Behaviour/Mood Cycles...

Post Reply New Topic

Anyone notice these cycles in their aspie kids?
My boy is only 3.5 but we have noticed he cycles through really great periods and then hits a low, low period for a while and back again since he was about 1.5 or 2 years old. So over a year he has 2 or 3 really low periods in the cycles, where he is more impulsive and has less self control, doesn't want to eat anything, sleep gets worse, he cries a lot, is aggressive with kids, needs a lot more down time and sensory breaks and gets frustrated and overwhelmed at the drop of a hat. Yeah, we are there right about now after a really great period of about a month where he was at the top of his game. We used to wonder are we crazy or are these really cycles of some kind- now we are sure. Now I'm curious as to why they happen? What is the pattern? Is it the time of year, weather, growth spurt, developmental leap?

I consulted Dr Google and found a few people talking about mood and behaviour cycles but no one seems to have really figured it out. But it's definitely a thing.

We are just trying to ride this out and keep in mind that this is the worst it gets and that it will be better again, but it's pretty hard right now for everyone. I feel for my son, he is really having a tough time- everything is difficult for him and he seems so troubled.

I haven't quite described them to myself as cycles, but I think that is, because with us anyway, there have been so many different reasons for good periods and bad periods. I don't usually figure it out, other than hindsight.

Some of it is developmental, I think, at different points. When he gets frustrated with something he now wants to do, but quite can't can't do yet, social challenges, that kind of thing. We also have stages with more issues with self control, and impulsivity as well, but sometimes, I think I am just in a position to notice it more. Then there is the cumulative effect of being overwhelmed with school or whatever, towards the second half of the year, that we have had some years.

Your child may have a Seasonal Affective Disorder, if you notice a seasonal pattern relating to daylight. He also may be fed up with the weather if you are in a part of the country that has been hard hit by winter.

I have not done this myself, but you might consider making a journal, if you can spare the time, to jot down things that happened each day and try to give the day some kind of overall rating and see if you can find a definite pattern over time, or as a function of his day. If he perseverates a lot, you may see a longer carry over of things to the next day or longer.

Edited for grammar.

Yes, this is a definite thing. In fact, when my son was dxd, I found it hard to accept the label b/c he was only sometimes weird. My son is much more stable at age 12. In my opinion, what brought the most stability was finding out what foods were irritating him.

It's interesting isn't it?

I was just reading a passive online from one of Temple Grandin's books and she says she goes through cycles as well. She says that her anxiety peaks in fall and spring- and actually, when I think about it, these are the times of year when my son's seems to feel the worst as well.
Also found on Google that some people attribute it to allergies and growth spurts as well as developmental leaps (the last two are what seem most likely to me).

ASDMom, I don't think it's associated with daylight (where we live we do have a slight decrease in the number of hours, but it's literally sunny here 350 days of the year). I should make a journal...one of many, many things I should do! It's a good idea.

I'm going to try to find more info online.

Yes, that makes sense that the cycles are attributed to changes in fall and spring. These are times of huge changes in barometric pressure and lifestyle changes. Our summer vs. winter activities are completely different.

I was just saying this exact same thing to my husband and even said it seems cyclical. My son will do great for months and I will say "whew we got through that bad time" but then months later we are thrust back into that "bad time" again. We had about 5 months that I saw great improvements in my son and now we are about 5 months into a "not so good" patch.