Regression – Hitting, Kicking, Spitting, and Perseverating
So this year’s regression totally caught us off-guard. Now, it shouldn’t have since CB’s other major regressions were during the same time of year when he was 2 and 3. I think since we did not see the regression around his 4th birthday, we were hoping we wouldn’t see anymore. Pretty pie in the sky kind of hoping on our part… I think the reality is that we didn’t see around his 4th birthday it b/c we made the huge diet and supplement changes during his usual regression time last year so his body was already going through some major changes. It either masked the regression or his body had to cope with so many other changes, it didn’t even have time to work on a regression.
CB’s regression time is Dec/Jan. His birthday is in January so I don’t know if it is connected to this, adjusting to being on winter break, adjusting to starting back up at pre-k/mother’s day out, the change of schedule during the break, or the combination of all of it. This regression felt quite significant and impacted every part of his life. He hit, kicked, spit, and threw things at friends, parents, therapists, and teachers. His impulsiveness and compulsiveness grew. It seemed like he was on auto-pilot (like when he was younger). He had to have whatever toy his friend or brother had. He had a really hard time being redirected and would just focus on that toy till he got it. Once he got it, he then wanted whatever new toy his friend or brother now possessed. Also, once he started an action, we couldn’t get him to stop midway and make a different decision. For example, if he was running towards his brother to hit him, I could not get through to him to stop unless I physically was there to stop it. Let me tell you, this has been a fun few past few weeks ;). Due to his speech disorder, he has always been more physical since he was not able to communicate his needs/desires in a different manner; however, using his body to communicate in a negative way has been declining considerably as his speech capabilities have been improving. He also started perseverating on specific words. He would definitely say them at times to get attention but he also would say them when he walked into a room, during quiet times, during transition times, walking around, sitting by himself in another room, ok, basically anytime he was awake. He would sometimes say them one time but often he would say them over and over up to 5-10 times. (more…)