books.....

[Guest guest]

>

> I have been reading a lot of books on Asperger Syndrome and I just

have not found a very helpful book yet. They all say what AS is and

what AS children do, and what teachers can do. But I want a book of

expeirence, one that says what is happening and what you can do to

help. Is there any such books???? My daughter is having serious

rage attacks at home and I just can't pin point it to anything. It

is like she is in this box and if you don't say or do what is inside

her box she flips. >>

,

Have you read " The Explosive Child " , by Ross Greene? He is a

psychologist who works with kids who, for various reasons---including

sensory dysfunction and developmental challenges---do not have the

tools to deal appropriately with their anger/frustration. I think it

is one of the best books out there...

Raena

[Guest guest]

,

One of the best books I've found for helping me understand my kids is called

" The Self-Help Guide for Special Kids and Their Parents " by Joan s

and s.

It has small chapters by subject matter like ; Being polite when someone is

crying...then has a scene about what you probably see from your child in

this situation. Next it tells you why your child probably behaved this way

and then a small section on how to possibly handle it the next time. There

are 84 different catagories (chapters), all only 2 to 4 pages long. I'm

sure you'll find lot's of helpful information in it for you, even if it

doesn't cover the exact problem you seem to be facing right now. Oh, the

authors are a mom and her 'special kid'.

By the way, how old is again?

It may be possible that something is going on at school and she's constantly

in a state of hyper arrousal for her sensory system so that the slightest

thing is setting her off. Also, is she old enough that you're dealing with

hormone changes? Is she currently on any medications? What kind?

Sue

[Guest guest]

>

> Sue,

> I will check my library for that book, it sounds like what I am looking

for. is 7 years old. She is on Adderall XR right now. I think we

might have to change that. She was on Zoloft but the picking she does

increased with it, so we are dealing with the ADHD first then starting on

the other. She has so many different things going on, its hard to tell what

meds are going to help and which are going to make things worse. I am

hoping that there is some kind of medicine to help control this. It was one

thing to have these anger outburst but now she is hitting and talking about

killing, I am getting really worried.

> Thank you!

,

Did her Dr. try her on the Zoloft at the same time as the Adderall?

Sue

[Guest guest]

When we tried Ritalin for when he was younger, he went into himself,

probably what you're calling zoning out. When we tried Adderall alone, he

was angry, crying easily and we saw more fixation type behaviors. We found

out that he had to be on both types of meds at the same time, otherwise we

were only treating half the problem. You might ask about trying Paxil with

the Adderall. It might smooth her out like it did for .

Just so you know, this wasn't a long term fix for . He stresses so

much from school that nothing was strong enough to calm him so that his

sensory system didn't go completely haywire.

After trying for almost a year, we finally switched him to Zyprexa alone,

and he's been so much better. The aggression has stopped, his sensory is

primarily under control (occasional increases after school breaks) and he

seems much calmer. We are having some trouble with obsessing though. Keep

this in mind case you end up where we were. The family of drugs that

Zyprexa is in has been found to work for kids who don't respond well to

SSRI'S.

Sue

[Guest guest]

If she does get stressed at school she usually will just sit and stare into

space and pick and do absoultly nothing else.

The picking is ONE of the things would do at school. Once we got his

anxiety calmed (he didn't show it outwardly except for through his various

sensory issues), the picking stopped too. Now when they see a sign of the

picking, he gets a sensory break with things to manipulate. If he starts

moving around in his chair, they have him come down and march or see how

many times he can jump. These help him to calm back down and get his body

organized so he can go back to his class and work. See if they'll try these

strategies with .

Sue in MI

Mom to: 12 1/2, HFA

9, AS/ADD

IM: smgaska1

Autism, the hardest puzzle to put together.

[Guest guest]

, I can relate to much of what you describe. The rages can be

quite intense. One of the hardest things to do is to try and figure

out what is causing the buildup that eventually leads to an

outburst. Events or triggers may not be associate closely time wise

to the eventual outburst which just means you have to turn into a

detective of sorts. Depending on 's ability to communicate with

you, you may be able to ask questions phrased in different ways to

elicit some information.

