/Charlyne/Holly

June 23, 2007

Hi, Everyone..........welcome to the group. My son, Gareth, is 19 with

the DS/autism dx. I live across the border in Lancaster Co., Pa.

<<Is he happy to have had graduated from HS? I can't imagine the thougtht of

having to move every

few years. I have lived in the same house for 36 yrs. I would be traumatized

if

I had to pack.>> Charlyne....it's kinda of funny, but I feel

the opposite. I get 'antsy' if I live in one place too long!!! I grew up

traveling world wide as an Air Force brat and my kids have been the 'second

generation of nomads' in our family. I find it hard to believe that we won't

have another move. As for Gareth, yes, he's glad to be finished with HS. He

didn't go to the 3 hr graduation ceremony in the evening.....which was OK with

me since it was 92 that day and I could just picture him being on the field

15-20 minutes before getting up and walking off in front of everyone!!! He

had to dress in cap/gown that morning in the gym for class photos and we went

to that. After that, he was done. My family came that weekend for a

Graduation party.....of which he was VERY proud!!!

Holly....Adderall made Gareth schizo!!!! Please........back off any med if

you see negative behaviors. Many of our kids can't take the

stimulants....adderal, ritalin, etc. For others, it's a life saver. Gareth put

on 20 pds the

first 2 months but leveled off after that. Just watch what he eats and push

the good stuff if he will eat it. As far as I was concerned, the positive

changes from Risperdal FAR outweigh the weight gain. I use to tell myself

that there were an awful lot of heavy kids out there that had no excuse for

being overweight.....Gareth did because of meds. For the first time in yrs, I

could finally connect with him and get a response and he could understand what

was being said and needed to be done.

Take care, Everyone.

Margaret

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