Buster personality change

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Liahona

Guest
First I'll tell you what Buster has been like up to 3 days ago. He is a tease. He likes to pull his sisters hair just to hear them scream. He will jerk something out of your hands and run down the hall giggling. He fights to have his face washed; absolutely hates it. When told no he tries to just do it faster, more intense. He has the most wonderful mischievous smile I have ever seen. When I block him with my legs from going into his sisters room he throws himself at my legs between 5-10 times. And he is a chunk. He is almost always happy. He likes to hold (with help) Cherub. He loves being wrapped up in his favorite blankie. He loves stories, trains, dogs, big trucks, sticks, balls, running, laughing. He is only ticklish when he wants to be, and he likes to be tickled. He fights going to sleep. He gets out of bed and makes it miserable for his brothers to try to sleep. He always crashes somewhere on his bedroom floor. He takes the baby locks off the door, likes to take everything out of drawers, baskets, ect... He is noisy. Not with words but with these screeches that let you know he wants something. Or with jabbering or car or airplane sounds. Or hitting things together. He would follow me around the house, very active little toddler.

That was 3 days ago. Now he is quiet. Has hardly even tried to talk, no sign language. No smiles. Just stands in one spot maybe moving to go sit down. Not playing. Not getting excited about anything, not getting upset about anything. He doesn't fight the word no. He just looks at you with a kinda blank stare and stops what he is doing. husband washed his face tonight with no screaming involved. I left his bedroom door open at bedtime. He hasn't gotten off his bed once. (His brothers have though.) He does eat, there is no sign of sickness but this drastic change in personality. His regular pediatrician is out of the office on Mondays so I'm going to take him in on Tuesday. I want someone to see him that knows what he was like before. I am very scared. It is like he is slipping away from me. I hope it is something physical and not really severe autism.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
Oh Lia. I'm not sure which is worse... extreme Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) or something physical. But you're doing the right thing. It's very important to get him to his regular doctor - the one who knows what HIS "normal" is...

{{hugs}}
 

Bunny

Active Member
It is frightening to see such a drastic change in only a matter of days. I hope the doctor can tell you what the cause is.
 

DDD

Well-Known Member
Has he been alone with anyone who may have harmed him or possibly frightened him severely? I promise you I will be sending caring thoughts and prayers for Buster. My gut says he was traumatized and that he is not not having a physical problem. Is he either more cuddly or less cuddly in recent days?

As I'm thinking of your family I have to say that you really impress me. Somehow your Mommy radar stays on and you are able to cherish the specialness of each of your children. As a young Mom I had three children within four years I very truthfully was overwhelmed. It takes a special person to parent multiple children. You are one. DDD
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
Liahona, I agree, that I would think back to the days immediately leading up to his new silence ... new people, situations, medications?
My son went through something like that but it wasn't as severe. He was wild, loud, chaotic, and only said "Mama, Dada, Doggie." Then he stopped talking for a long time, and just screamed and pointed at things. Then he spoke in complete sentences. Then he stopped again, mostly doing the screaming-pointing thing, and that went on until he was hmmm, maybe 5? It seemed like forever. So I don't know how much of this is spectrum and how much is environmental.
From your description, it is very strange. No fever? No tick bites? Anything you can think of? Sometimes autistic kids hold stuff in and it gets very exaggerated, so here's hoping that it is/was something minor and he is just obsessing about it and you can iron it all out.
{hugs}
 
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Liahona

Guest
difficult child 1 has been gone the last 2 weeks, so no trauma from him. difficult child 2 or difficult child 3 could have done something to hurt him without realizing it, but I would've heard him crying. That has happened in the past and he really lets everyone know. Those two difficult children aren't sneaky about hurting siblings; they just don't realize what would hurt him. And it is very rare for them to hurt a sibling on purpose.

No new people or places. The last 2 weeks we have gone to church, store, and grandpas house; none of which were right before this started. No new medications.

Today he is slightly better. Not the huge impressive smile but not a big frown either. So far just one sign and no words. Some babbling but not much.

Thanks DDD. And thanks everyone for listening. It really helps to have someone(s) to talk to so I can be coherent when talking to professionals. Instead of wringing my hands and saying he is just different I can give examples of how he is different.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
Lia... not to scare you, but to get you thinking about ways to document what you see... there is a very slim chance what you are seeing could be a brain tumour or aneurysm. Can you track exactly when you noticed, and how long before you saw the slight improvement?
 
Thinking of you today too Liahona. I'm hoping he's just temporarily scared or in pain and had no way to express it. Pig Pen used to shut down if something scary happened to him. He'd quit speaking for an afternoon.
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
What did the dr say? What sort of tests were done? What sort of questions asked? How did difficult child behave?
 
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Liahona

Guest
So sorry I didn't post yesterday! We couldn't get in until 5pm. Buster has a sore throat! I am so happy. :) Yesterday he grabbed a (thankfully) clean wet wipe out of my hands and ran down the hall with it. I almost cried with joy. His speech and his smile is back as well. It is a virus and should go away soon. If he starts shutting down again I'm to take him back in.

*Thank you everyone for the well wishes.
 
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