Update

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone

I just thought I would give an update on Adam (almost age 7). He's in a regular camp this summer with his own counselor. She says he's doing great. He participates in most activites (swim & all the crafty ones -- sports are ify) but he even played softball yesterday for the entire half hour. Usually he plays sports, if at all, for just part of the time.

He got swimmer's ear which was very painful. Yet, he went to camp knowing that he couldn't swim. His counselor took him to other activities instead.

What's interesting is that during the school year, he was taking adderal so that he could sit still and focus on the teacher. But he was also having tantrums in school. When I gave him adderal in camp, his counselor said he was very edgy & difficult. She says he is more easy going without the meds.

I'm just confused about what to do when school starts. He is being mainstreamed in 2nd grade with his own aide. He also gets up to 90 min /day of resourse room, if needed. His 1st grade spec ed teacher will be the resource room teacher. She said she'll take him for creative writing or any other subjects wherer he has difficulty. In 1str grade, he was mainstreamed for math, spelling & language arts.

If I don't give him adderal, he cannot sit still. If I give it to him, he gets too edgy & frustrates very easily. We're seeing a new psychiatrist about the meds next month.

Has anyone had this experience with adderal? (He was on ritilin but it had worse side effects & dexidrine didn't work).

Myra

Hello all

Hello everyone, and welcome to all new members. For those of you who haven't introduced yourself, please do so. I have had problems sending out emails the past week. I have been told it is a problem with aol. Anyway, things this week are going pretty good with us. My little guy Robbie, 5, is having night terrors, wakes up screaming at night and ends up sleeping with us. Oh well, what else can you do? Hope all is well with everyone, and talk to you all later. Someone mentioned a cream they use for skin rashes, and I was wondering what it was called again, and also, if you have to have a prescription or it's over the counter? Thanks, God bless all, Sharon(moderator)

[Guest guest]

Myra, it's mice to hear an update. It sounds like your child is doing great

at camp. My 10 yr old was tried on ritalin, and it made him worse. Then we

tried adderall, and he had very bad mood swings. Dexadrine did nothing

either. So right now, we have him on Vitamins and suppliments and he is doing

fine. Sharon

[Guest guest]

Myra, it's mice to hear an update. It sounds like your child is doing great

at camp. My 10 yr old was tried on ritalin, and it made him worse. Then we

tried adderall, and he had very bad mood swings. Dexadrine did nothing

either. So right now, we have him on Vitamins and suppliments and he is doing

fine. Sharon

[Guest guest]

Myra, it's mice to hear an update. It sounds like your child is doing great

at camp. My 10 yr old was tried on ritalin, and it made him worse. Then we

tried adderall, and he had very bad mood swings. Dexadrine did nothing

either. So right now, we have him on Vitamins and suppliments and he is doing

fine. Sharon

[Guest guest]

We brought Adam to a new psychiatrist because of the adderal problem. She started him on methadate. We gave it to him yesterday for the first time & when it was wearing off we were in a restaurant. I don't know if it was rebound or because he needed to go to the bathroom (Adam won't "Poop" outside of the house), but he was worse than usual. We'll have to try it aqgain to see if he reacts similarly after 6 hours.

I see that some aspie kids are hepled by risperdal. My daughter (9 yo) is on it for a mood disorder & it is a miracle drug for her. We tried it on Adam & it turned him into a zombie. His teacher asked us to take him off it because he lost his happy disposition.

The new psychologist mentioned clonadine before she put him on methadate. Has anyone tried either clonadine or methadate? I'd be interested in your experiences.

Myra

Re: update

Myra, it's mice to hear an update. It sounds like your child is doing great at camp. My 10 yr old was tried on ritalin, and it made him worse. Then we tried adderall, and he had very bad mood swings. Dexadrine did nothing either. So right now, we have him on Vitamins and suppliments and he is doing fine. Sharon

[Guest guest]

Subj: Update

Date: 11/23/00 12:11:10 PM Eastern Standard Time

From: downhearted1@... (downhearted1)

