Re: Behavior medicine

[Guest guest]

My four yr. old typical son does this. Try to keep him in a safe place. He sounds like he's strong willed. And look into technology that might give him a "voice". Good luck!! To: autism-aspergers Sent: Monday, August 8, 2011 8:37 PMSubject: Behavior medicine

My son is four years old, nonverbel,and is a high functioning autistic. He has been having temper tantrums lately. He falls on the floor, kicks, screams, and has began hittng his head on the floor, walls, and beds. He has these tantrums when we say no or tell him to wait for things. Should we put him on medication? What can we do to stop this? If anyone knows about medication for this problem let me know! It is getting out of hand. I don't want him to hurt himself.

[Guest guest]

My son is also four. We had him in a ppcd class this past school year and it

was always hard for him to sit down and focus, for example in circle time and

also working with his therapists. In June we put him on a very low dose of

Tenex. We still have our occassional meltdowns, but I got notes from his summer

teacher of him participating in class that he didnt do all school year and he is

working better with his therapists. So if you are just wanting it for the temper

tantrums, I wouldnt know what to say, but if he is like my son that goes through

life like the energizer bunny, you may want to look into it just to help him

calm down and focus more on what everyone is trying to teach him.

>

> My son is four years old, nonverbel,and is a high functioning autistic. He

has been having temper tantrums lately. He falls on the floor, kicks, screams,

and has began hittng his head on the floor, walls, and beds. He has these

tantrums when we say no or tell him to wait for things. Should we put him on

medication? What can we do to stop this? If anyone knows about medication for

this problem let me know! It is getting out of hand. I don't want him to hurt

himself.

>

[Guest guest]

Hi,

My 3.5yr old does the same thing and he is non-verbal as well. I just recently took him to see his neurologist for sleep issues and he recommended a behavior psychologist for the behavior issues. We are trying some things with him at home first and want to see if his behavior changes once school starts back.

Since he is non-verbal, does he have a way to communicate with you and the rest of the family to get his needs met?

From: autism-aspergers [mailto:autism-aspergers ] On Behalf Of Genie BottleSent: Monday, August 08, 2011 8:37 PMTo: autism-aspergers Subject: Behavior medicine

My son is four years old, nonverbel,and is a high functioning autistic. He has been having temper tantrums lately. He falls on the floor, kicks, screams, and has began hittng his head on the floor, walls, and beds. He has these tantrums when we say no or tell him to wait for things. Should we put him on medication? What can we do to stop this? If anyone knows about medication for this problem let me know! It is getting out of hand. I don't want him to hurt himself.

===================================

Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail

Cleveland Clinic is ranked one of the top hospitals

in America by U.S.News World Report (2010). Visit us online at http://www.clevelandclinic.org for

a complete listing of our services, staff and

locations.

Confidentiality Note: This message is intended for use

only by the individual or entity to which it is addressed

and may contain information that is privileged,

confidential, and exempt from disclosure under applicable

law. If the reader of this message is not the intended

recipient or the employee or agent responsible for

delivering the message to the intended recipient, you are

hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or

copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If

you have received this communication in error, please

contact the sender immediately and destroy the material in

its entirety, whether electronic or hard copy. Thank you.

[Guest guest]

Yes, he shows us. He will bring a cup to us and walk us to the fridge. Our cars keys are on a rack. When he wants to go bye bye he grabs and pulls on them. We have picked up other sign language like signals for different things. Of course sometimes we don't know. One time he wanted a toy high on a shelf. He was throwing his hands up in the air but, we didn't know why. An hour later we found out. We couldn't think of what to to so we grabbed stuff offf the shelf till we found it.

To: autism-aspergers Sent: Tuesday, August 9, 2011 11:46 AMSubject: RE: Behavior medicine

Hi,

My 3.5yr old does the same thing and he is non-verbal as well. I just recently took him to see his neurologist for sleep issues and he recommended a behavior psychologist for the behavior issues. We are trying some things with him at home first and want to see if his behavior changes once school starts back.

Since he is non-verbal, does he have a way to communicate with you and the rest of the family to get his needs met?

From: autism-aspergers [mailto:autism-aspergers ] On Behalf Of Genie BottleSent: Monday, August 08, 2011 8:37 PMTo: autism-aspergers Subject: Behavior medicine

My son is four years old, nonverbel,and is a high functioning autistic. He has been having temper tantrums lately. He falls on the floor, kicks, screams, and has began hittng his head on the floor, walls, and beds. He has these tantrums when we say no or tell him to wait for things. Should we put him on medication? What can we do to stop this? If anyone knows about medication for this problem let me know! It is getting out of hand. I don't want him to hurt himself.===================================

Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail Cleveland Clinic is ranked one of the top hospitals

in America by U.S.News World Report (2010). Visit us online at http://www.clevelandclinic.org for

a complete listing of our services, staff and

locations.

