Son with ASD - almost 20 years old

amother

Mon, Nov 04 2024, 7:46 am

I’m concerned -
My son came to me this morning & told me that he is feeling ‘very excited’
On the inside.
That’s how he described it. He is a very articulate young man & is very good at describing feelings & thoughts. Has a really good vocabulary.
I do know that he is thinking of his ‘big birthday’ a lot - as he is turning 20 this week imH.
It’s major & on his mind.

But I’m concerned b/c yesterday he also told me he felt this way on the inside.
As if he has a lot of energy on the inside to burn. This is a brand new thing- he’s never had this before.

This morning he came to me & said it’s the same. His sleep is not the best to begin with but he told me he woke up at 3:20 am & is not tired.
To me that’s also a red flag.

I asked him if he has any racing thoughts - he said no

I’m concerned he’s showing symptoms of feeling manic.

I asked him if he can control his ‘excited feeling’. He said yes.

I also asked him to rate out of 10 the feeling - he said 5.

I also should mention - this his older brother had a manic episode when he was around the same age, but his older brother is neurotypical. Not sure that makes any difference.

Do I call my son’s doctor? He’s not a specialist in ASD but my son doesn’t have a ASD specialist. He kinda out grew his developmental ped & we’ve been ok till now.

Am I over reacting?
Do I tell his teacher to watch out for any more red flags?
He didn’t want me to tell his teacher - but….

I don’t want this escalated. But do I just - wait & see?

I’m scared