Reply-to: autism-aspergersegroups

To: autism-aspergersegroups

Hi, I was just curious as to what rationale a doctor gave you as to introduce Naltrexone into your child's behavior plan. Naltrexone is a Beta-Endorphine blocker typically used (to my knowledge) with such extreme cases of SIB that

is maintained through automatic reinforcement = internal / sensory. I am brand new to this list and just received this message and I really don't know your situation, so I hope it is OK that I am replying. As for the other medications are these being used in addition to an ABA program? What kind of intervention is being done. I ask this because of your son's young age and to be on psychotropic medications always poses the question of "what is actually helping my child?' ' Is it the meds or the Intervention (ABA or whatever is being used)?" It appears that you are having a difficult time w/ his education and the district that you are from. Where do you live? I wish you all the luck in the world. A concerned Behavior Analyst and sibling of man w/ Autism,

Here's an update on . He's four and a half and completely nonverbal. He took Risperdal for almost a year and went from 35 lbs. to almost 60 lbs. He was getting pretty fat, and then suddenly the Risperdal quit working and his behaviors were completely out of control.

One doctor suggested Naltrexone. Has anyone else out there used this? Another doctor disagreed with putting him on Naltrexone because he had not heard of a child this young taking it and considered it an experimental drug. So we ended up putting him on Ritalin with an added diagnosis of aggressive behavior disorder. I've always known is ADHD like his father, but I resisted Ritalin for a long time. I must admit, however, the Ritalin has really worked a miracle on this child. Sometimes I'll catch him sitting quietly on the couch now "reading" a book, which is amazing for .

He also takes Clonidine at night (.1 mg). I've heard others mention Clonidine and wonder whether other kids wake up in the night quite upset. wakes up sobbing or headbanging. He takes 2 at bedtime and then another in the middle of the night. He is sleeping a lot better with the exception of waking up twice and going right back to sleep with a little coaxing.

was seen last month by a Regional Center doctor who did a very thorough examination and report. That doctor put 's speech and language at 7-12 months, yet the school district will only give him 1 hour per week with their speech therapist. How ridiculous is this? We're in the middle of the IEP from hell, and there is a local attorney who is doing some pro bono work for us, thank goodness. The OT on his IEP is "consult only," which means no occupational therapist is working with him. So we're going to have to go to fair hearing. We're also considering getting an inter-district transfer because there's an autism only preschool classroom just 5 minutes from our home, across the county line unfortunately.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Despite everything, I know I have a lot to be thankful for. Thanks, Sharon, for all your support. You're all in my prayers!

April

Re: aspergers? need help! (long, sorr

Welcome to our list. It is very hard raising a child with adhd/aspergers, especially when they exhibit behavior problems. I have 4 boys, ages 4, 5, 6, and 10. My youngest is pdd, developmentally delayed. My oldest was dx with adhd and recently aspergers. My 5 and 6 yr. olds are dx with autism. They are higher functioning. They do talk and understand, they are very smart. My 5 and 6 yr olds are the major challenge. We have been through alot with them. My 6 yr old has been admitted to childrens hospitol several times since he was 2 for being out of control. We have tried alot of meds on him. They work for a while and then they stop.They were on 3 different meds, clonodine, risperadol, and depakote. I took them off these things, because they didn't seem to be working, and I figured why give them these meds that do not seem to be helping anyway. I did alot of research and started them on a special diet. I also started giving them some natural suppliments. They are doing o.k. My 6 yr old is much better, but lately we have had the same problem you described with my 5 yr old. We had quite a while of calm and suddenly he's gone out of control. So we are trying to evaluate him and see what's going on. It's very tough. So I know exactly what you are going through 4 times over. Just hang in there, and don't give up. You mentioned the meds your grandchild is on and one of them is claritin. I haven't heard of this used for aspergers. Is this med for allergies? I was just wondering what they prescribed it for. Well I hear my little guy crying. Time to go check on him. I am sure you will receive alot of good advice from others on this list. This is a great group. If you need anything, please feel free to email me privately. I will keep you in my prayers. I would like to say welcome to everyone else who has just joined the group. Please introduce yourselves. I would like to hear updates on everyone else. Hope all is going well, God bless, Sharon(moderator)

[Guest guest]

April, thanks for the update. I haven't heard of Naltrexine before. My boys

have been on risperadol at one time, and they gained weight and after a

while, the risperadol stopped working. So we had the same experience as you

with that med. They were also on ritalin, but it didn't work with them.

