///Gigi/Annette/Jeanne...long post!!!

[Guest guest]

<<Is Gareth still doing Risperdal? At what age did the

maturity kick in?Jeanne>>

Hi, Everyone....First...welcome to all the new people. Lots of issues

today!!! Jeanne....Gareth is still on Risperdal....it's been almost 8

yrs. now. Don't know which one of us would be institutionalized by now if he

wasn't on it!!! As for maturity....growth wise, I think he's done. He will be

18 in May and is 5'4 " , 160#. Knock on wood, but we haven't had any 'male'

issues to deal with....masturbating, etc.

<<tried strattera (atomoxetine hydrochloride). It is quite new here my

doctor has said. Ritinal was making my daughter very tired, and even more

sensitive to noise and surroundings. So we are to trial this drug for a month

to see

if we get positive results.

Annette. mum to E-J 7yrs, ds/ppd/adhd from Brisbane, Australia.>>

Annette...that is one drug Gareth has never tried. It's good that you are

keeping track of the different side effects of each drug. I hope the

Strattera works for E-J. Medication turned my kid's life around, but I know

that it

takes time to find the right meds/combo.

....if Adam was my child, I would opt to keep him home. I have

overly motherly instincts and don't believe in making my kids any more upset

than

what life throws at them. Is there some sort of law that says he has to

start preschool so early? I kept Gareth out of Kindergarten till he was 6 y/o.

Gigi and ....I had to fight one of the school districts that Gareth

was in. I am from Upstate NY and would not put my child in BOCES, nor would

allow him to go back into the IU system when we moved back to Lancaster, Pa.

So many districts still have the mentality that because a kid has DS, they

can't learn squat and need to be baby sat all day. Throw in the autism and

they

immediately think your child is totally uneducable. My two cents

worth....push for as much total inclusion as your child can handle in the early

years.

If your child needs a 1-1 to make that work, then the district should provide

a trained aide. They will learn more and their peers will be there to help

them. We found that once Gareth got to middle school, he couldn't handle the

changing of the classes, the banging of the lockers, the loud kids, etc. At

that time, we opted for a smaller, learning support room.....still stressing

academics. My son is in 11th grade now and reading, writing, and doing math

on a strong 3rd grade level. He changes classes at the bell with all the other

HS kids and has gotten past a lot of his noise issues. He never would have

gotten that far in the BOCES or IU units. If sensory issues (fluorescent

lights, sounds, etc.) are a major problem, then a small, learning support class

or high functioning autistic support class may be the better option. No kid

should be locked into one class because of their label.

....about Liam. Here's a few sites that you can go to read up on

autism and dual dx. The first is the article Joan published....she's the one

who

got this site started.

_http://disabilitysolutions.org/pdf/3-5-6.pdf_

(http://disabilitysolutions.org/pdf/3-5-6.pdf)

_http://www-personal.umich.edu/~pdpatel/DSM%20files/ABC_checklist.pdf_

(http://www-personal.umich.edu/~pdpatel/DSM%20files/ABC_checklist.pdf)

_http://autism.about.com/od/manydisordersinasd1/p/traitsofautism.htm_

(http://autism.about.com/od/manydisordersinasd1/p/traitsofautism.htm) ?

_http://www.ds-health.com/abst/a0202.htm_

(http://www.ds-health.com/abst/a0202.htm)

_http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer?pagename=PDD_

(http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer?pagename=PDD)

Take care, Everyone.

Margaret