medications?

Post Reply New Topic

My son is in the process of a diagnosis with a phyciatrist. My son is 7 yrs old almost 8 yrs. He is in public school and is having a lot of trouble with keeping his hands to himself, impulsive hitting, poking, spitting, slapping, etc. He is not generally malicious about it but just reacts and can't seem to control it at all. At home as a family we have become used to dealing with this stuff but at school it is not appropriate. The doctor mentioned possibly trying mediication. My question is have any of you had any experience with meds and what are your thoughts about it? Thanks!

When I was 6-7 I was on and off different behavioural medications. They didn't really work, in fact they made me behave more strangely.... when I was on one particular medication I deliberately wet the bed... sorry tmi I haven't been on any medication since.
I dunno how much meds have progressed in the last 10 years, just be cautious I guess, and if they make him behave like worse like I did, take him off them for good.

Be careful, very very very careful.

My son, now 12, and just now being diagnosed with Asperger's, was on Ritalin when he was 6. It reacted badly with him, moving rimming to full blown tics. It seemed to show no benift, the school was convinced, but I think if they where administering sugar pills they would have found the same result.

Eventually we had to put him on Clonodine to control the tics. He reacted badly to this too. Also, it is a very dangerous drug, and dopes them up.

ADD / ADHD and Asperger's seem to go hand in hand, some say that they co exist, therefore medicating them can help for the ADHD symptoms. However, others say that what many lable as ADHD is actually symptoms of Asperger's! I personally feel, if the route cause of your sons problems is Asperger's, and not ADHD meds won't help.

My son, had to be homeschooled for 4 years because I refused to dope him up after a year of it seemed to stunt his acedemic growth. He flunked grade 2, dispite careful monitoring and support. Sure, he kept his hands to himself, (sometimes) but that is all it did for him. Who is that benifiting, him or the school?

Now, he has returned to school, and is home right now due to stress. I have him on Strattera. That is the only drug for ADD/ ADHD that is NOT a stimulent. I think pumping stimulents into Aspies is not a good thing. It does not react at ALL like the other stimulents he is on, and seems to help calm him, reducing his anxiety. I would not say it does anything constructive for concentration or impusitivity.

Be careful, read up on the meds Don't fall into the trap of jumping from one stimulent to another, trying to find one that "works". They are all the same stuff, if one shows almost no effect, the others are not going to either.

I would recommend Strattera, (if he is old enough and large enough). Again though, don't have faith that he will magically start behaving and doing what he should. that is unrealistic. I would not double up on different meds, falling into the trap of "I take this one for this, and this one because the first drug makes me do that!" Like the Ritalin / Clonodine combo many kids are on. (one that jacks them up, the other to calm them down).

By being willing to try meds, you may find that helps you be perceieved as flexible, and willing to find solutions to help. However, the school is likely to see benifit in the meds, even if you don't, and may become beligerant if you want to him off in the future. Some parents, have even been threatened with CAS action, as though they where denying their child a drug they needed to survive like insulin!

Overall, although I give my son Strattera right now, the whole drug problem with the schools undesireable children disgusts me.

There are no easy answers.

I don't think your doctor should have suggested this as a first resort, especially without a confirmed diagnosis.
Suppressing the behaviour indefinitely with medication is not the same as managing it.

What he should have done is to encourage you to discuss the strategies you use at home with the school or to refer you/him to someone who can give you ideas on how to develop them for use at school as well.
My son's school has been very co-operative with us so I know it can work

The stimulant issue seems like a tough call for a parent to make. My behaviour at school was just as severe as your son's at that age (age 7 was the worst year of my life)! I'm 41 now, and back in my day they just attributed it to my being a spoiled only child of divorced parents. As I got older I learned to control my behavior better, but I still had a rotten temper and would get really angry with teachers and other kids when communication breakdowns occurred (which was constantly). I was initially misdiagnosed in 2005 with ADHD and they recommended I try Ritalin. It has worked amazingly well for me, right from the first dose. It gives me time to assess a communication problem and not automatically jump to a negative conclusion and snap at the other person. I also seem to have a lot less sensory sensitivity, and I can even stay calm in the grocery store. So I agree that AS does generate ADHD behaviours in lots of folks. The problem with stimulants is whether or not the patient also has significant anxiety problems. If so, stimulants will probably have a bad effect. The only way to know is to give them a try. You (and he) should be able to tell pretty much immediately if the reaction will be good or bad. I definitely feel that it's probably a waste of time to try several different stimulants - they all work the same way! But seeing the difference that Ritalin has made in my personal mental state and close relationships, I have to say it may be worth a try. Good luck.

amoseli,

I had (still have...) many of those problems when I was in school. I guess the way I dealt with it is that I had a bunch of people who made their feelings known quite well that my constant poking and hitting and being touchy-feely just wasn't going to go over well with them. They always let me know I had no other option but to stop. I don't know where or when I learned to stop. But after enough people got incredibly pissed off at me, I found the means to stop somehow.

My brother's son, who is about your son's age and who we suspect may have AS or childhood ADHD, has much 0the same problem. He's a hand's-on kid who is agressive with other children in his classroom. And he often gets frustrated and hits other kids. I'm sorry that i don't have any advice as my brother and some school counselors are still trying to find a way to curtail his son's aggressiveness.

Personally, I'm 35 and I take Adderall. My brother takes Adderall. And I assume that maybe at some point, my brother's son will be put on Adderall as well. I can't guess if Adderall is the answer that would help your son.

I told my brother that somehow he has to find a way of teaching his son when he's unknowingly doing something that is wrong. When his son is lashing out, he has to find of way of making his son realize the warning signs of when he's becoming hyperactive and becoming frustrated. Because I think the root of my brother's son's problems is venting when he becomes frustrated.

I don't know if this helps...

Oh, thanks so much for all the replies! This is great, just what I needed. It seems that what I am hearing is that meds do seem to help some people with some things and that I will need to be very attentive to my son's reaction, which of course I plan to do. I have a strong feeling that I myself deal with ADHD and have been trying to decide if I should try some meds myself. My husband seems to have quite a few Asperger's traits and he has been considering getting on something for depression which he seems to have dealt with off and on for years. What an interesting road this has been.

I was on ADD meds...30mg of AdderallXR....made me a mess...made me all the more incabale of handling stress. My meltdowns became more intense...sucked.

Yes, I have a lot more experience with meds than I'd like. I've been on Paxil, Trazodone, Lithium, Wellbutrin, and Ritalin. I'm also in the education industry, and I hear lots of stories from teachers about kids who are and aren't on meds for various different conditions and disorders.

My strong advice to you is to skip the meds if at all possible. If you absolutely *must* give him something, keep the dose very very low!! Do NOT let anyone pressure you into doping him up.

Only ever consider behavior medications as a very last resort.

Make sure you and your sons school has tried absoulitly everything before even considering using these things.