Ritalin made them worse. So they stopped that. We also used clonodine at one

time, and my boys would wake up crying and head banging in the middle of the

night. They seemed to be moody on that. They aren't on meds at this time. We

have them on natural suppliments and vitamins. They seem to be doing o.k. at

the moment, knock on wood. It was very nice to hear from you and look forward

to hearing more. Hope you had a wonderful holiday, and I will keep you in my

prayers also, God bless, Sharon

[Guest guest]

, welcome to our list and of course it's o.k. for you to reply. That's

what this list is all about, to share our views and support each other. We

can all learn from each other. It was nice to hear your view and feel free to

ask questions and offer advice.Once again welcome, and I look forward to

hearing more from you. God bless, Sharon(moderator)

[Guest guest]

Sharon,

I have mostly been lurking though I have posted a few times.

I am the one with (16yrs believe to be Asperger).

Anyway, we are in the process of adopting a boy age 5 who they

believe to be autistic. He has three dx's. One says score of

44..highly autistic. One says no way autistic..ADHD and Global

delay. The third basically hems and haws and tells the foster mom

how to deal with a child with PDD. Well, the first said risperdol,

the second said ritalin and the third said risperdol. Here I sit

trying to understand why he is on both risperdol and ritalin when she

was told ritalin would not help him and I even have a paper where she

states that he was worse on ritalin!

I have a doctors appt on Tuesday and have to explain this child to

the doctor. I guess what I would like to ask you and the other

parents is...does risperdol hide autistic traits? This boy is

affectionate, has very good eye contact. He loves to hug and

interacts with people with pretend play. (though he usually controls)

He is uncontrollable at times but does ritalin help your children?

Thanks,

Jenni

[Guest guest]

I missed the special on tv. Does anyone know if it will be on again?

I would love to see if these children act like my son.

Jenni

[Guest guest]

Jenni,

I just wanted to mention that my daughter (age 4, autism dx) is very

affectionate, has great eye contact, and enjoys pretend play. She isn't on

any medication at all. It may be that this boy may act this way because

these usual features of autism/aspbergers don't happen to pertain to him. I

am not familiar with any meds so I can't say whether some may mask the

features of autism or not.

Andy

:0)

ps: we, too, are waiting to adopt a child :0)

>

>Reply-To: autism-aspergersegroups

>To: autism-aspergersegroups

>Subject: Re: Update

>Date: Sat, 25 Nov 2000 14:22:40 -0000

>

>Sharon,

>I have mostly been lurking though I have posted a few times.

>I am the one with (16yrs believe to be Asperger).

>

>Anyway, we are in the process of adopting a boy age 5 who they

>believe to be autistic. He has three dx's. One says score of

>44..highly autistic. One says no way autistic..ADHD and Global

>delay. The third basically hems and haws and tells the foster mom

>how to deal with a child with PDD. Well, the first said risperdol,

>the second said ritalin and the third said risperdol. Here I sit

>trying to understand why he is on both risperdol and ritalin when she

>was told ritalin would not help him and I even have a paper where she

>states that he was worse on ritalin!

>

>I have a doctors appt on Tuesday and have to explain this child to

>the doctor. I guess what I would like to ask you and the other

>parents is...does risperdol hide autistic traits? This boy is

>affectionate, has very good eye contact. He loves to hug and

>interacts with people with pretend play. (though he usually controls)

>He is uncontrollable at times but does ritalin help your children?

>

>Thanks,

>Jenni

>

________________________________________________________________________________\

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[Guest guest]

Andy,

Thanks, I really did not know that was possible. I thought autistic

children were never tactile and did not have eye contact. He often

talks in the third person. He will say " I like her " and you are not

sure who he is talking to but you know he likes you!

I have to say we are a bit overwhelmed by the challenge of this

little boy. He is a real sweetie though and I am sure that God will

give us the grace to parent him. Loving him will be easy. What kind

of child will you adopt? Older, baby? We have adopted several

children and they are all a blessing.

Jenni

[Guest guest]

Jenni,

There was a time when Hannah had no eye contact, was extremely tactile

defensive, and never uttered a word. She is certainly a different child

today. In my opinion (and I am no doctor) that it depends on what the cause

of a child's autism is, and where on the spectrum they fall that decides

what typical autistic features they will have and which they won't. We

suspect that Hannah's autism was caused by the MMR vaccine. She was a

typically-developing baby until about 14 months when she started to

withdraw, lose eye contact, lose her babbling, self-injure, ect, ect.... At

the same time she was experiencing horrible GI problems and had extreme

diarhea for over a year. When the diarhea stopped, Hannah began to " recover "

so to speak. (I should also mention that one of our other children also

seems to have reacted to the MMR as she now has an uncontrolled complicated

seizure disorder that began with GI problems). Hannah still has a long way

to go, but it seems that the only problems left are that of language (she is

verbal, but has difficulty with pronouns and apraxia) and social problems.

