Mothers with fibro/children with developmental issues - Fibromyalgia Message Board

MomwithMS · 06-05-2005, 10:25 PM

I just happend to check in here tonight b/c I'm in too much pain to sleep. (that's bad

)

Anyway, I saw a couple of posts about women with fibro who have autistic chlidren. MY OWN child (2 years old) is in testing for autism right now.

It's ironic, but when we went to transition her out of Soonerstart (the service provider that provides speech therapy and occupational therapy from birth to three) and have the school system begin giving her services, the special ed teacher said that SEVERAL of her children with autism and/or sensory integration disorders have at least one parent with fibromyalgia.

Has anyone ever studied this???? And what does it mean??

Any thoughts?

bluelakelady · 06-06-2005, 07:46 AM

hi,
my son is very smart. it is hard for him to learn. he is bi polar and i was told years ago had a.d.d. and was hyperactive.
24 years ago i drug him to every doctor and organization for children i could find. he ended up on ritalin. shame on me for allowing that drug in my child. he was in special ed classes thru high school. he is amazing. he struggles without drugs to live his life his way and be kind. it is a daily battle for him. his maturity is coming slowly. he is still very childlike. i find it refreshing.
connection between fibro and my son? who knows? i always figured it was genetics at work.
peace,
bluelakelady

Lost Robin · 06-06-2005, 10:34 AM

Oh my gosh! My son is 17. He is also very smart, and has always been an honor student until last September when he "hit a wall" after the third week of school. Wouldn't get out of bed. Missed four days of school the following week and was all down hill from there. He even wound up in the psyche unit of a local hospital for a week. Long story short, met with teachers, guidance counselors, had him checked out physically and then to a shrink. Diagnosed with depression and ADD-Inattentive. Docs said kids with this disorder can compromise for their disability to a certain age but when the classes/learning tools become less stimulating as they do in high school and college, it becomes much more difficult for them to learn. My son says he does believe the Ritalan has helped him with reading, concentration, etc., however, he struggled so much that we had to withdraw him from school this year causing him to miss his junior year, having to repeat it and not graduating with his class. My heart just hurts over this.

I'm not sure what to think. Every day I struggle with whether or not I'm doing the right thing for him. I would love to hear from anyone with input on this subject.

Thanks for sharing,

Robin

Glojer · 06-06-2005, 10:36 AM

I really don't know about this, whose to say if fibro can cause developmental issues in children. We don't know enough about fibro, whose to say the stress of having a child with problems isn't what causes the fibro. I know no one is placing blame here, but genetics are what they are, so many families have things that could cause problem in children and have perfectly normal children and vice versa.

It is an interesting issue and I'm sure will generate some great opinions.

Glojer

Beautifulchild · 06-06-2005, 08:33 PM

I have fibromyalgia and my youngest son is autistic. I have never read about fibro causing anything in children but it is an interesting thought. I believe that I have always had fibro, however, I was not diagnosed until after he was born. My constant pain was so much worse after he was born. My dad suffers with gout and seems to have a lot of health problems similar to mine so I suppose genetics could play a part in anything. With all that said, I have never really been that interested in knowing what caused his autism as I think feeling of guilt would be counter-productive. I would rather focus more on what I can do to make his future the best possible.