n....long winded!!!

[Guest guest]

<<Isaac is only 5 and is still developing, I'm not sure that the constant

stimming, inattention and some OCD behaviors renders medication. How " severe "

do these behaviors have to be for someone to decide on medication?...... What

are your experiences as far as seeing changes on meds for inattention and

self-stim behaviors. >>

Hi, Everyone....n...this can be a very touchy subject and I know that

there are those who are completely against " drugging " their kids. I felt the

guilt of having Gareth on heavy duty mind drugs for yrs. but a child psych

once asked me " What was MY problem? If G. was diabetic, I wouldn't feel guilty

about giving him Insulin, would I? If he had MD and needed meds for muscle

spasm/control, etc, would I feel guilty about meds to control that? " He

takes Prilosec daily for GERD....I don't feel guilty about that. Whether we

want

to admit it or not, our kids do have some sort of chemical imbalances in

their brains. We are not drugging our kids into zombies. Gareth is 17y/o and

takes the lowest dose possible of an SSRI for his OCD and is only on 1 mg. of

Risperdal (am and pm) after being on it for 7 yrs. He still has his warped

sense of humor and has matured into a 5'4 " , 155# young man.....so the meds have

not affected or stunted his growth. He started on Prozac at age 6 and we

added the Risperdal at age 10 and he's been on that combo for over 7 yrs now.

Isaac's behaviors (stimming, inattentiveness, etc.) ARE affecting his life.

You have no reason to feel guilty because you can't be with him 24/7 to keep

him occupied/learning. Before drugs, G's behavior was constant teeth

grinding, rocking, stimming, growling/vocal noises, master Houdini, ADHD,

echolalia, up all night, very light/sound sensitive, wicked head banger, and

had no

reasoning/redirection ability. We were told by the psych that our child (age

6) was 'severely autistic and profoundly MR and that nothing could be done'.

Well........let me tell you, (and Gail can attest to it) that G is no longer

severely autistic. He is a high functioning kid who happens to have DS and

autism. Once he was on the SSRI/Risperdal combo, he started talking (albeit

2-3 word sentences) and he could be reasoned with. That right there led to

the ability to open doorways on all the other issues. The teeth grinding

stopped, he sleeps through the night, his OCD is lessened, his stimming is

limited, we can have lights on in the house, he doesn't run or flop and drop

anymore, no more rocking or head banging, etc. In school, he is reading on a

5-6rd

grade level, comprehension is 3rd grade level, and he can do basic

math...adding/subtraction, money, etc.

I am not saying the past yrs. have been a piece of cake. We have tried meds

that didn't work. You always have the option of withdrawing meds at any

time if the behaviors get worse or the meds don't do anything. It is trial by

error and not all kids have positive results with meds. BUT.....you will

never know if you don't try. If you do go the med route, find a child psych

who

is willing to work with you....especially over the phone for the first few

months. Watch for the negative behaviors from some drugs. Like I said before,

G. can't handle ritalin or adderall, but other kids are doing fantastic.

Keep a chart of all his behaviors before meds and check off how those behaviors

are affected by the drugs. Follow your instincts. Ask your hubby if he is

willing to TRY a drug for 6 weeks. That may be all he needs to show whether

it helps or not. Start at the lowest dose possible. Our kids don't need a

lot. Take care, Everyone.

Margaret