Advice needed-as always

[lovemickeya]

I am off and on the Disboards. For several years now, but I always get great advice from all of you when I am at a crossroads with my DS (8) autism.

Back story- Son is 8 (9 in Nov) is still not completely potty trained (if you have any help with this please share the secret we have tried everything) he takes NO medicines daily except the Miralax (for pottying issues). He doesnt speak much but gets his point across. He has been in the public school Autism program since he was 3 and has been in OT and Speech since he was 15 months, got diagnosis with Autism at 17 months.

Now the question that has been floating around in my mind is do I get him on some sort of medicine or do I try to "tough" it out. He has started having more "bad" days lately, and he is hitting himself, scratching, hitting others, escaping from house and Just can not sit still some days and is very angry. As he is getting older they are becoming more and more frequent. I have always been against medicating him since I do NOT want him to loose his personality, or become a "stare off into space" kid. But I am starting to think maybe he does need a little medication to help him calm and focus and be more productive. And it might even help with getting his completely potty trained (since he still Holds(poop) for a week at a time until you give him a pullup). He gets SSI so we have Traditional Medicare and no other insurance so we have not been able to get to a DAN doctor- just not $$ possible at this time.

Any advice is greatly appriecated. Do your children with Autism take daily meds?

 

[bookwormde]

Not to long ago we had a thread about potty training so you might dig back a little since there were lots of good ideas and experiences.

As for the manifestations you are describing, they usually come from frustration and anxiety. As much as it is possible at his communication level trying to find the causes of these is important.

How is his school program going, is it fun and fulfilling for him? Have you tried any of the more “fun” home-based adjunct programs like “floor time” (Stanley Greenspan). They are not broadly insurance supported yet but can be easily taught to parents so that is not much of an issues and as they are moving into clinical trials are showing significant promise both is socialization, and just general quality of life areas.

Increasing his visual input in any areas of special interest can also sometimes be helpful (however if they are very specific it can be quite a challenge to keep coming up with new “input”)

If the anxiety becomes clinically damaging sometimes medications needed on a short-term basis but is never a replacement for as robust a set of programs and supports as practical.

bookwormde

 

[christymarie]

I have a 6yo with classic autism and a 8yo with Aspergers. We have used both Clonadine (sp?) and Rispridal (sp?) at different times. I would suggest a consultation with a neuro-psychologist to evaluate if there are some med needs many times teaching hospitals will take medicaid. We have found that temporary medication helps until we are able to adapt the enviornment in such a way to diminish behaviors. Be aware that many of these meds have pretty severe side effects so weigh the pros and cons.

Good luck!!

Christy