Is Medication Use in Autistic Children Increasing?
March 26, 2008 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Health, Medicine
A study in the March 2008 volume of Pediatrics on psychotropic medication use among Medicaid-enrolled children with autism spectrum disorders noted that there is “ongoing debate” about the uses of psychotropic medications. Only Risperidone, an atypical neuroleptic, has received FDA approval to treat autistic children for aggression and irritability. The AAP study also noted that “medication use is common among children with ASDs and seems to be increasing.” The study sample included 60,641 children under the age of 21 with an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis or an Asperger syndrome diagnosis.
Most of the children in the study were 6-11 years old (45%); most were male (78%) and white (50%); and most were eligible for Medicaid because of disability (71%).
Of these children, 56% used at least 1 medication during 2001; among those who received any medication, 20% used 3 concurrently. The most commonly used medications were neuroleptic drugs (31%), then antidepressants (25%), stimulants (22%), mood stabilizers (21%), anxiolytic drugs (12%), and sedatives (3%).
While older children were more likely to take medications than younger children, it was noted that “use was quite common” in children aged 0 to 2 years (18%) and 3 to 5 years (32%). And,
Among 0- to 2-year-olds, sedatives were most common; among 3- to 5- and 6- to 11-year-olds, both neuroleptic drugs and stimulants were most common; and in the oldest 2 age groups, neuroleptic drugs were most common.
The researchers acknowledge certain limitations to their finds, due to the children all being enrolled in Medicaid:
Use among the Medicaid population may be higher than in the general ASD population because Medicaid typically has less restrictive formulary and copayments than private insurance. Also, Medicaid-eligible children may be more severely affected than the general population of children with ASDs; that 70% of children in this study qualified for Medicaid because of their disability provides some evidence of this.
As I have noted before, my son has been taking both Risperdal (Risperidone> and Zoloft (Sertraline) for a few years, to help him with aggressive and self-injurious behavior and anxiety. We tried Ritalin for a very few days; it did increase Charlie’s ability to focus, but it also made him haunted and nervous and completely suppressed his appetite. We have tried very hard to keep the dosages as low as possible and have only used these medications in combination with educational therapies. Prior to Charlie taking Risperdal and Zoloft, we tried giving him various nutritional supplements, whose effects were temporary at best in helping him with his most difficult behaviors. I consider the medications another tool to help Charlie, and one that we have to monitor very carefully, due to Charlie’s limited language and speech.
More than a few people have raised questions about the long-term effects of these medications on children and on giving a child more than one medication. I was surprised to see how many young children—-aged 0-2—are given some type of psychotropic medication. The researchers single out the “high levels of use of many different psychotropic agents, often in combination” as a concern, especially in these being given to young children “in whom the effects of these medications on development have not been well studied.” They also note a need for more studies in the use of sedatives for young children, and about the use of psychotropic medications in combination for children with autism. I would also appreciate studies about the long-term use of these medications in children—debate on this issue will indeed be going on for more than a little while.
Jeff Stimpson
Jill Cornfield
“Where is the Scientific Evidence to Justify Exposing Children to the Risks of Antidepressant Drugs?
“ALLIANCE FOR HUMAN RESEARCH PROTECTION (AHRP)
“Comments by Vera Hassner Sharav
President, The Alliance for Human Research Protection
“Submitted to: FDA Advisory Committee Psychopharmacological Drugs Advisory Committee and Pediatric Subcommittee of the Anti-Infective Drugs Advisory Committee February 2, 2004 Meeting RE: Suicidality Associated with Antidepressant Drug Treatment
“These comments, submitted by the Alliance for Human Research Protection, will focus on documented evidence showing that published reports about pediatric antidepressant drug trials are not consistent with the unpublished data. We question the FDA’s failure to exercise its authority to warn physicians and the public about negative trial results and the potential for severe risks of harm, including drug-induced suicidal behavior…”
Full text:
http://www.ahrp.org/risks/SSRI0204/AHRP.php
“[T]he Keller Paxil study” is a passing reference to the ill-fated Paxil Study 329, “co-authored” by Koplewicz, et al, which, in addition to concealing negative findings (two- to three-fold increase in suicidality, among other very serious side-effects) and inflating the marginally positive (just slightly more effective than tri-cyclics, which themselves fared no better than placebo), like many such “studies,” was ultimately found to have been ghostwritten by science writers hired directly by the very manufacturer of the drug in question.
