You do what's right for your child, whether it be diet or medication or therapy or whatever works and makes things in your child's life better.

We tried diet and he regressed. For us, therapy works to an extent and we just have to be kind of strict with him on certain things, which probably seems mean to some people, but they aren't living our lives every day, they only see moments of it. It's a trial and error for every child, because what works for my child may not work for any other child, but it doesn't mean it's wrong. We make suggestions and vent to help each other realize we aren't alone out there!

i respectfully disagree CrimsonWife. And i do mean respectfully because i appreciate your honest opinion. I do agree that MDs just throw meds at people and i think a lot of parents want their kids medicated just so that they don't have to deal with them. However, sometimes waiting to try meds as a last resort makes it too late. I think we each need to judge our situation in an educated manner and make the best decision for that situation. For example, meds were my first choice when my son started threatening suicide and cutting himself because i couldn't risk taking the time to try changing his diet, etc. But for his anxiety, meds were put off for a year while we tried therapy, behavior changes, etc.

I'm totally with you. I just started meds for one of my asd twins and depending on how he does in school, I don't rule them out for the other one. My kids did two years of intensive behavioral therapy but attention regulation was still such a problem that having a back and forth conversation was out of the question. They're currently in a special needs reverse inclusion pre-k but next year in kindergarten he wouldn't be able to function in any meaningful way.
Now that he's on the new liquid Ritalin I feel like I'm meeting the real him for the first time. I can talk to him and get actual information, not just perseverative language. He is able to sit more or less quietly and participate in class on a level he never could before.
I think people who think that meds are last resort are woefully uneducated on the subject of how they actually work. If you are deficient in neurotransmitters then you take a medication to increase them (like Ritalin or adderall) just in the same way that if you're deficient in insulin, you take meds to address it. It's not different.
Whoops I guess I needed a rant too...

Pharmaceuticals have an important place in treating ASD, it's just that many MD's overuse them. The proper nutritional support can make SUCH a difference for our kids, and may reduce the symptoms to the point where a lower dosage of the medication can be used or possibly no meds at all. I don't judge parents for choosing medication, but I do think they should be an option of last resort rather than the first thing tried.

Dont Listen to Nay-Sayers! They dont have to go through what you do or what your child does. I explain it like this to these twits.. Imagine your on Merry-go-round, loud music, lauging, talking. Imagine that happeing in your head 24hrs at time. Meds back it up so they can think and feel. We're responsible to keep a firm grasp on their medical needs and we're responsible to give them the happinest we can. Good for you!