FoggyRock General Forum

Hi-
I'm certainly no expert, but will give you my 2 cents....Several things that I might look at:
1)  medication changes--have there been any changes in doses or brands?  My son's doctor recently changed one of his meds from a tablet to a quick-dissolving pill, and the new pill was not effective at all.  It was as if he wasn't on the same medication at all.  We quickly changed back and things are back on track.  Also, sometimes, meds are changed to a generic brand, which may or may not work the same way.  Also, if he has gained or lost weight (or grown taller) his doses may need to be adjusted.
2)  Sometimes people with autism suffer this time of year because of less daytime hours--light.  He may need some light-therapy...or some melatonin, or both.  Sometimes meds have to be adjusted during the changing seasons too.
3)  Can someone at your agency do a Functional Behavioral Assessment?  Sometimes an assessment like that can reveal patterns or triggers that may be affecting behavior.
4)  Sometimes, when there is a regression in one area (behavior), there is a concurrent improvement or progression in another area (like speech, or acadmetics, or motor skills)...It's almost like the body cannot support both areas of the brain at the same time....
5)  My son was recently tested for vitamin D3, and found to be significantly deficient.  His doctor says that she is seeing that in alot of kids on the spectrum.  For some reason, their liver is not able to process the vitamin D that is collected through the skin and they need supplementation as a result.  Vitamin D, I understand, is a precursor to seratonin (the feel-good hormone) and it would seem that a deficit of vitamin D might adversing affect moods.

I hope that might help in some way.  good luck!