Stops walking in middle of store, wont get out of car etc..

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Help!

All of a sudden my 13 year old son has just started stopping. He just freezes in place and zones out and stime are scripts. He say thing like "NO Thank you!" "That is not yours". I"m not so worried about what he is says it is just the stubborn stopping issue.

He froze in the grocery store for 15 minutes and then I had to drag him out by his arm. It looked bad. He is doing this at school too. They can't get him off the bus.

At him he will come and not take off his coat but just stand in the living room for an hour. I can't seem to get his attention and get in to his world to get him out of this.

Please any help I could get would be great! I'm pretty freaked out.

Thanks,
Susan

If he has a psychiatrist, you should report this right away. If he is on meds, this should be reported to whomever is the prescribing doctor. While it might be "just" behavioral, it might not be. What does your son say, afterwards? Is he aware of how long he was "frozen?" Is he aware of what was going on around him during the time he was "frozen?" Don't assume he's being stubborn. He might not have much control - you should try to find out from him what he's experiencing, and get professional guidance. There are some people who suffer from catatonic symptoms during adolescence, and you should not ignore warning signs, if they are presenting themselves.

I have the same questions as jat, what does he say about it afterwards? Try to take it one step at a time. If after talking with him it really seems like something he has no control over you should definitely seek some medical help. Unfortunately, it is not unheard of for kids to start having seizures at this age and they can take on quite different appearences. Does he have any other issues that you know of?

It's also worth noting that you're describing some very sensory-heavy environments where he "freezes." (well, except the living room I assume.) Many kids on the spectrum have many different reactions to sensory input; if you can figure out which input is bothering him, you may be able to mitigate it somehow. "Freezing" in place is one kind of a "stim" behavior: http://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/symptoms

I do agree, however, that you should see a professional to rule out other causes.

From what I read here that does not sound behavioral, and I would talk to a doctor or something about it if at all possible.

I agree with the other posters. If it's started happening suddenly like this, it could be a medical problem. It may not be anything medical, or very serious if it is, but it also could be. I'd be talking to the doctor first thing in the morning if I were you.

It's the "zoning out" part that concerns me. Especially if he's also saying things during those episodes that don't make sense.

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