Autism & sudden clumsiness?

[shaper]

The last couple of days, Liam (5.5, with autism) has been falling all over the place. Tripping constantly, fell down the last couple of stairs, falling off of the couch. It's not like he's standing still and just tipping over - he's a rowdy, excitable guy. But it seems like it's constant the last few days!

I know motor skills (or problems with motor skills, I guess) are often common in autistic people, but he has always been average/above average maybe, in those areas... so it seems very out of nowhere. But maybe that happens, too? We've recently run off the rails wrt our dietary goals (we tend to do a late-stage SCD/grain-free type diet) and so we're experiencing a lot of behavioural challenges/mood issues/sleep issues because of that... I guess, now that I think about it any of those things could make him less cautious or careful.

I'm also wondering if it's just a growth spurt or something. His uncles were both extremely klutzy growing up (one with the unfortunate nickname of "the walking scab"), so. I don't know, I guess I don't really have a question. Just thinking out loud.

Anyone else experiencing the same kind of thing?

[kavamamakava]

Yeah sure, low gross motor skills is one of the aspects of Autism but I've never heard of it being one of those big red flags in diagnosing a child. If he hasn't been falling down a lot before but suddenly is now, it could be a growth spurt. I remember feeling all sorts of awkward when I suddenly changed sizes. I hit my heels a lot one year for some reason.

[shaper]

Oh, I should have said: he *is* autistic, he was diagnosed years ago. Sorry for the misunderstanding. (I edited my post to clear that up)

Thanks for your thoughts. Growth spurt may very well be it.. his feet have been growing like crazy.

[kavamamakava]

I wasn't sure! My son has physical symptoms when he eats wheat. The change in diet could be contributing. It wasn't until this year that my son made the connection and can now tell me his stomach feels funny instead of jumping up and running in circles or getting really irritated by everything. It makes it easier to keep wheat out of his diet now that he understands what it does to him.

[emamum]

my ds has aspergers and dyspraxia, has he been tested for that?

[FreeRangeMama]

All my kids get SUPER clumsy when they are in a growth spurt. It can be hard to get used to walking in a body that has changed significantly in a short period of time! If it doesn't get better in a few days then in may be time to investigate a little more, but otherwise it is likely just a spurt.

[sbgrace]

My kid is "naturally" klutzy but when he hit a big growth spurt this summer he was constantly falling (including off the couch multiple times), bumping into stuff, tripping over his own (bigger) feet, etc.

[LynnS6]

I suspect weak motor planning skills + growth spurt (or excessive tiredness, from what you describe). Has he ever had OT? I know that motor planning was one thing our OT worked a lot on with ds (who has SPD, not autism, but they're close enough that he shares a lot of issues with kids on the spectrum).

Our ds is in the middle of a growth spurt and actually sometimes just falls down standing there! He went up two shoe sizes (to a size 7! when he and dh brought home the shoes, I couldn't believe it), and has just been super clumsy. He runs into walls. He falls down over his own feet. Literally.

[logan&jordansmommy]

This happened to my son too. It was scary. It wasn't just clumsy, he would run towards me and his legs would collapse and he would look at me like what happened?? He has really good balance usually.

His dr was really concerned. He has a history of clostridia in the gut so we treated for that and within 3 days it stopped. It was weird. If it continues I would take him to be seen just in case especially if it is real unlike him.