you know how our children sometimes go a bit bonkers at full moon?

[silverfrog]

well, does anyone else's child go loopy in the winter? or is it just my dd1?

she was climbing the walls last winter (seriously, was the first time I thought that i'll not be able to cope in the years to come), and for the last couple of weeks she has been behaving awfully again.

iirc, it peaked at the end of November last year, and was a LOT better by New Year - not sure I can cope with another month of this...

DS1 (ASD) is much easier out of the home than in the home so yes it does seem harder when we are indoors more because of the colder weather.

we are a true all-weather family - we were out in force last weekend for the Great South Run (my stepson was running in it, so we went to support) and that was hideous weather.

we are out and about as much as ever, i think, but truly, dd1 goes loopy between mid-September and the end of the year. Very shouty and non-co-operative, which is extremely unlike her, normally very passive and willing.

'tis bizarre, and I wish i knew what the problem was (as ever!) so that I could at least try to help

Just a thought, but could it be to do with the central heating going on? This affects DS2 physically (with a knock on effect on behaviour).

mel, I wondered whether dd1's issue was cold-related...

Interesting, sphil - i had thought of that (especially as her room is a bizarre mix between freezing and boiling hot as the radiator is on high to combat the arctic properties!)

how does it affect your ds physically?

I know I can be grumpy if i get too hot overnight (always end up sleeping too deeply, iyswim), so it could well be that.

not much i can do about it though, as she will freeze if i turn the heating off in her room

the wind makes some children go a bit loopy (NT and ASD)

she didn't used to like the wind, MoM, but is a lot better about it now. actually quite enjoys it sometimes, especially blowing her hair back off her face, etc

maybe she's got seasonal affective disorder, it peaks as the days get shorter and then gets better in the new year as the days start to get longer again. Maybe SAD affects those with ASD in a subtly different way to NT folk. (I have used a light box in the past when I have got grumpy and lacking in concentration in the winter. I didn't use it consistently enough to prove if it was effective or not as my depression was at least partly caused by my worries about DS2 and probably hormones too, but it did feel like drinking a strong coffee).
My kids can be a handful in the winter but I think it is simply not getting out enough and living in a slightly too small flat!

His eczema and asthma flare up, especially when we first put the heating on.

He absolutely hates being cold outside though - it's the only time he ever really makes a fuss about being out. Interestingly, the cold air /wind also brings on his asthma.

sphil - ds has exzema and asthma flare-up when the heating first goes on too! Which then makes him grumpier/not sleep as well and so on. Very interesting, he is easier to handle in summer but I've never thought about it being more than it being easier to get out and about - he does have some hot/cold sensory issues(t-shirt outside in winter if we let him).

Funnily enough DS2 sleeps much better in the winter, in spite of the asthma/eczema! Strange.

thanks, everyone, lots to think about.

I think dd1 gets a lot more "stuffed up" nose/sinus wise when the heating is on, so tha towuld have a knock-on I guess.

i had wondered about SAD - must read up more, as the impression I had is of tired/listlessness rather than grumpy/stroppy uncooperativeness. might well be worth investigating.

she is having a lot of changes at the moment, so would be unsettled a little anyway, but she was lopy last winter, and the winter before too, so not just the changes...