severe sensory issues?

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Okay my son has gone through this weird/difficult stage on and off throughout his life. He gets EXCESSIVELY sensitive to things and it triggers fear and anxiety in him. It gets really bad to the point that he can't function daily. He snaps out of it after about a month and is back to normal. I don't understand what triggers it.

Here are some examples, a couple of years ago before he got diagnosed, he couldn't tolerate being alone, he was almost 4 years old. He wouldn't walk on the floor because he felt "tracks" on the floor. We have carpet. Maybe he felt something one day while he was walking and now is fearful of it? Well the anxiety got so bad that he wouldn't walk on the floor for days. I know he's not pretending or crying out for attention, it's really REAL in his mind.

Another example, he wouldn't shower for weeks because he claimed there was something in the tub. He would freak out whenever I tried to put him in. Again it lasted for weeks and now he's over it.

One time he claimed there were bugs on the bed and slept on top of me for days. He would not sleep on the bed, his skin can not touch the bed.

Last but not least is the stage he's going through right now. He says he gets very "ticklish" every time the bed or pillow touches him. He gets so cold but he freaks out when the blanket is on him, he jumps off the bed and literally won't sleep. This is not a kid who just wants to make up excuses to stay up. He was soo tired and soo cold but he couldn't use the blanket or sleep. He was so frustrated last night he started banging his head. I felt so bad for him that I couldn't comfort him because he would freak out every time I touched him. I asked him what it feels like when I touch him and he said like "bombs." He says he usually feels it at night and sometimes in the day. He just gets overly ticklish.

We've tried the brushing technique and massages but there are times where he can tolerate it, most times he can't. I don't know what triggers this kind of behavior or feelings. It comes and goes. When it runs it's course he wakes up the next day and it's like a new kid. Nothing bothers him, he's talking and thinking clearly. I can't see any connection with food or weather. One thing I have noticed though is the difference in the sensory input he receives. After the "tracks" on floor incident, he was put in OT and the sensory stuff stopped for a while. During the bugs on bed incident and the shower incident, he was in OT at the time. This last incident with the ticklishness, he began to show signs of it after he went from swimming class 3 times a week, to 1 time a week, so there was a decrease in sensory input.

Does anybody know if this is a sensory issue or an anxiety one? Or both? I think for the ticklishness phase that he's going through, it's definitely sensory. I know this sounds like minor issues but it's really effecting his life. He can't sleep, he's always on edge, fearful and he's starting to feel out of control. I just feel so bad for him, I've never heard of this problem before. I just want to hold my son and comfort him, I know he wants me to hold him too, but we can't.
It's sooo frustrating because the outpatient OT sessions that he goes to discharged him because they claimed his issues are resolved. Basically, because he's higher functioning they think he doesn't need it anymore. The school's OT also discharged him for the same reason. The fact that his issues are sporadic makes it even worse to get services. Once they come though, it's so intense for him.

Can someone give me some insight on what's going on with him and how I can help? Thank you.

How many kids this age like being alone?

A lot of the other stuff sounds like sensory issues.
Do you have pets, or anything else that could be bothering him that might not seem like a problem to you?

This sounds very much like my son when he was younger. It was so severe they were not going to mainstream him into kindergarten. Then they put him on low dose risperdal and the difference was amazing. He wasn't doped up either. He is no longer taking anti anxiety meds. In retrospect I think he was on them too long. He developed severe tics by the 4th grade and was taken off. He is tic free now, but still takes tanex for it.There are risks with meds and it's a hard decision which way to go. I do know without meds my son would not be able to function as the bright curious kid he is. It was like the sensory issues were a jailer keeping him from interacting with life.

It sounds like these are very real, and not unusual for someone with AS in that respect, but the coming and going of it seems extreme. Until you can figure out some odd environmental trigger, you have to assume that sensitivities simply change. Truth is, mine do, although not nearly as dramatically (metals, latex, itchy tags ... sometimes I can handle them, sometimes not, and the phases tend to last a few years, with the biggest changes accompanying pregnancy), so it isn't unheard of.

Sheets can be itchy; try different ones. Blankets can be itchy. Bugs on beds is likely to be more mental, probably triggered by seeing a bug once or something similar.

The sensory phases could be amplified by the mental aspect. Consider one night he is feeling a little more sensitive than normal, so the sheets itch. The next night he is worried about the sheets itching, so now they actually itch more. Real sensation feeding mental anxiety. The more I think about it, in the context of what you've said, the more I can see this as being likely with your child.

The start: get rid of the sensory trigger, best you can, then smooth the anxiety and resultant build up.

Thank you everyone for your replies. They were all very helpful.

Soulice: Yes most children at that age don't like to be alone. He was slightly different though. He would freak out when left alone. What I mean is, I couldn't go to the bathroom, the kitchen, I couldn't be out of his sight or he will scream in fear and turn white like he'd seen a ghost. It was very extreme. I couldn't do anything for myself, I had to sit in the room as he played. It wasn't a control issue or he wasn't being bratty, he has extreme fears of being alone.

We do have lizards but he doesn't mind them at all. He really does like them.

Aimless, I'm glad to hear your son is doing well. I am also debating meds for my son. I didn't know there was meds for sensory issues, or was it for anxiety? I am very afraid of the side effects like you mentioned. However if this is going to break him free from his anxiety and sensory issues, I'm all for it. It looks like the benefits outweigh the risks, he seems very tortured by this.

DW_a_mom, I'm glad to know he isn't the only kid with this issue. I brought it up to his neuro, he doesn't seem to know what to say about it (might have to find someone that specialize in autism instead of just being a pediatric neurologist.) I think it's both sensory combined with extreme anxiety also. At one time I thought he was schizophrenic and hallucinating. I will try my best to change the environmental triggers, it's just that I never know how he'll react to it until I buy it and try it. I told him to draw how he was feeling last night because on his way home from school he took out his seat belt because he said it "tickles." I told him to put it back on because it was dangerous, he did so but he was extremely uncomfortable, his face looks like he was about to throw up, he was going through one of his episodes. When he drew the picture, he was describing it at the same time. He says it feels like when something touches his skin, it makes his blood flow to his heart, it makes his heart beat very fast and then it explodes like a bomb. Maybe this is his analogy for a panic attack or anxiety? He said it doesn't happen all the time, it's when his skin is "brown" (brown meaning sensitive maybe?). If I can eliminate when his skin is "brown" it would help. I only have to find out what makes his skin "brown." lol

My sons have sensory issues too. The older one started to have major melt downs when he was about nine and started taking Prozac. It didn't stop the sensory issues but helped him not be so freaked out by them so he could handle them better. Since then he's developed more serious mood issues and takes a bunch of things for them. Also, if ADHD is an issue impulse control can play a part in some of this behavior. It might not be something you want to act on now, but down the road you can look in on it if you think it helps. My kids have been able to do well in school because of treatment for some of those things, and wouldn't have without. There are behavioral therapies that work really well too....just not currently available in my area.