done on Monday if so

They hope to send her home for the weekend. Hopefully they do because I can go home, deep clean the space and try and get dd to play with me on the floor to at least work on her muscles that she can use 🥺🥺

Sorry if this is convoluted, I am exhausted. Ive had about 4 hours sleep since waking at 6 on wednesday morning.

Thank you to everyone for your kindness. I want to read and respond to as many messages so please bear with me

Thank you most of all for your prayers. They mean the world to me. Yesterday I was terrified as she went downhill so fast and today she is smiling at me and insisting on cupcakes

I am still terrified because we dont know whats wrong. I am so scared that there is going to be something huge.

Please keep us in your prayers

Will go through your kind wishes and at least respond with a heart as they mean a lot to me. I'm doing my best and i'm so lucky to have her honestly

And i'm very grateful for mn ❤️

Great news she's perked up OP. Hopefully the source of the issue will show itself soon and she can get treated and get home.

Thank you for this, I had to come back and find you because I took your advice

I asked for a covid test and said could that be causing her fever and sickness. They brought it round but i realised We cant do a covid test, dd wont have it and the swabs are so invasive

When she was a toddler during covid, I remember them saying they could test the snot on her nose, and forgot completely about how invasive the test would be

But shes now got a steady dry cough, and I think is being boosted by the paracetamol we've been giving her. I do think she also has covid. xx

Thank you, they said the bloods don't show cancer but they cant rule it out 🥺🥺

Thank you 🥺🥺

Thank you @DreamTheMoors ❤️

Your prayers have helped my dd perk up today and i'm so grateful

I am praying for a non life altering diagnosis for her 🙏

Also, she had an xray of her feet and thighs

It went so badly, dd needed restraining but there was no-one there to help so I did it on my own. She sobbed and was very distressed, more than she has been the whole time being here.

The technician was very stressed and unfocused, I will need to speak to the doctor in the morning

Thank you so much ❤️ - I think they thought the same as they did xray her hips and they have ruled out any infection but are repeating bloods. Did ds recover well?

She is tilting her feet to the outsides if that makes sense so I am wondering whether she is dealing with pain in the arches xx

I really feel for you. This must be torture for you. I hope you have some RL support. You need it. Prayers for you and your darling girl.

I am glad she is doing a bit better.

Does your DD have hypermobility in her joints?

It could be pain relating to that possibly. Or sensory issues.

thepodiatryexperts.com.au/autism-and-feet/

www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=mft.nhs.uk/app/uploads/2019/09/sensory-processing-pre-referral-advice-oct18.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwj5s8a_kJmQAxU1UUEAHbfQGd8QFnoECD4QAQ&usg=AOvVaw3S5br5StAfyYGJJ6iEK0eP

Has she ever had physio and occupational therapy input at all through her school?

Also have you checked the bottom of her feet to see if she might have a small foreign body or scratch in/on the bottom. Small pieces of glass often do not show up on an x-ray.

Also the other thing to consider is dizziness due to vestibular issues, some viruses can cause vertigo, she could have something going on with her vestibular system. Audiology can sometimes test for this, but I am not sure if paediatric audiology offers this if not ENT. They measure eye movements when rotating and moving the head to see if there are signs of vestibular neuritis, labyrinthitis or BPPD.

Thank you for this response as its very helpful xx

We saw the physio this morning as her feet xray came back clear. I asked about hyper mobility but he said she seems typical in that aspect

He thinks its sensory related and I could tell he thinks she should be discharged as she is fine (as in not in pain)

I feel that, now that she is taking ibuprofen she is more perky and herself. She is bum shuffling and smiling at me

But she cannot put her weight on her feet for more than a second. I completely get the argument that it is sensory related but she is better today because of the dosing of ibuprofen which imo is easing her pain 🥺🥺

So today, we are going home

For the weekend and back on monday

I am so grateful for everyone. I finally got a full night's sleep last night so I am more clear headed and will go through the replies

Dd is smiling and shuffling and demanding the cupcakes id bought to tempt her to eat on weds 😭

Mri scan on monday, a different type

They were asking if dd might have ingested radiator paint? I said she does play with the radiator next to the bed and she does put things in her mouth but I dunno whether she had ingested any paint

Lead poisoning?

Very confused but will go home and check the radiator next to our bed 🥺