We got Charlie a burrito after a very brisk bike ride cut short by the trail being closed for repairs. He was smiling as we got it and ate quickly and then we heard loud coughing and hacking and, well, it was good we had a spare paper bag in the car but plastic would have been better.
When Charlie was home, showered and conked out on his bed, the BBC producer called, told me what was going on with the filming and mentioned that several of the children and teachers at Charlie's school had come down with a stomach illness.
Which Charlie must have had brewing in his system starting on Monday if not earlier? And becoming full-fledged stomach distress on Thursday? His asking so ardently for a burrito was a sign that his stomach was very, very out of sorts. By knocking his head so hard on the wall he ended up with another pain to worry about.
He turned on John Coltrane and some nature music he hasn't listened to in a long while and was altogether much happier Saturday afternoon and evening than he had been in a week.
Aw. We've had our share of tummy troubles here. No fun.
Posted by: Brenda (mamabegood) | 15 January 2012 at 07:48
So glad Charlie is feeling better. It's probably not just the communication issues that make it hard to know what's going on with him, as far as the "bugs" that can be causing upheaval. My son never knew he was getting sick (or even that he was sick) until he was deep into it. My theory is that it's the sensory processing issues that interfere with their "self-assessment" on these issues. Now, at age 18, he is starting to know when he is sick before he is seriously ill.
Posted by: Judy T | 15 January 2012 at 09:45
What Judy said. I was just having a discussion over in an Asperger's support group on Facebook talking about how we have this same problem at times. I once failed to notice a strep throat which apparently should have been causing unbearable pain for two months until I went to the doctor complaining merely of unusual fatigue, and I often find that, if I feel out of sorts or unusually tired, if I focus hard I often realize I am having pain in some particular area.
Posted by: Ashmire | 15 January 2012 at 16:19
@Ashmire, That is really helpful to know -- I'd say this has been a 3-week illness for Charlie if not four. A week feeling that he was coming down with something, a week of being sick, a week of getting over being sick plus --
Posted by: autismvox | 21 January 2012 at 14:12