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Is Medication Inevitable For Kids On The Spectrum?
A MyAutismTeam Member asked a question 💭

My 5 year old was diagnosed almost a year ago and I guess I've been in unrealized denial, meaning i thought i had accepted it because I've told people. but I think I was just defending his behavior(or my parenting?) we haven't seen any doctors, or specialists since the diagnois in Iowa City(which I reacted very poorly at, I yelled at the psychatrist when she said my son fell into the range of mental retardation, cussed and yelled cried and ended the appt immediately and left)but I don't know… read more

posted August 2, 2012
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A MyAutismTeam Member

Please don't despair! Now is the time for action and just getting started will make you feel so much more hopeful. Talk to your doctor and your school department. See what resources are available in your area and talk to folks at one and all of the autism groups in your area. They are a great resource and will point you in the right direction. There are so many things and they are not as intrusive as you may think. There is occupational therapy and physical therapy and speech therapy. There is home based therapy or the PASS program. Both offer trained personnel who will come into your home for an agreed upon amount of time dependent on your needs. This offers your child intensive therapies. The more we give them the better they respond and advance. These programs also give you a bit of a breather which you well need. Parenting on the spectrum offers no break. Now see if your doctor thinks that vitamins will work for your 5 year old. My grandson has been taking Kirkman Lab's Super Nuthera. It comes in dissolvable powder, liquid, capsules or caplets. They come with or without Vitamins A and D. I get them without the A and D and give him cod liver oil capsules with the Supernuthera. Also use DMG with folic acid and vitamin B12 as well as magnesium. This combination seems to work well for my grandson. It has helped with meltdowns, coping with stressors and mood equilibrium. Now let me let you know what he was and is like. We were told that he was not very bright and would not be able to do much of anything. Well, we started the vitamins and the home based therapeutics after which we transitioned to the PASS program. He got speech, ot and One on one aide in school. He went from a non verbal three year old with frustrations, melt downs, inability to attend, etc to an articulate 15 year old with a vocabularly in the 98th percentile on standard tests, he is on the honor roll in high school in almost all included classrooms. He took karate lessons, now takes guitar lessons and takes part in high school drama program. He had a significant part in his first play and is now going to be in a musical. So do not give up. Also get ready for a ride. We never allowed him to sit in front of the tv alone. If he watched, we watched together and talked about the show and how it could relate to his world. we took him out every day-somewhere... to watch planes take off and land at the airport to watching fish in the tanks at the fish store. We went to every free community program, at the schools, the churches, the libraries. You will be exhausted but you will all be rewarded. Good luck. Sorry I talked so much

posted March 9, 2013
A MyAutismTeam Member

Hello
Your son is very young and it scares me to think of meds for a child this young. I have a 7yo on the spectrum and have worked inthe filed for 25 years. Have seen meds work, and have seen them damage.
My first advice is, do not try meds until you try other things. And get a second opinion whenever you can. Many professionals believe only 10%of those on the spectrum actually have an intellectual disability...most just have other issues getting in the way of learning; sensory, communication etc. once taught corectly and given the avenue to communicate, an intelligent person is found inside.

Before meds, I have seen huge success with the GF CF diet, and adding vitamins high in fish oil, B, and magnesium. If these do not work you can have a peptide test done to determine what specific vitmins are low. With people on the spectrum it is believed that if the are one point below what is recommened in the range they need to take vitmamins. I am not just preaching about this...if my son misses his viamin/suppliment for two days he begins to have increased behaviors and struggles. While on them he is able to handle so much more, including school where he has completed kidnergarten but has already mastered some mid year 1st grade skills.
I wish you the best - but do not accept less from your chid than is really there and do not allow others to either. This will be a struggle for you all, but you will also find joy in the journey.

posted August 5, 2012
A MyAutismTeam Member

There are less invasive treatments that treat the source of the problem rather than covering the symptoms. Drugs change brain chemistry and in many cases, long-term use can be dangerous. We had very bad results from drugs.

The heavy-hitters for my son have been neurotherapy and Applied Behavior Analysis. My son has also benefitted from speech therapy, occupational therapy, massage therapy, cranio-sacral therapy, vitamins and supplements, and RDI. I personally know several children that greatly benefitted from GFCF diets but my son did not.

Yes this is all hard work. If my son was newly diagnosed, I would start by finding a DAN! (Defeat Autism Now!) doctor and a naturopath.... and follow their recommendations. Later I would find someone that does neurotherapy. And later I would add RDI or ABA. But ask a dozen parents and you'll get a dozen different answers.

posted August 2, 2012
A MyAutismTeam Member

My son is almost 12 now and when he was your child's age, I was at the same point as you are. The best thing I did was medicate MYSELF! I realized that I needed help handling my emotions during this difficult time and so I went to my doctor who confirmed my decision to get on an anti-depressant. It really, really helped me to look at life with a more positive outlook and to not get bogged down in the grief that I was experiencing. I also am a much better mom when I am on anti-depressants. I also recommend the book "More Than A Mom: Living a Full and Balanced Life when your Child has Special Needs" by Amy Baskin and Heather Fawcett. It walks you through every step of the process to finding help for your child and yourself. My son had a few years that were very intense with behaviors that I really struggled with. Now he is doing great and so far has not been on any medications for anxiety or behaviors. When and if the time comes for meds, we will of course do what is best for him. For me, I would rather keep that as a last resort and try other options first, but that is different for every situation I think. Hang in there and good luck!

posted February 5, 2013
A MyAutismTeam Member

For my son, I am willing to try everything before I put him on medication, and if you work hard enough, get him in a very specific routine (they usually tend to be easier to deal with if their days are predictable to them), get therapy (speech, ABA, occupational, music therapy, etc...)whatever shows some kind of positive results... Read as much as you possibly can about everything you can about his diagnosis, and talk to your doctors and see about getting referrals. We're even going to be starting the GFCF diet for Ayden starting next week to see if that will help him. But for me, I just want to avoid the medications if possible, since they just suppress any behaviours, and i can't help but feel like i'm not actually fixing anything, i'm just controlling it with pills.

posted August 10, 2012

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