Confidentiality Note: This message is intended for use

only by the individual or entity to which it is addressed

and may contain information that is privileged,

confidential, and exempt from disclosure under applicable

law. If the reader of this message is not the intended

recipient or the employee or agent responsible for

delivering the message to the intended recipient, you are

hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or

copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If

you have received this communication in error, please

contact the sender immediately and destroy the material in

its entirety, whether electronic or hard copy. Thank you.

[Guest guest]

Well, that's good. I found that my son's behavior was worse when he didn't know how to communicate with us to get his needs met. So now, just like your son, he brings us his cup for something to drink or he goes in the fridge and brings us his juice, he will grab jelly if he wants a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, he knows his snacks are on top of refrigerator so he will come and get us and point.....

Although he does this, I am not sure if it is helping or hurting his ability to speak. I often feel like if he didn't have these other ways to let us know what he wants then he would have to learn to use words in order to communicate with us.....

What do you think?

From: autism-aspergers [mailto:autism-aspergers ] On Behalf Of Genie BottleSent: Tuesday, August 09, 2011 6:41 PMTo: autism-aspergers Subject: Re: Behavior medicine

Yes, he shows us. He will bring a cup to us and walk us to the fridge. Our cars keys are on a rack. When he wants to go bye bye he grabs and pulls on them. We have picked up other sign language like signals for different things. Of course sometimes we don't know. One time he wanted a toy high on a shelf. He was throwing his hands up in the air but, we didn't know why. An hour later we found out. We couldn't think of what to to so we grabbed stuff offf the shelf till we found it.

To: autism-aspergers Sent: Tuesday, August 9, 2011 11:46 AMSubject: RE: Behavior medicine

Hi,

My 3.5yr old does the same thing and he is non-verbal as well. I just recently took him to see his neurologist for sleep issues and he recommended a behavior psychologist for the behavior issues. We are trying some things with him at home first and want to see if his behavior changes once school starts back.

Since he is non-verbal, does he have a way to communicate with you and the rest of the family to get his needs met?

From: autism-aspergers [mailto:autism-aspergers ] On Behalf Of Genie BottleSent: Monday, August 08, 2011 8:37 PMTo: autism-aspergers Subject: Behavior medicine

My son is four years old, nonverbel,and is a high functioning autistic. He has been having temper tantrums lately. He falls on the floor, kicks, screams, and has began hittng his head on the floor, walls, and beds. He has these tantrums when we say no or tell him to wait for things. Should we put him on medication? What can we do to stop this? If anyone knows about medication for this problem let me know! It is getting out of hand. I don't want him to hurt himself.===================================

Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail Cleveland Clinic is ranked one of the top hospitals

in America by U.S.News World Report (2010). Visit us online at http://www.clevelandclinic.org for

a complete listing of our services, staff and

locations.

Confidentiality Note: This message is intended for use

only by the individual or entity to which it is addressed

and may contain information that is privileged,

confidential, and exempt from disclosure under applicable

law. If the reader of this message is not the intended

recipient or the employee or agent responsible for

delivering the message to the intended recipient, you are

hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or

copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If

you have received this communication in error, please

contact the sender immediately and destroy the material in

its entirety, whether electronic or hard copy. Thank you.

===================================

Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail

Cleveland Clinic is ranked one of the top hospitals

in America by U.S.News World Report (2010). Visit us online at http://www.clevelandclinic.org for

a complete listing of our services, staff and

locations.

Confidentiality Note: This message is intended for use

only by the individual or entity to which it is addressed

and may contain information that is privileged,

confidential, and exempt from disclosure under applicable

law. If the reader of this message is not the intended

recipient or the employee or agent responsible for

delivering the message to the intended recipient, you are

hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or

copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If

you have received this communication in error, please

contact the sender immediately and destroy the material in

its entirety, whether electronic or hard copy. Thank you.

[Guest guest]

No I don't think that if they couldn't show us they would talk. Most normal kids can do both. Just my opinion. I am glad my son is physical(although too hyper). Really.. though who is to say "what if" cause there are so many of them. I found (for me) thinking like that is a waste of time because I can't make it happen. I prefer to deal with "what is".

