Fatigue: Is it a Common Symptom in Children With ASDs?

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I just want to point out something that many people overlook...

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Your son may or may not be suffering from it. But lots of times, people go through it during the winter months (because they're indoors all day, it's dreary outside, etc) and don't even realize it.

Is he constantly like this? If he's not always been like this but is just going through it right now, you might want to try some treatments they use for SAD.

It's worth looking at.

It could just be a part of our executive dysfunction. I'm going through this now and it's summer down these parts.
It could be a mixture of a big workload, socialising, noises in classroom and just the longevity of the school day.
I'm going to a festival on sunday, and I'll be a wreck the next day and my NT friends are going to the sideshows the next day and day after and a few other festivals in other states. I would like to have that much energy for one week, to see what it's like.

This may sound silly but block all the light and sunlight that comes into his room and see if that improves things. Thin curtains wont do, i had to literally pin the curtains to my wall to keep all of the light out. Make sure he goes to bed early too.

Yeah it is related. I will quote from a book I like a lot:

"Many people with the syndrome appear to be 'lazy', 'lacking in energy', 'chronically tired', or are constantly complaining about all the boring aspects of life. They may say no to all tasks that are presented without any prior preparation. Much of this behaviour is reminiscent of the kinds of problems encountered in the DAMP syndrome and ADHD (see chapter 3), and, indeed in any disorder reflecting underlying problems with executive functions. Providing 'external' executive functions (motivation, planning, structuring, sequencing and timing) when 'internal' ones are lacking or deficient seems like a rather obvious approach. A structured, indeed sometimes rather rigid, curriculum for the various activities of the day, is what usually works best. This is also what often works best with individuals who suffer from classic autism. However, by and large, for teachers and relatives it is much more difficult to appreciate this need in Asperger syndrome than in the more typical variants of autism, particularly in cases with superior intelligence."

I have periods where I must sleep for days on end. If I cannot or some tries to force me to be active, I will litteraly pass out on the floor.

Could it be anything to do with our lower than usual cortisol levels?

Frankly, I never thought about fatigue as being caused by AS/autism, but it makes sense.

I'm not "tired" all the time or want to sleep all the time, but I'm pretty much a "low energy" kind of person. Always have been outside of a crisis or something that really has my interest.

Also, does he have odd sleeping patterns? My parents thought I was a vampire (joking) because I wanted to be up all night and sleep all day as a kid. It wasn't until well into adulthood I regulated into being awake in the day and sleeping at night.

I've had fatigue my whole life. I think it's because a lot of people with autism have difficulty sleeping, then they're tired the next day...I just started taking melatonin and I hope it helps.

Another thing that could cause fatigue is an under-active thyroid or depression .

My sons get really fatigued by school. They tire as the day goes on, and it gets worse as the week goes on, and becomes more and more profound towards the end of the school year. I think it is exhaustion from all the accumulative stress and anxiety from school...it just drains them emotionally and physically. This year (they are in grade 4) we have a lot more accommodations in place (modified assignments to decrease amount of writing, being able to take sensory breaks in a quiet place, fidgets, rocking chairs, being allowed to pace etc.), and we have noticed that they are generally more calm and energetic this year than last.

I am so glad this topic got brought up! My little boy is only 4.5 and I have been concerned about his fatigue since he was about 2 yrs old. Even when he was a baby, I would take him places and people would say he looks tired. It would be after he had a 2 hour nap. He has had some sleep issues in the past, but now seems to sleep a lot better. He still wakes up at least once a night, but only for about 5 minutes or so. He even seems tired after he has had a good night's sleep. I have been wondering about it for a couple of years, and have wondered if it is some lack of vitamins or nutrients. However, he eats very well, and I give him a multi-vitamin. I really did not want to take him to a doctor and have all kinds of unnecessary tests run.

His therapists have said that it may be due to his low muscle tone. They said that it just takes him so much more energy to do things than other people. That made sense to me, but I guess as a mom, I still get concerned. Sometimes he literally leans on us to hold himself up. He leans on the furniture and he lays on the floor to play with his cars. He walks slow sometimes, and sometimes he looks like he is drunk when he is walking. He has been going to pre-k for 2 yrs now, and does seem tired when he gets home, so I guess this will more than likely continue.

I guess this is just part of the diagnosis.

Good luck everyone!

My daughter with Asperger's seems to get worn out by social situations, such as going to class or being at a gathering with people she doesn't know as well, and I think all that extra social anxiety eventually wears her out. She'll often find a way of tuning everyone out, such as sneaking into a back room to turn on the TV, or getting lost in drawing pictures, or even taking a nap.

She often comes right back out of it when "everyone is gone," when we're just back to the trusted group consisting of me, her mom, and her sister, and a very few other people in the world.

Adam