For us triggers have been school related social stress, lack of

support for homework and daily assignments, changes in plans, lack of

sleep, illness, irrational anxieties and mood swings. Those cover

most of them, but not all. Environmental management has played a

very important part in reducing the rages for us, as well as a

combination of supports, therapies and medications. No easy out on

this one. It's tough.

Managing sleep is very important for at least two of my children. If

manage their sleep well they are less labile in their moods which

helps all things across the board. Illnesses and irrational axieties

must be addressed individually and worked with as needed. The

anxieties and OCD issues can be long standing and tiresome to deal

with but with time, therapy and persistence, and often medication,

can be reduced and brought to more manageable levels. Sensory

overload can be a major component in increasing stress levels and

decreasing their ability to process and respond appropriately. A

good OT program or environmental supports/management of sensory

issues helps tremendously. Sometimes something as simple as changing

classes three minutes early to avoid the hallway noise, or allowing a

child to wear sunglasses inside on a very bright day can make a

difference.

School social stress and assignments are often huge sources of stress

for us and have to be managed with school supports. I can tell what

is going on at school by the behavior I see at home after school.

Often the child can hold himself or herself together for the seven or

eight hours they are at school only to copletely fall apart once they

hit the driveway. From that point on the day can go downhil. We now

have excellent supports in place for daily work, social issues, and

homework for the most part and that has made a tremendous

difference. Without those supports Gail was unable to attend school

physically last year because of her anxiety, OCD and ADHD. She fell

apart and dissolved into a mushy puddle of sobbing jello incapable of

moving or thinking. This year she is attending full days and

managing an overall B+ average.

is also in a regular fifth grade class with a marvelous teacher

that is very sensitive to his moods and need for space at times. She

manages his accomodations of work load, computer access for writing,

and homework assistance. Her interventions have facilitated being

able to get back into school despite some bumps in the road

this year. Good support people cannot be emphasized enough. We have

some of the worst paperwork around in regards to IDEA requirements

and IEP ideal standards...BUT...We do have an excellent team that I

think I have fostered good communication with and who are willing to

work with my kids. I try to support the school and their

requirements, but I also let the staff know what accomodations and

supports are necessary for my child to attend school and be

successful.

Behavioral therapy and some cognitive therapy has been useful for

the kids. They have learned coping skills and some self management

skills through this. We work on social skills and identification of

emotions, as well as proper ways to act on them. It is a slow

process but this has made a large difference in the long run.

At home we employ many techniques. The age of the child and the

degree of the rage dictates the level of our response and choices

available. is 10 and now considered high functioning. He

also has dxs of BP, ADHD and Tourettes which is acutally considered

a compulsive disorder like OCD with the addition of tics. He also

can be quite oppositional (understatement).

When younger and still moderately to severely impaired he was

confined to his bedroom which was sparsly furnished until he stopped

raging. This was safer for him and me. His door locked on the

outside for that reason. Now sometimes he retreats to his room for a

quite space and privacy, but most time he is sent outside to run

laps, shoot hoops, race about the yard or sword fight with the

shrubs. The point is for him to channel the energy physically in a

nonagressive manner. Sometimes we have packed everyone else up and

left him with hopefully instructions that he confine his raging to

the yard, and in worse case scenarios we have ended up in the ER when

he has temporarily lost speech and any ability for self control and

calming. So far we have never had to call the police. I now have

medication on hand for emergencies that I can administer to him

without a trip to the ER. I just call the on call paediatrician or

his psych provider first for confirmation.

Most of our efforts go into preventing these outbursts. We try to

adhere to routines, maintain calm composures (despite extreme

exasperation at times), PE timeouts for shooting hoops, temporary

timeout to a quiet location of the house for regrouping (readmission

to common areas is voluntary based on ability for selfcontrol), and

maintaining good communication with his school supports and medical

providers.

For us medication management has been mandatory for Gail and Chris.

Without meds would not be at home, it's the dramatic a

difference. For Gail medications enable her to attend school and do

things that other thirteen year olds should be doing. Without them

we would be hard pressed to get her out of bed and out through the

door. , the eldest, takes a small dose of a single medication

but for her it is very necessary also. She is...let's

say...unpleasant to be around without her meds. One or two missed

doses and you KNOW she has missed. So far we have not found a need

for the younger boys to use medications, although if does not

start sleeping in the next year on a more consisten basis we may need

to manage his sleep with some clonidine. remains a mystery

for now, only time will tell for him.