And yet, despite the study having been exposed as a fraud, and even despite the UK banning of paroxetine for children, and adding to the pile similar findings for the entire class of SSRI antidepressants, nevertheless, our dear old friend Dr. Harold S.Koplewicz in particular continues to insist that these drugs are “safe and effective” for children.
I’m really itching to
shredread his book.My ASD son takes no medications (well, prescriptions anyway). He takes benefiber tablets at will (he asks for them when he needs them, believe it or not - he calls them his orange vitamin), he takes melatonin sometimes when he has trouble sleeping. He takes children’s vitamins - gummies, because he won’t chew the others. This regimen has completely eliminated the need for miralax, formerly a prescription but now over the counter. He’s spectacularly well-managed at this point, but I don’t particularly take that for granted.
My older son’s diagnosis is ADD, but he’s got definite aspergerian symptoms (low tone, sensory issues, perseverent interests, blind to social cues, etc.). He’s recently begun to show serious signs of an anxiety disorder, as well. He has some OCD features, and has developed an amazing range of verbal and motor tics. He is on a very low dose of focalin and straterra, combined. I’m not sure about the straterra, it has its good points and bad points. But I was afraid to try some of the other options that the shrink proposed (risperdal among them). He really cannot function in a school environment without something for attention - we’ve tried. Our experience with Ritalin and Adderal were identical to yours - haunted, anxious, and emaciated were the hallmarks of the very brief time we tried those two drugs.
I worry continually about having ADD boy on drugs. But he’s TORTURED by the anxiety if he isn’t on something, and cannot be taught if he isn’t on something. I don’t mean that his teachers lack the will, or that they haven’t accommodated him: he cannot learn. He talks, hums, shouts, or otherwise makes noise verbally incessantly if he isn’t medicated - meaning no one else in a room with him learns. In the special ed classroom, he severely disrupted the other kids when sent there so he could focus to complete an assignment!! (they have carrels there where he could block out seeing thing, and hopefully therefore get some work done).
I struggle with the meds, and kept him off as long as possible (he’s 7). We are scheduled for a detailed reevaluation for him with neurologists to try and pin down what we might do to tweak his chemistry a little for his benefit. But some of those drugs frighten me, frankly. Tardive dyskinesis scares me: I know people who suffer with it, and it can be quite disabling. I am not sure what we’ll do going forward, but drugs are definitely, at present, a tool that we must use. I just keep weighing the pros and cons, as I’m sure that you do.
Patrick isn’t on any meds but I’m not against them in some cases. I definately think they’re overused though. And I would have to question the use of these drugs in children under the age of 2. I was quite surprised about that statistic.
I remember 6 years ago when my son was 2 1/2 and the neurologist offered Ritalin for his lack of focus and hyperactivity. I asked if it was proven for autism and he said, “No, it’s experimental”. He then said it would really be for me, to relax. (based on the idea that my son was running me ragged, if I dope him up, I will have it easier)
I had heard about “miraculous recoveries” with Ritalin and then when I asked about them later, it was quietly said that the beneficial effects disappeared after 6 weeks.
I know I’ve read a lot of accounts coming from parents that they drug their kids because it’s too much for them.
We were pressured a lot while my son was in preschool to drug him. Then it was that blood pressure med that acts as an anti-anxiety med. Teachers, counselors, we were told that my son wouldn’t learn anything if we didn’t “help” him calm down. We refused and he’s doing really well in 2nd grade. He needs social skills help, structure and tolerance. That’s what keeps him calm.
Charlie’s teachers have not had much to say about the meds—-we made the decision to start him on then (in consultation with the pediatric neurologist). Mostly his teachers ask if he’s on the same dosage. He was 6 when we started to consider meds and I struggled a lot with the decisions—-reading what Temple Grandin and other autistic adults had to say on this and talking to other parents helped significantly.
“Structure and tolerance” go a long, long way towards helping Charlie, most of all.
My daughter takes risperidone and clonadine. I’m not sure how well they control her behaviors as these drugs do not entirely prevent aggression, but lessen the frequency and the intensity of aggressive incidents. Still I wonder how much to attribute to the drugs and how much to attribute to her natural growth.
One thing for certain is that they help her get to sleep. We give it to her only at bedtime.
We do on occasion with her psychiatrists permission lessen her dosage. Sometimes she does well and at others she becomes much more hyperactive.
We’ve seen a number of psychiatrists the changes either being forced by a change in insurance, or because we didn’t think the doctor was that interested in having a partnership with us in deciding our daughter’s care.
