So DS has always been the type of kid that seems to grow cognitively and academically in single leaps rather than in many incremental steps. He seems to be going through one of those right now. This summer he wanted nothing to do with math, reading, science or ANYTHING academic. At the beginning of the school year I started enforcing the reading each night thing again and he was doing so (sometimes reluctantly) reading from 2nd to 3rd grade level books. Over the last week or so though he has started reading out loud to me from books written at a 5th-6th grade level (Harry Potter and a few science books) with a fluency and comprehension that has surprised me. He also has pulled out a third grade math workbook and started teaching himself about fractions. Something seems to have "clicked" again and he just seems to be pushing full steam ahead once more.

At the same time, he has been having behavioral issues at school. Impulsiveness, talking out of turn, disrupting others in the classroom, having difficulty wiht peer interactions (making eye contact, joining in with classmates to play, etc...) Now all of these are things that have been problems off and on for as long as I can remember but they seem to be much more pronounced recently. His sensory issues seem to be on edge a lot lately as well.

My question is do any of you think that there can be a connection between these intellectual leaps and the increase in behaviors. To me it almost seems like he's been acting the way that he tends to when he's ill (everything is at a lower threshold) and I wonder if his brain, which he has difficulty regulating anyway, is just working overtime right now and possibly causing already existing problems to exacerbate? Any thoughts?

I don't really have any advice, but wanted to say we experience this too with our dd. It seems to me to be based on her gaining a new level awareness re the world and/or social interactions and then needing to live with that for little a while to figure out what it means for her place in the world. I've not yet found a away to avoid it but without dropping consequences for rudeness or very poor behaviour, I try to be open to the fact that the brain spurt is the likely cause. Which at least makes me less frustrated in the moment, if nothing else!

Maybe positive disintegration?

http://www.positivedisintegration.com/Jackson.pdf

This is how my DD has always learned-- we have called her learning process "quantum" in this respect. It's a matter of "can't, can't, can't, won't, can't, won't even try because I cannnnn't. Ohhh, look-- mastery."

We've never noted any behavioral or sensory shifts during a major jump, though (and she is prone to both things).

New to the site, but this topic immediately jumped out at me. I can usually tell when a leap, as you put it, is happening by my DS's behaviour and moods! He becomes easily upset and moody (well more so than usual) when something is about to "click" with him. Its almost as if his ability to self-regulate emotions is temporarily hampered by the cognitive efforts underway.

Sounds familiar here. My DS has a similar pattern with learning, though the lull periods usually only last for about 2 weeks at a time, so when he was younger, it was truly an exhausting pace. He also grows this way. Nothing, nothing, nothing... then an absolute constant need for food, followed by an inch of growth in the span of just a couple of weeks (and his legs hurt at night as you would imagine). As he gets older the effects from these mental and physical spurts are becoming easier to handle and his mood is becoming quite even. He can grab his own food as needed when he's extra hungry and when the brain is extra hungry he's becoming better at finding his own resources to deal with it (I do leave some challenging books laying around at all times just for this reason). Plus, his course work has gotten harder in school, so that helps.

Also, edited to add that I think any kind of growth can cause behavioral issues or mood changes in kids and that these can manifest very differently, from child to child. The bottom drops out for mine (the world is basically ending) if the blood sugar gets too low. Growing is just exhausting (even mental growth -- it takes real energy) and that means more sleep and calories may be required. However, with the excitement from the mental growth -- it may be hard to slow down and get those things.