Regression in DS???

[andrewsmom]

Hi everyone! I hope you're all doing good.

I would like to know if any of you have ever experienced any regression with your little ones with DS.

Andrew seems to be "forgetting" things he has already learned. For example...he knew about 6 colors, consistently. Now he can't distinguish one from another. At first I thought maybe he's bored or just doesn't feel like showing me what he really knows.
When I went to pick him up from school last week his therapist told me she was having some trouble with Andrew. She said she has been working on verbs with him (which pic has a boy walking, running, etc, and he will point). I KNOW Andrew can tell which picture someone is running or walking in. She said she thought he was just being difficult toward her, and that he has done this with her before but this past week or so, he won't do it for her.

So....I came home and took out some of his favorite books and asked him to show me the girl painting a pretty picture. Nothing. I asked him where the silly doggie was playing basketball....again, nothing. He even gave me a funny look as if I was talking another language to him. He honestly Can't do this anymore. What's going on?

I searched this site along with the internet, and all I can find info about is how when a child with DS learns a new skill they DON"T lose it. Anything else pertaining to regression and DS is about older people with DS and alzeimers.

Any clues?? Suggestions??? I don't know where to go from here. I would appreciate any comments at all. Thanks.

-Trisha

[momofrussell]

Russell has tons of regression..... he is not to a level where when he learns something he keeps it and then connects it to other things later. So, we experience alot of regression with Russell.. BUT.. Russell has other issues that aide in this regression stuff for him.

I'd keep an eye on it... maybe he is going to have some burst in speech and putting other skills on the back burner?? I have heard this happening with kids with DS. They stop some things momentarily because they are learning other things. I know for Russell this isn't the case but I read ALOT that this happens ALOT in the DS community, especially with little ones.



A.

[ALLISA]

Trisha, I can remember Erin seemed to "slip" in areas when there was a new skill emerging from another area.....I remember her teachers saying it was commom.

The only other thought that came immediately to me.....and I am hesitant to write this for fear of needlessly upsetting you.......But......

For some kids that are dx'd with Autism, "losing" skills is a red flag. Same as "losing" words.

I am by NO means saying he has Autism....but I'd advise keeping in contact with teahcers.....track the skills he has, and make sure no more are "lost".....because when you said he "looked at you like you were speaking a differnt language" that could be a flag as well.....communication loss......

Sorry Trisha....hope I didn't freak you.....but.......I know you would want all suggestions and thoughts.....

[Connie]

Trisha,

It is common and not just in children with DS to loose skills once previously obtained when new skills are emerging.

Collin who is now 7 has always had problems with colors. I know he knows them but if we push him/question him directly he will always give us the wrong answer but if we ask him in just every day conversation (not like a quiz or test) he will tell us the right answer. It's like he is telling us, I'm tired of learning this...lets move on to something new!!

Collin is also bad about playing games when it comes to giving answers. For example if you lay 4 or 5 different colored card/blocks and ask him to give you RED he will give you every color except red, every time so we know he knows his colors or he would not be able to leave the red one every time. While doing this he will also look at the correct one out of the corner of his eye.

Connie

[wrblack]

I think you can encounter regression in Down syndrome as well as with autism. How old is Andrew now? Am I right in thinking he's only 3 or 4? If so, doing pretty darn well I'd say.
How's he been feeling lately? Sometimes kids with Ds slip on some skills when adding new skills, like pp's have said, and sometimes kids will lose some skills when they've been sick.
As long as Andrew is talking, pointing, making eye contact--interacting with you and not withdrawing into a shell--I'd worry more about possible underlying medical stuff than about autism. But can keep thought of autism in the back of your mind.
And then, maybe Andrew is just being Andrew and teaching you to deal with it. Like, hey, mom, go figure out if I really forgot what 'blue' means or just don't want to bother with any of that just now.
Just my thoughts, Bob

[laurasnowbird]

Lots of good replies here.....although I'm sure you are worried, and I would be too. I always look for the simplest answer before the complicated ones though. As one of my friends who is a doctor says, they teach them in medical school that if you hear hoofbeats, think horse, not zebra. You are far more likely to encounter horses than zebras.