It is surprising the the different medicines and does that have been prescribed for her by different psychiatrists. Each one was working from their experience at what seemed most successful. I thought at times that I might as well be taking her to a DAN doctor as they claim their efforts are based on their experience as well.
Currently, behaviorally my daughter is doing quite well. She still has attacks, such as last Saturday when she kicked me so hard, while I was driving that the car swerved. But those times are now rare in comparison to her generally cheerful disposition. I am loath to make any any changes. Well actually on quite a few nights now she isn’t sleeping so we need to see what can be done about that.
I’m most parents are looking for the minimum dose possible to give to their children. Most wish that they wouldn’t need to medicate at all, but we do. Indeed my daughter seems to be able to function without sleep, but my wife and I cannot.
So yes, in this case part of giving her medicine is for us, but in great measure it is for her.
@mayfly, interesting that you give the risperidone at bedtime—we’ve been directed to give Charlie this medication in the morning so that it can help him throughout the. Unfortunately, giving it to him in the morning also seems to make him sleep at school sometimes.
our neuro has talked about clonidine if melatonin did not work for Charlie and it seems to.
I don’t know much about medication, but another aspie youth told me that she had a really bad experience with risperidone which she was on for a year. She might have been put on it because she has been aggressive and self-injurious, but according to her it made her unable to be aware of the things happening around her.
We, too, struggled with the decision and finally decided to try something for the anxiety my then 10-11 year old Asperger’s son was feeling. Unfortunately, no medication worked. It either flipped out, made him gain weight or both. Now almost 18, he wanted to see if there was something else that might help with the anxiety. Interestingly, although the doc prescribed something, my son decided not to take it. He says as long as he’s running and has someone to talk to, he doesn’t need it. I’m glad for him, but sad for the all the years he’s had to endure the anxiety. I believe that medication is yet another tool, not a cureall (no pun intended) and it’s always about taking a multimodal approach, subject to change, of course, at a moment’s notice. Thanks, Kristina, for such great thoughts and for letting us all share.
Hello Kristina, just some food for thought. I think it is healthy to be conservative with medications (both natural and re-packaged), understand the possible side effects, and make decisions after properly balancing benefits (for the child) vs. risks, but I think often the distrust for medications keeps people from rationally looking at this issue. The debate about medicating children, especially in regards to psychiatric medications, often reminds me of something that has always fascinated me: the general phobia and distrust of pharmaceutical drugs, yet a complete, sometimes blind, acceptance of other substances as harmless. For example I remember doing therapy with a patient who refused to take Ambien to help with his sleep difficulties because he thought medicines were bad for you, yet the sleep difficulties were partly due to how much cocaine he was doing! I know this is unpopular, but the same can sometimes be said of people who would gladly go to the local nutritional store to buy pills of roots, herbs, and other ‘natural’ ingredients, most of which are completely untested, yet refuse to take medication because “we don’t know what are the long term effects of these drugs.” I think often this is due to the general idea that anything that is “natural” is good for you, when most often the difference between ‘natural’ and ‘pharmaceutical’ is that the ‘natural’ has not yet been re-labeled, re-packaged, and marked up by Bristol-Myers. :-). Nestor.
@Carole,
You noted of your son:
“He says as long as he’s running and has someone to talk to, he doesn’t need it”
Charlie and definitely my husband both often seem better when they are in motion (whereas I can sit in the same spot for hours on end, and in a small space). Hence our numerous walks especially in the city. Thanks for your thanks! knowing about what you’ve tried and about your son’s experiences helps a lot!
We started fluvoxamine (Luvox) for our 9 year old two years ago to manage his severe anxiety problems. We were fortunate that it worked very, very well and have never had to try anything else. We didn’t expect it, but when his anxiety decreased his stimming and self-mutilation (picking at skin until he bled) also decreased.
Our guy has had an upswing in anxiety recently (actually, he’s telling me more about his anxiety more, which might actually have more to do with better communication skills, but in any case, there’s some anxiety). After reading this thread, it has occurred to me that a cardiovascular exercise regimen might help — it’s always helped me to deal with my anxiety.
Amigo has been on an anti-anxiety and anti-depressant for three years now. It helps minimize his anxiety and his tics as well.
Ironically the subject of medication was raised in a public forum last night. I had the privilege to hear Dr. Andres Martin, Director of Medical Studies Yale Child Study Center. Dr. Martin is a psychopharmacologist and editor of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. He addressed the topic of medicating children and adolescents, including the black box warning on antidepressants.
