Is your ASD child a really tough patient?

[Anonymous]

Just curious here whether this is an ASD thing or just our DS. When he is sick even with something minor like a cold, it's like it's the end of the world. He had a respiratory virus last weekend and it was four days of h*ll for our entire household while DS whined, screamed, refused all medicine, stopped eating/drinking and basically acted like he had Ebola. All the positive things in the world couldn't convince him to talk cough medicine or drink water until I told him we would have to go to the hospital if he didn't drink something (totally true because I was worried about him getting dehydrated). He had a very low grade over for one day and a cough. I know he was sick but in the grand scheme of things it was a relatively minor illness. It seemed to exacerbate all ASD symptoms too. Thankfully he's been pretty healthy for awhile so I had forgotten but it reminded me when he was younger that we used to dread him getting sick because it was so awful. Does this happen to other people too?

[Anonymous]

This doesn't describe my child with ASD.

I'm sorry, OP, that sounds really tough.

[Anonymous]

No. According to him, he is always "fine". Double ear infections in both ears, one with a perforated ear drum, yup, not sick according to DS.

[Anonymous]

That sounds tough!!

My ASD child is kind of the opposite and a lot of ASD traits completely go away when he is sick... Very frustrating also.

Hope your child gets better snd you are all able to relax some.

[Anonymous]

It's not surprising that some ASD kids have limited to sense when something physical is wrong (hyposensitivity) and some are really bothered by the physical sensations and change in routine that illness can cause.

OP, sorry you're going through this. Do you think there's a way (social stories, conversation, reading books, practicing, etc.) to work with your son when he's feeling better to make future illnesses easier?

[Anonymous]

I have a son with Anxiety/Adhd/LD's that is a terrible patient. I have always attributed it primarily to anxiety - due to the physical sensations, change in routine, scary new medicine. It has improved some with age. Hugs to you and your son!