Has he had his hearing checked recently? We are VERY aggressive with Ethan's ear health, and have had tubes since he was 19 months old, even though he has never had an ear infection. We found that his language TOOK OFF within three weeks of that first set of tubes. It was amazing. We are actually on our way to the ENT this afternoon for our twice yearly check-up.

Anyway, might just be that he can't hear well! Just a thought. Please keep us posted, and we'll keep you in our prayers. Hugs, Laura.

[chasesmom]

Trisha..... I know you are worried terribly so first things first....
{{{HUGS}}} to you !
Chase knew how to count to fourty by the time he was four years old, pretty impressive hmmm? By the time he was six he had regressed and lost that ability and no one ever knew why. I was scared to death he was going to lose more than that but he didnt and it took a long long time for him to learn to count again, I don't think he can count to fourty yet by ones The only thing they (the special ed teacher, the TC, and the ST) and I could possibly come up with was the idea that maybe it hadn't been instilled in there as well as we thought it had and he was learning so many other new things at the time that his brain was over processed and he lost that one thing, which was a biggie!
In the class at the time he lost it, they were learning to count by twos and threes and we think it just got tossed out of his retrieval file. Maybe that is what is happening with Andrew? he is learning so many new things all at once that he is losing some that arent as attached as previously thought? I don't know, I wish I could help. I remember the feeling of helplessness when Chase couldnt do the counting any more. Keep us updated, we will all be thinking about you guys.
hugs, Robin

[Chris]

I think Laura had great advice. Get his hearing tested! Sarah got a new set of tubes in November and her speech clarity improved immediately. Before she got her tubes, I was certain that she wasn't hearing things clearly.

Chris

[Debbie]

I had trouble with regressing while a student in elementary school. My Mother said that after the summer was over and I started school again I would have to re- learn everything all over again. It just took me a while to catch on I guess.

The suggestion to check his hearing is a good one. You never know. Let us know what happens with that.

I may have to have my hearing checked but that is of another nature all together! ;D

[ALLISA]

LAUARA !! You are soooo smart.....I didn't even think of hearing......EXCELLENT thing to look into !

[andrewsmom]

Thanks for all your replies!!

I have to say I am soooo tired this morning. I was up all night with Andrew. He is sick and MISERABLE!!! He's all congested and even has a slight fever. I hope this last week or so was just leading up to this.

Allisa.....You are so right! I always want all suggestions and thoughts anyone has to offer. I tried to look up more on autism this morning but Andrew was way too miserable. All he wants is for me to lie down with him. I will definately look into that more and keep a very close eye on him. I never even thought about that at all.

Laura....Now that I see Andrew is sick, you may have a very good point....he may have fluid in his ears and isn't hearing me clearly. Bob also commented that Andrew may not be feeling well and I really hope that's what's going on.

I will let you all know what's going on. Never a dull moment here!

Debbie...I always enjoy hearing from you!!! Thanks!

-Trisha

[MB]

Now that my son can tell me about the way he thinks, he tells me that he will put information in his brain and "keep it there." It seems he had no idea that he should retain information that wasn't readily needed.

Here are two examples.

For a year before middle school, he practiced using a combination lock. When he entered middle school, his locker was keyed to match the combination he was using. When he entered seventh grade, he was assigned a new locker and a new combination. I left the combination on a paper on the fridge. On the way to school I realized I forgot the paper. He told me not to worry. He knew he was going to use the number all year so "he put it in his brain and left it there." We arrived at school and he promptly opened his locker.

He just received a 100% on his English test. He did not bring home any kind of study guide. He had received a 60% and 40% on two previous vocab quizzes over this same novel. After the two failing grades on the quiz, I had a conference with the teacher and my son. He was told by both of us that if he failed a test, he would then study with mom and dad and retake it otherwise we would leave him alone to handle his own studying.

When the big test came back with the 100%, he told me he decided to put all the information in his brain and leave it there for the test.

Maybe the code that needs to be cracked is to teach in a way that the knowledge is immediately applied in a functional manner so that it stays in the brain? For example, teach red, yellow and green so that the kids can play traffic with play cars and then mom and dad play traffic while driving the car.

He more than likely learned his colors. He just didn't have a good reason to keep them around? Just a thought.

mb