What I learned is interesting, in that most of these drugs are labeled “not recommended for use with children”. However, research indicated that the combination of medication and psychotherapy or cognitive behavioral therapy proved to be successful in diminishing certain behaviors in children. The message is clear. Parents need to have a responsible and trusting relationship with their doctors and trouble shoot as to the risk-benefit involved in medication.
We decided to use medication during the tribulations connected with our son’s puberty. Prior to that event, doctors warned that medication should only be considered when the behaviors interfered with daily living. Ultimately his obsessions were significant enough that we decided to try it. He was treated at Yale Child Study, where their investigation with Risperidone proved to be successful with a group of patients. Their paper in the New England Journal of Medicine demonstrated positive results. https://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/347/5/314
Unfortunately, Risperidone was not helpful for us, consequently we departed the long list of pharmaceuticals and as puberty reached its finale, we chose not to medicate fo 4 years. (Sadly we found that for every action there are sometimes reactions and we spent a lot of time adding meds to counteract side effects of other meds. It was a mess.)
Two years ago we revisited meds as someone described Abilify as a drug that ‘takes the edge off”. To date, our son takes the lowest dosage and his anxiety remains low.
@VAB,
Glad you mentioned this—”cardiovascular exercise regimen”—-am thinking this will help Charlie with sleep, too.
Interesting that anxiety came up so much in this thread. The neuro originally prescribed Zoloft for Charlie after we had noted that nervousness/anxiety had often seemed to precede behavior “outbursts.”
Last year I attended a conference which displayed a poster describing the number of autistic students (ages 4-10) at a school who were taking psychotropic, anti-anxiety or other prescription medication for a behavioral manifestation.
The size of the sample was 54. 90% of the students were on some kind of med. 70% were on Respiridal. >50% (although I don’t recall the exact %) were on 4 concurrent medications.
Somehow those figures were very striking to me.
I don’t know what I feel about medications. I guess that I have a parsimonious view of trying behavioral interventions first and then looking at meds as an adjunct when the behavioral intervention alone is insufficient for management.
Our personal experience is mixed. Eleanor has not been on any medications but with adolescence coming on fast I see some indicators that we might need to adjust what we do and study of meds as a possibility is included.
My other daughter went through trials with ADHD meds, which did not result in what was hoped for, but instead to a slippery slope from which she has not yet climbed out of. (In some response to Nestor’s comment about trusting the pros–We did 3X and it is hard to continue to place that trust after 3 serial disasters, but I know what he means. FWIW, that did not send me flying to the health-food store, and we don’t seem to have issues with other prescription drugs that do work as posited. Just that I wonder if there is something in our wiring that requires careful titration of these meds (I also have paradoxical reactions with psych meds)).
Just something that I believe has been posted by Kristina, which might give some background on the thought of giving really young kids these meds and the thought behind that.
Frontline video (53 minutes)
“Medicating Kids”
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/medicating/watch/
and a recent news item that might be related.
Drugs Offer No Benefit in Curbing Aggression, Study Finds
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/04/health/04aggression.html
Editorial: Antipsychotic drugs for aggression in intellectual disability.
Johnny L Matson, Jonathan Wilkins
The Lancet - Vol. 371, Issue 9606, 5 January 2008, Pages 9-10. Free text with registration.
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS014067360860046X/fulltext
I understand the reluctance to try medication. Three seperate (unrelated) professionals recommended it before I tried it (Nicholas has both AS and ADHD.) It made a HUGE difference for him and I am glad that I did.
A lot of people refer to it is “doping” up your kids and it is implied that parents and teachers are just too lazy to come up with better alternatives. If these people could see my son off and then on his medication they would see that the medication actually “sobers” him up. It erases the background static so that he can think and communicate clearly. Off of his medication, he actually appears to be “doped”.
I will say that he was a few weeks shy of 6 when we tried it. I don’t think I would have tried it much younger than that.
