ds has begun to have a 'strange feeling' like anxiety. Anyone else?

[purplepin]

My ds (12) has a verbal dx of AS from community paed - we are waiting for CAMHS to see him. He has recently begun to say that he has a 'strange feeling' which he really doesn't like. This 'feeling' lasts for 5-10mins and then he's fine. It's almost like anxiety but it comes from nowhere. He's not attention seeking I'm sure. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm worried in case he experiences this at school, as he is already a school refuser and I really don't need anything else making our lives more complicated!

Can he explain the feeling? Or draw it?

No - he gets cross if I ask him to describe it. To me it seems like anxiety.

I will ask him to draw it though - good idea - thanks.

A friend of mine has had some good results with Rescue Remedy for her son who has AS. Might be worth a try? My son (8) has dyspraxia with AS traits - he gets very anxious about the prospect of being sick and I find that the homeopathic remedy Nux Vomica helps him, as well as Rescue Remedy. Whether it's a placebo or not, I don't know, but it calms him down very quickly. There may be a more appropriate homeopathic remedy for your DS - I'm sure there's one for general anxiety. If you're interested I'll look it up in my homeopathic book - but it would probably be best if he could be a bit more specific about the type of feeling or the source of it.

Hi, dd1(AS) is only 6 but does suffer with anxiety, its worse at night/after school and she never gets anxious at school (saves it for when she gets home). Like sphil's ds i get anxious about being sick, i also take Nux Vomica which was recommended by my therapist (i am having therapy for anxiety, mailny linked to fear of being sick), i also find 'calms' take the edge off of the anxiety.

Anxiety is very common in people on the autistic spectrum. For my DS, who has Kanners Autism, the word "tension" probably describes it better as he does not seem to be worried about specific issues or situations, he just becomes extremely tense and over stimulated/sensory seeking.
I have a friend with a DS with very hf AS who is extremely anxious and who had some success with a book from the NAS called something like When My Autism Gets Too Big for Me.

thanks so much for your answers. I already give him rescue balm when he can't sleep so have some in. I will look for some Nux Vomica as well. He spoke a bit more about it last night and he says it's like the feeling that he gets when he knows he has done something wrong or is just about to do something wrong.

Its good news that he is able to recognise these feelings. My ds is extremely anxious, but cannot recognise it, in order to cope with it.

You could try giving him strategies to use when he gets these feelings.

thanks
a diary is an excellent idea

ds 2 has classic autism and has bouts of excessive anxiety. he is often sick but not as a sign of attention as he will always tell us his tummy won't listen. he talks about his purple brain coming and can't explain any more than that other than to say he wishes his purple brain would go away and everything was usual again.

School introduced a "how I'm feeling" book for him. Each day in the evening he will write about his day and then traffic light it. Green for great, orange for ok/not sure and red for bad day. Does your school have anything like that?

He also has music therapy which we fought to get on the statement. It is great as it allows him to express his feelings without having to verbalise any of it. I can't recommend it highly enough especially when a child just can't find the right words to describe how they feel. You can get more info about it at www.apmt.org/Info/MusicTherapy/tabid/69/Default.aspx

Because he doesn't have a formal dx we can't yet properly access the appropriate support.His school are excellent though and I'm sure would be receptive to some of the ideas on here. He really struggles to verbalise his feelings and can get really cross when asked to. The music therapy sounds great -will look at that - thanks.

Sorry i meant to add that i have an anxiety advice sheet from NAS, with some suggestions on it, if thats any help?