To: autism-aspergers Sent: Wednesday, August 10, 2011 5:47 AMSubject: RE: Behavior medicine

Well, that's good. I found that my son's behavior was worse when he didn't know how to communicate with us to get his needs met. So now, just like your son, he brings us his cup for something to drink or he goes in the fridge and brings us his juice, he will grab jelly if he wants a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, he knows his snacks are on top of refrigerator so he will come and get us and point.....

Although he does this, I am not sure if it is helping or hurting his ability to speak. I often feel like if he didn't have these other ways to let us know what he wants then he would have to learn to use words in order to communicate with us.....

What do you think?

From: autism-aspergers [mailto:autism-aspergers ] On Behalf Of Genie BottleSent: Tuesday, August 09, 2011 6:41 PMTo: autism-aspergers Subject: Re: Behavior medicine

Yes, he shows us. He will bring a cup to us and walk us to the fridge. Our cars keys are on a rack. When he wants to go bye bye he grabs and pulls on them. We have picked up other sign language like signals for different things. Of course sometimes we don't know. One time he wanted a toy high on a shelf. He was throwing his hands up in the air but, we didn't know why. An hour later we found out. We couldn't think of what to to so we grabbed stuff offf the shelf till we found it.

To: autism-aspergers Sent: Tuesday, August 9, 2011 11:46 AMSubject: RE: Behavior medicine

Hi,

My 3.5yr old does the same thing and he is non-verbal as well. I just recently took him to see his neurologist for sleep issues and he recommended a behavior psychologist for the behavior issues. We are trying some things with him at home first and want to see if his behavior changes once school starts back.

Since he is non-verbal, does he have a way to communicate with you and the rest of the family to get his needs met?

From: autism-aspergers [mailto:autism-aspergers ] On Behalf Of Genie BottleSent: Monday, August 08, 2011 8:37 PMTo: autism-aspergers Subject: Behavior medicine

My son is four years old, nonverbel,and is a high functioning autistic. He has been having temper tantrums lately. He falls on the floor, kicks, screams, and has began hittng his head on the floor, walls, and beds. He has these tantrums when we say no or tell him to wait for things. Should we put him on medication? What can we do to stop this? If anyone knows about medication for this problem let me know! It is getting out of hand. I don't want him to hurt himself.===================================

Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail Cleveland Clinic is ranked one of the top hospitals

in America by U.S.News World Report (2010). Visit us online at http://www.clevelandclinic.org for

a complete listing of our services, staff and

locations.

Confidentiality Note: This message is intended for use

only by the individual or entity to which it is addressed

and may contain information that is privileged,

confidential, and exempt from disclosure under applicable

law. If the reader of this message is not the intended

recipient or the employee or agent responsible for

delivering the message to the intended recipient, you are

hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or

copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If

you have received this communication in error, please

contact the sender immediately and destroy the material in

its entirety, whether electronic or hard copy. Thank you.

===================================

Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail Cleveland Clinic is ranked one of the top hospitals

in America by U.S.News World Report (2010). Visit us online at http://www.clevelandclinic.org for

a complete listing of our services, staff and

locations.

Confidentiality Note: This message is intended for use

only by the individual or entity to which it is addressed

and may contain information that is privileged,

confidential, and exempt from disclosure under applicable

law. If the reader of this message is not the intended

recipient or the employee or agent responsible for

delivering the message to the intended recipient, you are

hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or

copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If

you have received this communication in error, please

contact the sender immediately and destroy the material in

its entirety, whether electronic or hard copy. Thank you.

[Guest guest]

