there IS something in the air

It's no secret Brian has suddenly regressed. It confused me. Why didn't he regress or have trouble at the beginning of the school year. Why is he struggling now?

Then I heard another autism Mom say her little one was regressing. I joked that it was something in the air.

Then I heard the same story from three other parents of children with autism. Then I read some comments on a post from Dani G's blog and a woman was talking about a presentation she watched by Kelly Dorfman on pollen causing regressive-looking behaviors.

I was intrigued at this point. Was there REALLY something in the air affecting Brian? I had to research this. I googled Kelly Dorfman and found How the Immune System Talks to the Nervous System.

Dorfman says things like pollen, mold, and grass can activate the immune system by sending signals to the nervous system which alters perception and behavior. In the article she mentions a Dr. Marvin Boris who noted these regressive behaviors in children with ADHD/ADD and with autism. He said that though they didn't have obvious allergy symptoms their reactions to the pollen was chewing clothing (Brian's been chewing everything lately), lost language skills (he's been struggling with even giving yeses and nos all of a sudden), and aggressive behaviors (he kicked over a chair yesterday when he was upset- I have NEVER seen him do anything like that before).

After that article, I researched Dr. Boris and found his research paper Pollen Exposure as a Cause for the Deterioration of Neurobehavioral Function in Children with Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder: Nasal Pollen Challenge . The study concluded that 55% of the ASD subjects and 60% of the ADHD subjects regressed significantly from their own baselines after being subjected to the nasal pollen challenge.

This really, really intrigues me. His regression perfectly coincides with him starting to play outside more and more. Also, just knowing all these other kiddos that are doing the same type of regressions as him at the same time of year is really fascinating me.