I hope that some of this is useful to you. Behavioral strategies can

be a complicated business. I didn't mean to write a tome but there

is so much to say on this topic. Hang in there!!

[Guest guest]

The only thing I can say about this is that I think it's a good thing you

are going to Behavioral Management...

Is nearing puberty age by any chance?

Penny

books.....

I have been reading a lot of books on Asperger Syndrome and I just have not

found a very helpful book yet. They all say what AS is and what AS children

do, and what teachers can do. But I want a book of expeirence, one that

says what is happening and what you can do to help. Is there any such

books???? My daughter is having serious rage attacks at home and I just

can't pin point it to anything. It is like she is in this box and if you

don't say or do what is inside her box she flips. I almost bought some of

those script books to show her how emotions work and things like that, but

if she doesn't think that is the way it is supose to be she will say it is

wrong. We go to behavioral managment starting March 19. I don't even know

what that is. I know a therapist that has seen is the one who is going

to be talking to us and thats it. She has had some anger outburst in the

past but the past three weeks to a month have been horrible. And she really

is upsetting her dad. She hits him, if he even looks at her wrong. Nothing

he says is ok. She even talks about killing him. It is ripping us all

apart. She does have some anger outburst with me but they are mild compared

to with her dad. I do know what she wants me to say and do most of the time

because I am an at home mom, so I spend a lot of time with her. Does anyone

else have/or has have a situation like this? Does anyone know of any good

books???? Thank you.

, mother of , AS, ADHD, Anxiety Disorder, OCD, ODD.

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I don't know if this will be helpful. Anyway, was on adderall xr

too, and I found that the " rebound effect " was horrid. As soon as the

medication wore off, his behaviors returned and were even worse for the

rest of the evening. So we are back to adderall three times a day, which

means I can give him a dose in the afternoon should he need it.

Maggie

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[Guest guest]

I don't believe that for a minute.

Sounds like a cop-out to me.

Penny

>>>>>>>>>

I tried talking to the doctor and telling him that her anger is getting out

of control and he just kept saying its all part of AS.

[Guest guest]

> I tried talking to the doctor and telling him that her anger is getting

out

> of control and he just kept saying its all part of AS.

If he sticks with this attitude, it's time for a new doctor! Our kids are

not happy when they are acting out like this and they deserve a chance at

being happy!

Sue

[Guest guest]

We had much better results with stimulant coupled with

antidepressants for my daughter as well.

> When we tried Ritalin for when he was younger, he went into

himself,

> probably what you're calling zoning out. When we tried Adderall

alone, he

> was angry, crying easily and we saw more fixation type behaviors.

We found

> out that he had to be on both types of meds at the same time,

otherwise we

> were only treating half the problem. You might ask about trying

Paxil with

> the Adderall. It might smooth her out like it did for .

> Just so you know, this wasn't a long term fix for . He

stresses so

> much from school that nothing was strong enough to calm him so that

his

> sensory system didn't go completely haywire.

>

> After trying for almost a year, we finally switched him to Zyprexa

alone,

> and he's been so much better. The aggression has stopped, his

sensory is

> primarily under control (occasional increases after school breaks)

and he

> seems much calmer. We are having some trouble with obsessing

though. Keep

> this in mind case you end up where we were. The family of drugs

that

> Zyprexa is in has been found to work for kids who don't respond

well to

> SSRI'S.

>

> Sue

[Guest guest]

> I tried talking to the doctor and telling him that her anger is

> getting out of control and he just kept saying its all part of AS. >

Well, it may be a part of AS, but it still has to be dealt with,

doesn't it? I mean, , left to his own devices, would run

around naked, slapping his chest and yelling " EEEEE!! " at the top of

his lungs...would bite, scratch, and pull hair...and would not ever

relate to anyone or anything. It's all " just a part of CDD " ...but we

still try to help him!

I don't believe there aren't answers...I just don't.

Raena