My son had similar issues – it was when anyone would tell him no, when he had to stop doing an enjoyable activity (transitions) and sometimes when he just couldn’t express himself (even though is verbal) during a time he was having strong feelings of sadness or anger. He is now 7. Along the way we learned he was also ADHD. Most days it’s the ADHD that is more problematic. His Aspergers is mild. You’ve probably heard that most dx with Aspergers will also have another dx to go along with it. Often times it is ADHD. We finally caved to the meds this year (I was so worried to do it any sooner). But I am starting out very conservatively. We wanted to start with a non-stimulant before we tried a stimulant so he is on Intuniv. I’ve read this is very much like Tenex. The main ingredient being Guanfacine (sp?) which is a blood pressure medicine. It does help slow him down. For him it has helped to control his IMPULSIVE nature. It gives him time to think first… or just not even care enough to react the way he once did. I remember it was supposed to take 3 or 4 weeks to start working but we noticed within 3 or 4 days. What we didn’t expect was that it also took away some of his obsessive behavior. We didn’t realize he was having obsessive behavior until we noticed that it was gone! For example his obsession was snakes. Since he was 2. He had to get a toy snake when ever he saw one at the store. Over the years he has collected quite a lot! If he was going to read a book, it had to be about snakes. If he was going to learn math he had to learn by counting snakes etc. He slept with them, they rode in the car with us, we’d have to stuff one in his backpack to keep at school …. 5 years this went on. Well now… he hardly even notices them in his closet. He likes snakes but that all! So the Intuniv has helped in a few other ways as well. It’s not perfect and sometimes I miss his “enthusiasm” and over abundance of passion for his high interest things. Sometimes he just seems bored and yes, it sits on my soul a little bit. But his “quality of life” before it was painful for him to live with and a huge stressor on everyone. He has happier moments now. He seems pleased with his behavior and not feeling so ashamed anymore for things that were clearly beyond his control anyway. Now when he has an outburst it is very short lived and it’s more rare that he feels provoked. He’s less defiant. Before it would be 20 minutes of tantrum because he didn’t want to turn off the TV to brush his teeth. Now, he might say no… but with one warning of a consequence he comes around and gets over it fast. I’m rambling now so I’ll stop but wish you the best of luck. I know how hard it is to reach that point and still not know what is the right thing to do. Talk with a few different professionals, get opinions of different approaches. You’ll know what the right thing to do is.

[Guest guest]

My son is on the Tenex at bedtime. It knocks him out. He took it during the day at one point it was added to his Concerta meds. I didn't see a whole lot of difference. I did at first, but it seemed like his body got used to the drug and then it became ineffective, except as a bedtime med. No way that my son would survive on Tenex/ Intuniv alone.....it wouldn't be enough for him. To: autism-aspergers Sent: Friday, August 12, 2011 2:09 AMSubject: Re: Behavior medicine

My son had similar issues – it was when anyone would tell him no, when he had to stop doing an enjoyable activity (transitions) and sometimes when he just couldn’t express himself (even though is verbal) during a time he was having strong feelings of sadness or anger. He is now 7. Along the way we learned he was also ADHD. Most days it’s the ADHD that is more problematic. His Aspergers is mild. You’ve probably heard that most dx with Aspergers will also have another dx to go along with it. Often times it is ADHD. We finally caved to the meds this year (I was so worried to do it any sooner). But I am starting out very conservatively. We wanted to start with a non-stimulant before we tried a stimulant so he is on Intuniv. I’ve read this is very much like Tenex. The main ingredient being Guanfacine (sp?) which is a blood pressure medicine. It does help slow him

down. For him it has helped to control his IMPULSIVE nature. It gives him time to think first… or just not even care enough to react the way he once did. I remember it was supposed to take 3 or 4 weeks to start working but we noticed within 3 or 4 days. What we didn’t expect was that it also took away some of his obsessive behavior. We didn’t realize he was having obsessive behavior until we noticed that it was gone! For example his obsession was snakes. Since he was 2. He had to get a toy snake when ever he saw one at the store. Over the years he has collected quite a lot! If he was going to read a book, it had to be about snakes. If he was going to learn math he had to learn by counting snakes etc. He slept with them, they rode in the car with us, we’d have to stuff one in his backpack to keep at school …. 5 years this went on. Well now… he hardly even notices them in his closet. He likes snakes but that all! So the Intuniv has helped in a few other ways as well. It’s not perfect and sometimes I miss his “enthusiasm†and over abundance of passion for his high interest things. Sometimes he just seems bored and yes, it sits on my soul a little bit. But his “quality of life†before it was painful for him to live with and a huge stressor on everyone. He has happier moments now. He seems pleased with his behavior and not feeling so ashamed anymore for things that were clearly beyond his control anyway. Now when he has an outburst it is very short lived and it’s more rare that he feels provoked. He’s less defiant. Before it would be 20 minutes of tantrum because he didn’t want to turn off the TV to brush his teeth. Now, he might say no… but with one warning of a consequence he comes around and gets over it fast. I’m rambling now so I’ll stop but wish you the best of

luck. I know how hard it is to reach that point and still not know what is the right thing to do. Talk with a few different professionals, get opinions of different approaches. You’ll know what the right thing to do is.

[Guest guest]

Thanks everyone for your advice. I am not sure when I will decide to medicate him. I do know that eventually I will have to. I will continue to research and ask questions until I decide which is the right medicine to try.