I have seen in many children a regression that happens as winter ends and spring begins. I will discuss the reasons that I think we are seeing regression during this time. We also see changes in the pollen levels, they rise as we transition from winter to spring, and we see blooming of flowers and foliage. This rings true in all parts of the country and world. We usually see a 2 – 3 week bloom time at the onset of spring where I live in Southern California, which is very quick and corresponds with a sharp rise in pollen counts. We often see children with Autism who suffer greatly with seasonal allergies and sensitivities to pollen. When this happens, the child could suffer from itchy eyes, cough, runny nose, etc. And along with those seasonal allergy symptoms, I have also seen a rise in yeast levels. We will discuss why this may be happening.

I often see children exhibiting many of the behaviors we associate with yeast overgrowth when spring begins. We see inappropriate laughter, goofiness, giddiness, silliness, high sensory needs and increase self-stimulatory behaviors, in addition to other odd behaviors. We see yeast rise as a secondary reaction to seasonal allergies. What I think may be occurring is that our immune function shifts so rather than keeping the yeast at bay like it might normally do, our immune system shifts to fight the seasonal allergies when springtime hits. Because of that immune shift, the yeast can flourish and result in the behaviors we mentioned. It can be hard to determine exactly what is going on with the immune system but this is in line with that I have seen time and time again in many children with Autism.

So if you see your child regress during times of high pollen, which for many is when the seasons change from winter to spring, you could be seeing an issue with allergies and yeast. You can check for allergies using an IgE blood test or you can treat your child with over the counter medications such as non-drowsy Claritin or the like. But I would also recommend looking at some testing for prevalence and strain of yeast. Once test I use frequently is the Organic Acid Test which can help determine the answers to those questions by looking at yeast markers. So you can see how these behavioral changes that happen in springtime could be indicators of an underlying yeast problem that is a result of the seasonal allergies.