She is 4 years old and participates in a regular kindergarten class with the

help of an aide (since she's a runner). She has above average intelligence

and is really beyond her peers as far as academics.

She is an extremely happy little girl, a far cry from the toddler who first

received the autism dx. There was a time that I didn't know how I was going

to parent this little one, but she has surprised everyone. I am confident

that while she will always have some " quirks " she will become a successful,

independant, productive person. Quite the opposite of the prognosis that we

were first given. We heard words like " institutionalized " and " life-long

dependancy " . Needless to say, all those " experts " are now stunned by

Hannah's success.

Anyway, I'm beginning to ramble, here.

As for the adoption issue, we have been on a waiting list for a year and we

have not specified any age, sex, or disability. We just want to give a child

a family to belong to if they need one. God bless you for being willing to

open your home and your heart to children, Jenni. How many have you adopted?

Where are you? I'm in Ontario Canada.

Andy

:0)

>

>Reply-To: autism-aspergersegroups

>To: autism-aspergersegroups

>Subject: Re: Update

>Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 23:35:26 -0000

>

>Andy,

>Thanks, I really did not know that was possible. I thought autistic

>children were never tactile and did not have eye contact. He often

>talks in the third person. He will say " I like her " and you are not

>sure who he is talking to but you know he likes you!

>I have to say we are a bit overwhelmed by the challenge of this

>little boy. He is a real sweetie though and I am sure that God will

>give us the grace to parent him. Loving him will be easy. What kind

>of child will you adopt? Older, baby? We have adopted several

>children and they are all a blessing.

>Jenni

>

________________________________________________________________________________\

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Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com

[Guest guest]

,

The problems we're having with the district are incredible. We currently live in San Obispo County, California (central coast area). I am considering a move back to Ventura County where services were far better. This district has wasted the early intervention years as will turn five in April.

The Naltrexone was suggested for serious self-injurious behaviors; mainly, headbanging. has banged holes into walls with the back of his head, his forehead is consistently bruised, and now he does this thing where he stands on all fours, jumps up high, and comes down on the top of his head. He is addicted to it now, I'm afraid.

We have a doctor appointment this afternoon. I believe the Ritalin needs to be increased. It really worked well when we started it two months ago, but the SIBs have gradually increased after a couple weeks on Ritalin. He takes two .1 mg Clonidine tablets at bedtime plus another one around 2:00 a.m., yet he is now waking up almost hourly.

As for 's ABA program at school, I'm sure it is quite weak. They won't allow me to observe except for one half-hour per week with a pre-arranged appointment. We have Part VI of his IEP meeting on Friday where I'm sure they will deny occupational therapy since we requested an assessment two months ago. They won't budge from one hour per week direct services with their speech therapist. They want the teacher to do everything. We do plan to file for fair hearing after this meeting.

Also, we are looking into a partial hospitalization program at UCLA. There is a waiting list, but hopefully can get into that soon and his problems will be properly addressed. We know that if he doesn't get immediate and appropriate services that we won't be able to keep him much longer. The system has really failed our child.

Thanks so much for your concern, and PLEASE respond as I am here to learn for 's sake.

April

Re: aspergers? need help! (long, sorr Welcome to our list. It is very hard raising a child with adhd/aspergers, especially when they exhibit behavior problems. I have 4 boys, ages 4, 5, 6, and 10. My youngest is pdd, developmentally delayed. My oldest was dx with adhd and recently aspergers. My 5 and 6 yr. olds are dx with autism. They are higher functioning. They do talk and understand, they are very smart. My 5 and 6 yr olds are the major challenge. We have been through alot with them. My 6 yr old has been admitted to childrens hospitol several times since he was 2 for being out of control. We have tried alot of meds on him. They work for a while and then they stop.They were on 3 different meds, clonodine, risperadol, and depakote. I took them off these things, because they didn't seem to be working, and I figured why give them these meds that do not seem to be helping anyway. I did alot of research and started them on a special diet. I also started giving them some natural suppliments. They are doing o.k. My 6 yr old is much better, but lately we have had the same problem you described with my 5 yr old. We had quite a while of calm and suddenly he's gone out of control. So we are trying to evaluate him and see what's going on. It's very tough. So I know exactly what you are going through 4 times over. Just hang in there, and don't give up. You mentioned the meds your grandchild is on and one of them is claritin. I haven't heard of this used for aspergers. Is this med for allergies? I was just wondering what they prescribed it for. Well I hear my little guy crying. Time to go check on him. I am sure you will receive alot of good advice from others on this list. This is a great group. If you need anything, please feel free to email me privately. I will keep you in my prayers. I would like to say welcome to everyone else who has just joined the group. Please introduce yourselves. I would like to hear updates on everyone else. Hope all is going well, God bless, Sharon(moderator)

