 The last few weeks have been rough in terms of illness in our house. Long story short is this: It started with Grace getting very ill. I could not blog about it at the time because I was busy worrying like crazy but since she is back to her happy self I can tell you the story. She started to feel sick one evening and, because of Grace's heath issues (asthma/heart) we watch her a little more closely than you might another four-year old. Sure enough she had two major, scare the hell out of us, asthma attack and we rushed her to the outdoor. She's had respiratory issues in the past and uses puffers so we were not shocked by this turn of events. She was rushed past all the poor, waiting people in the ER and was seen by a doctor right away. Her breathing was brought under control and her fever was seen to and she rested under the care of ER docs and nurses until they felt she was well enough to go home. Fast forward twelve hours later and she suffers another asthma attack. Can I just say that I despise asthma? On this night, asthma was scarier than autism and all things combined. We rushed her back to the ER and again she was rushed back to see the ER doctor. It was established during this visit, after being tested, that Grace also had the super bug. She was so ill that none of us slept for days. Gramma will not like to see these pictures but Grace gets a kick out of them so she doesn't mind sharing her story. The point of this post, however, is not to detail the trauma of our terrifying trips to the ER but more to point out something I find very interesting. Our girl Kate, fought the same bug. We are positive of that and if you look at the video below you will see how very differently our girls reacted to it. (Kate found my phone and made a video of herself with Monty during her illness which resulted in a 102.8 fever for over a week.)
We have found this is the case in many instances. Kate often does not show the reactions to pain and sickness that we expect. With respect to Grace's health issues we do expect her to struggle a little more than the average kid when she contracts a virus but this difference is greater than that. It is almost as if Kate does not feel pain and sickness the way the rest of us do. We have always said this. There were numerous times that we took Kate to the doctor for regular check-ups or to address a fever, only to find out she was battling serious ear infections without ever having missed a step. I guess I am asking the question to other autism parents, autism workers etc: Have you ever noticed this behavior in your children? Are there studies or literature on the topic? I understand that children with autism can have overactive or under active sensory issues but this seems to be more than that. Please share if you have any similar stories.
9 Comments
Jenny
2/10/2013 03:03:35 am
Teghan never seems as sick as she must be. I know she feels pretty bad today because she slept until noon and has a fever. I have wondered about this as well. When she last had a stomach virus she ran around and played in spite of it. It kind of freaked me out :-) In her case, I think that not understanding what is going on gives her no reason to stop her regular routine. The annoyance does seem to anger her once in a while, though.
Shanell
2/10/2013 06:52:40 am
Thanks for sharing Jenny. It is a mystery to me. I see your point about not understand the situation. Sometimes we might over think our illnesses when our kids don't let prior knowledge of how it might go get in the way. Lucky them? I am so confused :)
My autistic son broke his collar bone at an early age (pre diagnosis) and it took 6 weeks of endless medical visits before this was acknowledged. When he hurt himself, we had him in the hospital within the hour but the doctor said, "No harm done. If there was, he'd be screaming."
Shanell
2/10/2013 06:54:38 am
I get it B's dad. The whole high pain threshold thing. It boggles my mind sometimes. She doesn't get that from me :)
Monica E
2/10/2013 08:13:21 am
We've definitely experienced that too. My son has to be really sick before he complains at all. I remember when he was young (before he was diagnosed actually) we discovered almost by accident that he had been having pretty regular ear infections. His ears were so blocked the doctors were shocked he hadn't complained about the pain. So I get where you're coming from. Glad everyone is feeling better!
Shanell
2/14/2013 08:04:37 pm
Sounds like we have similar stories Monica. :) 2/10/2013 08:22:38 am
This summer I was cuddling with Sophie when I felt something odd on her leg. It was a wasp sting, big as a squash ball, hard and hot to the touch. I was kind of feeling around it for to check and she didn't even wince.
Shanell
2/14/2013 08:07:13 pm
Unreal Sophie's Trains. A wasp sting and no reaction? Some might think that is a blessing but it can be very worrisome, as you know, when your child does not react to pain and danger.
I am diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder, and if it hadn't been for one teacher would probably have been misdiagnosed as ASD as well, and I do feel the under reaction to pain is sensory based. I wrote about it once on my blog, and mentioned the fact that constant negative sensory input FEELS like pain, and in my world a broken rib does not compare to the pain of touching velvet. I've broken multiple bones and had countless injuries that did not phase me. I'm 21 and only now am I starting to stop and analyse what's going on in my body to determine whether it actually needs help or not. Last year I shattered my pinkie toe and did nothing for almost a week, until my roommate noticed the swelling and dragged me to the ER. Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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