Guest guest Posted February 5, 2011 Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 <<Who prescribed Garth's anti-depressants? A developmental ped or psychologist?And if your child is non-verbal, how do they communicate with him to understand what he needs?>. Hi, Everyone....Gerry....thank you for such kind words....I have never considered myself a mentor since I am still learning myself!!! Gareth's SSRI's had always been prescribed by an child psychiatrist (MD doc) until he turned 21 y/o. He has never been to a dev. ped....they didn't have those back then!!! He is now being seen by a psych doc whose specialities is with the mentally handicapped and she has warned me that depression in the DS population is VERY common....even without having all the medical issues like Gareth has. Gareth can answer a *yes or no* question if it is phrased very simply. If they (doctors, etc) start whipping off long, complex questions to Gareth, then I will intervene and break the question down to something that I know he will understand and be able to reply to. His *speech* is 2-3 words, usually rote. When he does try to give information, it takes him awhile to process it and stutter it out. He also talks about stuff that is totally off topic, most of time reliving something that happened years ago. It's nice reading all about the new devices for our kids to help with speech. G's best device, for school, was the palm pilot, when that came out. Gareth may not be able to talk much but he has always been able to spell, thus enabling him to write the word that he couldn't say or that people didn't understand. He won't use it anymore since he's out of school......too lazy!!! It's easier to say *neber mind.* Take care, Everyone. Margaret Mom to Gareth, 22 y/o. DS/ASD/OCD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.