[Guest guest]

Andy,

took Risperdal for nearly a year. He has always had fairly good eye contact, but the Risperdal just seemed to mellow him out quite a bit and helped him to sleep. It took the edge off, so to speak, but the autism was still quite evident.

My friend's son took Risperdal, and her son began sleeping better. The doctor recommended a morning and evening dose for her child, but she didn't like the dopey effect it had on him during the day so she just gave it to him at night. He is much higher functioning than , however, and she eventually took him off of it altogether.

I was very pleased with the effects of Risperdal on , but we had to keep increasing the dosage, and then it just quit working completely.

Re: Update>Date: Sat, 25 Nov 2000 14:22:40 -0000>>Sharon,>I have mostly been lurking though I have posted a few times.>I am the one with (16yrs believe to be Asperger).>>Anyway, we are in the process of adopting a boy age 5 who they>believe to be autistic. He has three dx's. One says score of>44..highly autistic. One says no way autistic..ADHD and Global>delay. The third basically hems and haws and tells the foster mom>how to deal with a child with PDD. Well, the first said risperdol,>the second said ritalin and the third said risperdol. Here I sit>trying to understand why he is on both risperdol and ritalin when she>was told ritalin would not help him and I even have a paper where she>states that he was worse on ritalin!>>I have a doctors appt on Tuesday and have to explain this child to>the doctor. I guess what I would like to ask you and the other>parents is...does risperdol hide autistic traits? This boy is>affectionate, has very good eye contact. He loves to hug and>interacts with people with pretend play. (though he usually controls)>He is uncontrollable at times but does ritalin help your children?>>Thanks,>Jenni>_____________________________________________________________________________________Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com

[Guest guest]

Andy,

How did Hannah's diarrhea stop?

April

Re: Update>Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 23:35:26 -0000>>Andy,>Thanks, I really did not know that was possible. I thought autistic>children were never tactile and did not have eye contact. He often>talks in the third person. He will say "I like her" and you are not>sure who he is talking to but you know he likes you! >I have to say we are a bit overwhelmed by the challenge of this>little boy. He is a real sweetie though and I am sure that God will>give us the grace to parent him. Loving him will be easy. What kind>of child will you adopt? Older, baby? We have adopted several>children and they are all a blessing.>Jenni>_____________________________________________________________________________________Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com

[Guest guest]

Jenni, hello it is good to hear an update. I applaud you for adopting a

child, especially one with special needs. That makes you a very special

person and this child is lucky to have you. With that said, I have 4 kids

with autism, aspergers. They are 4, 5, 6, and 10. My kids have been on meds,

because my 5 and 6 yr olds have a problem with control sometimes. They were

put on ritalin. I did not really want this med, but at the time I was not

well informed, and desperate for them to get some help. I had heard from some

parents it worked miracles for their child. For alot it seems to work, but it

did make my boys worse. So the dr stopped it. They were on risperadol for

some time, and it helped with the aggression for some time. It did, however

cause them to eat more and gain weight and after a while, it stopped working.

Right now, they aren't on any meds. They are on natural suppliments and

vitamins. I wish you the best in your decision and please keep us updated.

Feel free to email me privately, if you wish. God bless, Sharon(moderator)

[Guest guest]

Andy, good for you and how exciting waiting to adopt. Me and my husband have

been thinking of adopting a little girl, because we have 4 boys. Maybe you

and Jenni can give me some info on the process and how to get started, what

you had to go through, etc. You can email me privately. I would also like to

say to Jenni, while my boys can be aggressive and tantrum, they also can be

very loving at times. Keep us updated all, God bless, Sharon(moderator)

[Guest guest]

April,

Well, we finally figured out that she was reacting badly to citric acid

(which is an additive that is put in most fruit juices, sweetened packaged

foods, syrups, etc.) Once we eliminated that, the poops cleared up. The

diarhea that I'm speaking of was really abnormal. Extremely foul, frothy,

burning etc. Not something I've ever seen before in my other children. It

started at about 14 months and then continued for over a year. She still has

occassional bouts when she has accidentally had some apple juice or other

items with the citric acid added.

