Manic display

[Malika]

Jacobwas given sweets and an ice-cream to eat by someone today. This afternoon and evening he has been manically hyper - the way he is usually but doubled. Running furiously, manically, up and down, in circles, outside. Wild and excited. A friend came over with her little boy to see our new dog and J was just unbearable, really - wouldn't let the other child stroke the dog, or walk with it on the lead, spoke to him rudely, was rushing in and out of the house like a crazed demon, speaking even faster than usual, hot and sweaty, screaming... manic. I just kept apologising to my friend although it is not my "fault". Later he kicked a village man on the legs (playfully I suppose but still...) and was jumping in and out of all the carefully planted flower beds. Lunatic... actually, come to think of it, it is the full moon, isn't it?? Could it be... Or is it the sweet stuff again? Thank god he is not this manic all the time, i suppose...

 

[DammitJanet]

What kinds of sweets and ice cream? Did it perhaps have any red dye in it? Red dye is well known for causing problems for kids. I wont even let any of my kids have red soda, red hot dogs or red anything unless it is natural cherry or strawberry. No artificial red 40.

 

[InsaneCdn]

I'm with Janet... it could be something specific that was in the sweets... something he doesn't get from you at home.

 

[Malika]

Yes, I'd have to check the ingredients to see what kind of additives were involved. Seems hard to believe that something could have that immediate and drastic an effect... But the anecdotal evidence does seem to add up to it being sweets that cause this kind of manic hyperactivity in him. And how on earth does one keep a kid away from sweets all his childhood? Answer: you can't.

 

[buddy]

That is really smart of course as usual, all of you..... so need to look at each and every food item I suppose if it is doable... hard to know exactly if you were not seeing all of it. I forgot about the moon still...maybe that really is part of why mine is falling apart too. ARRGGG too many possibilities. I want a simple life sometimes.

 

[Malika]

I want a simple life sometimes.

Only sometimes, buddy? I always want a simple life, which is partly why I find my difficult child so stressful...

 

[DammitJanet]

Well people the world over...or at least in the US, have noticed that most of our kids dont do well with Red dye 40. I have no idea why anyone needs it anyway? It just stains everything badly. Doesnt make things taste better. Lots of companies are now dying with beet juice. I love the new Kool-Aid waters that are dye free.

 

[InsaneCdn]

And how on earth does one keep a kid away from sweets all his childhood? Answer: you can't.

If its certain ingredients and not just the "sweet"... then no, you don't have to... but you DO have to teach the "what not to haves".

I know a kid who, whenever there is a candy dish, goes looking for anything "pure white". Those have no dyes in them... good thing he likes peppermint! If its soda, he gets anything "clear". Cream soda is OUT. Mountain Dew, 7-up, those kinds of things, are fine. So... he doesn't usually have to go without, just has to pick and choose.

If its the sugar and not the dye... then sugarless candy works... trick from parent of diabetic kid.

 

[KTMom91]

Miss KT had A LOT of trouble with caramel coloring when she was younger; it really wigged her out. She was fine with the sugar, but if she had a Pepsi instead of a Sprite? Hold your hats, folks...it wasn't pretty.

 

[Chaosuncontained]

You can't keep a child from sweets but you can limit them. Or try to (lol). Different things react differently to different people. I have a six year old that can eat candy 1/2 the day and act just as he does without candy. Carson would literally drive me to drink if I gave him more than one piece. When Carson has too many sweets he is just like a pinball in a machine...bouncing, pinging, frantic and out of control. I've never tried limiting his red dye. Very interesting.

 

[InsaneCdn]

Chaos - does Carson go manic on arrowroot cookies? Those have no dye etc. but do have simple carbs and sugars. If its sugar, these simple cookies would still set him off. If these don't, then its more likely a specific ingredient in candy.

 

[whatamess]

I'm always trying to figure out my perplexing difficult child and came across this theory...
Hypokalemic sensory overstimulation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[ready2run]

my difficult child reacts like that to icecream. i have no idea why. other sweets can have the effect, but not usually. ice cream gets him every time.

 

[Steely]

Matthew could not eat ANY sugar foods without having an increase in behavioral problems. I actually tried to eliminate all of his sugar intake, and when I did that I realized there were even more foods that were triggers for him. Orange juice, peanut butter, dairy, etc. So many of our kids are triggered by food, and it is very overwhelming for us parents. At least in the US it is was very normal for the kids to be not allowed to have sugar in school. Many Autistic kids are given these total sugar free, gluten free diets, and do so much better . I hope it can be the same for you! <HUGS>

 

[pepperidge]

I would do some carefully controlled experiments to see if it is dye, other additives, sugar (if so what kind of deal). My niece can't do raisins even but I think she can eat ice cream. so look into gylcemic index etc. Could be making things worse.

 

[Malika]

It's not sugar. He eats sugar in some form every day. When I shop, I look at the ingredients list and don't buy anything with additives. I never buy him sweets (candy) but sometimes he has chocolate or an ice-cream - never seen this before with ice-cream. Never let him have fizzy drinks like coke though he's had it once or twice at parties, etc. He did seem to me to get more hyper one time after he had coke.
It could have been the candy yesterday because it was like that the last time he ate a lot of candy at halloween. So it could conceivably have been a dye, maybe a red dye... The effect was really noticeable - as if he'd taken some drug. Manic, as I said.
Now he is beside me drawing butterflies and cutting them out with scissors, then colouring in. He is talking away as he does it, as he usually does, but his body is basically still and he is concentrating on what he is doing. This is how he usually is inside the house. Yesterday he literally could not stay still or concentrate on anything.

 

[DammitJanet]

Well...have no idea then what you are talking about. You posted that he had sweets and ice cream and was so manic. Now you are telling us that he has ice cream and sugar and candy regularly with no bad effects.

I have no idea what your post was intended to ask us. Im left confused this way at the end of your posts quite often.

 

[Malika]

Janet, I really am at a loss in terms of your antagonism that I and some others detect... J does NOT have candy regularly, as I quite clearly stated. He has sugar regularly - a different thing. As I stated, on two occasions recently when he had a lot of candy, very unusually, it had this effect on his behaviour. There is no confusion. There may be something in candy, additives, that has a bad effect on him.

 

[InsaneCdn]

Malika...

I think its just the combination of cultural divide, plus the lingering effects of Janet's meningitis... that sometimes results in a less than perfect communication sequence.

I can follow both sets of logic, but can also see where the gap in understanding came into this... its one of the disadvantages of board-style communication.

Like everything else... take what you can use!
I'm sure no harm was meant.

 

[Malika]

Hi IC. I am not sure where cultural divide comes into this, to be honest... might as well talk about the cultural divide between the US and Canada
I think it is important for us to keep to within certain boundaries of courtesy when we talk to each other - perhaps precisely because, as you say, of the limitations of this kind of faceless communication which lend themselves to misunderstanding.