Medication for Asperger's kids??

[JESW]

I remember seeing several people posting about their aspies and I was wondering what, if any, nedication your child is on.

DS11 has been on 5 mg Abilify for almost 2 years. He has grown in size and weight in those two years and we have not increased the dose. He has also been receiving bio-feedback on an (almost) weekly basis.

The problem is is that he still has the rages, tho not to the same extent as pre-meds. He gets frustrated easily, has low self-esteem and also shows signs of depression. He does ok in school with a lot of help from an understanding teacher and a behavioralist who is very good with him. And according to his IEP, he gets pulled out of some classes for help. I also have him with a tutor an hour a week for math. But I still get phone calls and e-mails from the school when he has bad days - a bad day means he won't do his work, can bang his head on his desk, etc.

We are at the point where we are not sure what to do. Do we increase his meds? Do we change meds? And what about the depression? I have heard so many scary things about young kids on anti-depression meds. (I also have a DH who suffers from depression and meds were a NIGHTMARE for him and he tried several. He is hoping to start the bio-feedback route soon. He also takes omega-3.)

Life can be extremely stressful in our house when he is around. He will go out of his way to start something with DD7. I know "normal" kids do things like that, but he can be right-out nasty! He can also be a very sweet boy and it is hard to see him when he is out of control. He is now 5'4" (I'm 5'7") and 130 lbs. (I'm not saying my weight!) so it is getting harder to control him when he is in a rage. I try real hard to keep him distracted as when DH is down he cannot tolerate the behavior at all.

We are at a standstill. I have even been investigating acupuncture as another resource. (I have read several favorable reports about acupuncture helping depression) I am not totally against meds, but wish we could go a more natural route that wouldn't mess with his body. (He has put on just under 60 lbs since starting the abilify)

Well, didn't mean this to turn into a novel. Any suggestions or thoughts??

Jill

 

[challada]

While I don't have an Asperger's in my house, I do work w/these kids daily.

Here's my two cents:

There is a HIGH co-morbidity of Asp & Depression (kids w/both). Don't discount the possibility of BOTH occuring in your son.

Even a "normal" child would need regular meds check ups more than every two years. During this time of life, their little bodies are changing so much that you really need a physician on top of this. I'm guessing you are right in questioning if the dosage is correct if it's the same as two years ago.

Do you have respit care thru your state? Disabled children qualify for a variety of services, one of which is respit in which the child is cared for by a qualified person while families get a break. Even a few hours break can really help clear the air and get thing in order.

Best of luck! I totally admire every parent in this situation! As the poem says "Holland is beautiful too"!
Chris

 

[Jpgirl]

My ds is 19 dx'ed Bipolar, ADD and PDD. There are differences in opinion among our Doc's whether he's Asperger's or not. I think he is based on being friends with some mom's with special needs kids. Anyway the label doesn't matter to me as the behavoir is the same. We still mess with meds. Right now he's on Adderall, Seroquel and Depakote. The Seraquel and Depakote went a loooonnnng way to reduce the frequency of the rages and somewhat the intensity. I've heard of Abilify and have wondered whether we should try it next. Ds behavoir is improved but could be better but quite frankly I'm afraid to take away the meds and try something new for fear it'll trigger an all out episode that could last for days. I find that finding a support group in your area could help too. My friend has had great success with a home trainer and his ds rarely exhibits behavoir problems now. Of course they started when he was very young-while I was still trying to get my ds dx'ed. . My prayers are with you-raising these kids is very difficult. I am happy to say that my ds does hold a job and we're hoping that we can get him into a supervised living situation with the hopes that he'll be independent some day.

 

[JESW]

challada - my DS sees his psychiatrist once a month to monitor his medication - it has been DH & I who have been against upping the dosage.

Jill

 

[challada]

Sorry, Jill, must have misread it the first time.

Don't want to offend...just remember that asperger's children's heads are wired totally different than "average" heads. Taking that into account, their responses to meds can be totally different than what the meds say they might do...hence why it is a hit or miss trial thing w/these kids even more than the average child psyc person. It is not wrong to attempt things and then move to something else.

I hope it all works out for you. I know it is a long road and I admire you!

 

[Forevryoung]

I'm not a mom but a "medicated kid"

I would rather raise my meds then stay feeling like crap. Depression can lead to rages and other intense feelings because your brain gets so tired of feeling down. I hurt myself when I feel bad enough just so I feel something other than emotional pain- doesn't make sense but it's the way I used to cope with things.

While I dont advocate medicating a child at every sign of negative feelings or behaviors I dont think that anyone should suffer.

If your child was in pain would you withhold tylenol? I am sure you wouldn't. Please increase the abilify or let the psychiatrist try a new medication (doesnt have to be an antidepressant to work!).

I've been on a ton of psych meds and some of them are horrible but many of them have allowed me to live and love life.

 

[xina]

I beg any of you to please PLEASE listen to your child. Please don't ignore his or her emotional symptoms. I know someone who is using abilify to treat aspergers and he is a young intelligent child, and Abilify has caused him to feel suicidal thoughts, shaky in his upper body, says it causes his emotional anger to double, and it depresses him. He has been on it for a while and he says it is the worst medication he has ever taken. Before, he was on other ones. Of course, everyone thinks that he is making it up and feeling sorry for himself, but I am his older cousin and I believe him. It is much easier to just think that everything is going to be okay and that he is just making it up, but listen to your child. Get him off the medication and try another approach.

 

[xina]

Get him off the abilify medication IF he communicates these bad signs. Please be aware and give your child the benefit of the doubt.