Andy

:0)

>

>Reply-To: autism-aspergersegroups

>To: <autism-aspergersegroups>

>Subject: Re: Re: Update

>Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 09:27:43 -0800

>

>Andy,

> How did Hannah's diarrhea stop?

>

>April

> Re: Update

> >Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 23:35:26 -0000

> >

> >Andy,

> >Thanks, I really did not know that was possible. I thought autistic

> >children were never tactile and did not have eye contact. He often

> >talks in the third person. He will say " I like her " and you are not

> >sure who he is talking to but you know he likes you!

> >I have to say we are a bit overwhelmed by the challenge of this

> >little boy. He is a real sweetie though and I am sure that God will

> >give us the grace to parent him. Loving him will be easy. What kind

> >of child will you adopt? Older, baby? We have adopted several

> >children and they are all a blessing.

> >Jenni

> >

>

>

>_______________________________________________________________________________\

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>http://explorer.msn.com

>

>

> eGroups Sponsor

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Andy,

Thanks for sharing about Hannah. We have adopted 8 children. They

are three sibling groups. The last group had three children with the

youngest being .

Sharon,

We have adopted older children (ages 2-8) and all of them

transracial. (some AA and some hispanic) Feel free to ask questions

about adoption.

I guess it is the riperdol that gives his voracious

appetite!! He loves to eat. He will just stop and say, " I wish it

was dinner time " ! He is really a cutie. His ritalin will run out

tomorrow and I have a dr appt to discuss meds. Should be interesting

since I know very little about this little guy. I have never had

children on medication and have always been very critical towards the

fact that so many children are on ritalin. Guess I have more to

learn!

Jenni

[Guest guest]

Andy,

Thanks for sharing about Hannah. We have adopted 8 children. They

are three sibling groups. The last group had three children with the

youngest being .

Sharon,

We have adopted older children (ages 2-8) and all of them

transracial. (some AA and some hispanic) Feel free to ask questions

about adoption.

I guess it is the riperdol that gives his voracious

appetite!! He loves to eat. He will just stop and say, " I wish it

was dinner time " ! He is really a cutie. His ritalin will run out

tomorrow and I have a dr appt to discuss meds. Should be interesting

since I know very little about this little guy. I have never had

children on medication and have always been very critical towards the

fact that so many children are on ritalin. Guess I have more to

learn!

Jenni

[Guest guest]

Andy,

Thanks for sharing about Hannah. We have adopted 8 children. They

are three sibling groups. The last group had three children with the

youngest being .

Sharon,

We have adopted older children (ages 2-8) and all of them

transracial. (some AA and some hispanic) Feel free to ask questions

about adoption.

I guess it is the riperdol that gives his voracious

appetite!! He loves to eat. He will just stop and say, " I wish it

was dinner time " ! He is really a cutie. His ritalin will run out

tomorrow and I have a dr appt to discuss meds. Should be interesting

since I know very little about this little guy. I have never had

children on medication and have always been very critical towards the

fact that so many children are on ritalin. Guess I have more to

learn!

Jenni

[Guest guest]

April,

Thank you for replying. Like I said I am new to this list and was not sure what is deemed appropriate. My main concerns regarding medication that is given to children & adults w/ Autism is that although there may be decreases in the abhorrent behavior i.e. S.I.B., the meds do not help treat the underlying cause of the behavior and what has maintained it. There is also the case of "Stated Learning" in which a behavior that is learned or decreased under the influence of a medication and will return when the meds are changed. There is the possibility of learning something on a certain med and when that med is stopped the behaviors aquired during the use of medication will disappeer. If the medication is reintroduced the behaviors will return. This goes for both appropriate and innappropriate behaviors. It's fascinating ! Anyway like with all behavior S.I.B. is learned for whatever reason, be it attention, communi!

cation or failure to do so, even self stimulation (to name a few) and by not discovering what is maintaining the behavior/ what is actually reinforcing the behavior then you truly can not know how to treat the behavior. As for related services, in my opinion a truly efficient school for children w/ Autism will have Behavior Analysts who can properly teach speech and conduct O.T. these are things that are taught through A.B.A. and although they use different terminology you will find by reading any basic textbook that their practices are based alot on A.B.A. Interesting huh? Physical Therapy is a different story although a consultant has taught me how to make things more functional for a student that also has seizure disorder and thus poor motor planning. Anyway a good program I feel should have some aspect where you can observe more than that but it is there right and that of other students to have it scheduled. There also should be some aspect of hands on education w/ you; How to teach your child in every aspect fopr parents should be as good teachers as the ones at school for they spend the most time. Parents should be e!

ducated as how to teach everything form self help skills to transitioning. (Sorry for the tangent)

My brother was on the waiting list for the original UCLA project 20 some odd years ago and unfortunately we got the call way to late. Good luck but for now you need to find some solid well educated behavior analysts, tutors and other people with a working knowledge of behavior.

Good luck ,

[Guest guest]

April,

Thank you for replying. Like I said I am new to this list and was not sure what is deemed appropriate. My main concerns regarding medication that is given to children & adults w/ Autism is that although there may be decreases in the abhorrent behavior i.e. S.I.B., the meds do not help treat the underlying cause of the behavior and what has maintained it. There is also the case of "Stated Learning" in which a behavior that is learned or decreased under the influence of a medication and will return when the meds are changed. There is the possibility of learning something on a certain med and when that med is stopped the behaviors aquired during the use of medication will disappeer. If the medication is reintroduced the behaviors will return. This goes for both appropriate and innappropriate behaviors. It's fascinating ! Anyway like with all behavior S.I.B. is learned for whatever reason, be it attention, communi!

cation or failure to do so, even self stimulation (to name a few) and by not discovering what is maintaining the behavior/ what is actually reinforcing the behavior then you truly can not know how to treat the behavior. As for related services, in my opinion a truly efficient school for children w/ Autism will have Behavior Analysts who can properly teach speech and conduct O.T. these are things that are taught through A.B.A. and although they use different terminology you will find by reading any basic textbook that their practices are based alot on A.B.A. Interesting huh? Physical Therapy is a different story although a consultant has taught me how to make things more functional for a student that also has seizure disorder and thus poor motor planning. Anyway a good program I feel should have some aspect where you can observe more than that but it is there right and that of other students to have it scheduled. There also should be some aspect of hands on education w/ you; How to teach your child in every aspect fopr parents should be as good teachers as the ones at school for they spend the most time. Parents should be e!

ducated as how to teach everything form self help skills to transitioning. (Sorry for the tangent)

My brother was on the waiting list for the original UCLA project 20 some odd years ago and unfortunately we got the call way to late. Good luck but for now you need to find some solid well educated behavior analysts, tutors and other people with a working knowledge of behavior.

Good luck ,

[Guest guest]

April,

Thank you for replying. Like I said I am new to this list and was not sure what is deemed appropriate. My main concerns regarding medication that is given to children & adults w/ Autism is that although there may be decreases in the abhorrent behavior i.e. S.I.B., the meds do not help treat the underlying cause of the behavior and what has maintained it. There is also the case of "Stated Learning" in which a behavior that is learned or decreased under the influence of a medication and will return when the meds are changed. There is the possibility of learning something on a certain med and when that med is stopped the behaviors aquired during the use of medication will disappeer. If the medication is reintroduced the behaviors will return. This goes for both appropriate and innappropriate behaviors. It's fascinating ! Anyway like with all behavior S.I.B. is learned for whatever reason, be it attention, communi!

cation or failure to do so, even self stimulation (to name a few) and by not discovering what is maintaining the behavior/ what is actually reinforcing the behavior then you truly can not know how to treat the behavior. As for related services, in my opinion a truly efficient school for children w/ Autism will have Behavior Analysts who can properly teach speech and conduct O.T. these are things that are taught through A.B.A. and although they use different terminology you will find by reading any basic textbook that their practices are based alot on A.B.A. Interesting huh? Physical Therapy is a different story although a consultant has taught me how to make things more functional for a student that also has seizure disorder and thus poor motor planning. Anyway a good program I feel should have some aspect where you can observe more than that but it is there right and that of other students to have it scheduled. There also should be some aspect of hands on education w/ you; How to teach your child in every aspect fopr parents should be as good teachers as the ones at school for they spend the most time. Parents should be e!

ducated as how to teach everything form self help skills to transitioning. (Sorry for the tangent)

My brother was on the waiting list for the original UCLA project 20 some odd years ago and unfortunately we got the call way to late. Good luck but for now you need to find some solid well educated behavior analysts, tutors and other people with a working knowledge of behavior.

Good luck ,