Just more background info
Posey, D.J., Stigler, K.A., Erickson, C.A, & McDougle, C.J. (2008). Antipsychotics in the treatment of autism. J. Clin. Invest., 118, 6-14
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=2171144
Just an excerpt on very young kids compared to other studies reviewed
“Risperidone is occasionally needed in very young children due to the severity of the irritability and agitation, which can be extreme (68). Nagaraj et al. (69) recently published a study that included children as young as 2 years using doses of 1 mg/d. In this study of 40 children (aged 2–9 years), risperidone was highly efficacious as measured by ratings on the CARS and the Children’s Global Assessment Scale. Luby et al. (70) also found some evidence for efficacy in a study of 24 children under the age of 6 years. However, these investigators found risperidone (dose range, 0.5–1.5 mg/d) only minimally efficacious compared with placebo at 6 months, possibly owing to group differences at baseline or sample size. In this latter study, high degrees of irritability were not required for study entry. This too may have limited observed improvement…”
I have a 7 1/2 year old son who was recently diagnosed with ADD (inattentive subtype), in addition to having an “Asperger’s-like” profile. He has never been formally diagnosed with Asperger’s, but it has been noted by many testers and psychologists that he has many “Asperger’s-like qualities”, even if quantitatively he doesn’t quite meet the criteria. These do interfere with his social skills, and he has trouble making and keeping friends. One doctor has recently proposed that these social problems are simply secondary to ADD, but I’m skeptical (and I think his current developmental pediatrician thinks he has more than just ADD, as well.) We’ve been trying stimulant meds on him. Metadate CD seemed to have no effect whatever (except on his appetite). He’s now trying Vyvanse, and I’ve noticed an increase in anxiety and obsessive behaviors. As well as the appetite reduction, and he’s a beanstalk as it is… the jury is still out as to whether it’s having any beneficial effect on his forgetfulness and difficulty paying attention. Anyone out there with similar experience?
Chana,
We have learned that for every action there are often reactions that are counterproductive. Our venture into medication was with the intention to erradicate obsessions (anxious thoughts) that got in the way with our son’s daily life. We started small with zoloft, then luvox, paxil, all referred to as less ‘dirty’ drugs. Ulimately we tried anafranil and that is when it got muddy (my term for mess). He became agressive and less tolerant, and we were not sure if it was the drug or puberty or what. Consequently we added risperidone into the mix, and seroquel.
I interviewed with a school that dealt with behavioral kids and the director asked me if he took meds. I replied that he was on anafranil and her response was, doesn’t he get aggressive on that drug? This was the first time anyone had ever mentioned that notion.
A camp nurse suggested that we take him off everything (age 14) and he stayed off for 4 years. His behaviors improved, and was easier in many ways.
The obsessions were there, but not as pervasive. We decided to try abilify, simply to take the edge off. That is where we stand at age 20. It seems to work, but we would like to try him off it at some time.
Hope this helps.
xR
@Chana
My son is diagnosed with both Asperger’s and ADHD. There are different medications and they can affect each child differently.
For my son, Focalin (short-acting, taken 2x per day) works wonders without creating any new problems. We had tried Ritalin which worked less well in small doses and gave him stomach aches in higher doses. Adderall was great for his attention but caused him to become irritable and agitated. After a few tantrums and aggressive incidents (including one where he screamed “I hate you” at his favorite teacher), we stopped the Adderall and tried Focalin. In know one child who does well on Adderall and I know another child who can not handle stimulants at all so each child is different. Talk to your doctor about trying something different if you feel that you do not like the side effects of the medication your son is on. You are the best judge of how he is tolerating it.
Good luck
Has anyone had their children on Abilify? My son was first put on resperdal, I didn’t like the side effects with resperdal my doctor prescribed Abilify. I don’t see alot of info about this medication on children. My son was diagnosed with PDD and has OCD, severe anxiety, gets very angry and frustrated. Please let me know if anyone has any good or bad effects from abilify?
Hi, ANY input or opinion is greatly appreciated. My daughter is 2 1/2 she is autistic and I have a 9 month old son. She has always has her outbursts, but now they are getting violent towards her brother. She has tried to bite the top of his head and I have seen her try to force her thumbs into his eyes. She kicks and hits items to hurt herself and pulls out her hair. She has no communication at all. I want to ask for help, medication. What should I do, please help.
@Jackie,
Hang in—-what kind of educational or other therapies is your daughter doing? Is she seeking attention, as far as the behaviors towards her brother? Medication an individual choice of course—-my son seemed so young when he started it, and he was a few years older than your daughter. What have others suggested you do? You can also email me at autismvox [at] gmail [dot] com——
Thanks Kristina, I appreciate the response. Lily (daughter) isn’t getting much help. She has therapy twice a week, but she doesn’t pay attention long enough to benifit from it. She is hurting him and herself when she is upset that something isn’t being done she wants done; TV changed, certain food given, or something I can’t even figure out. My son shows no signs of autism as of yet, and he tries so hard to go to her during her episodes, he wants to help, which in turn makes her lash out on him. I fear for his safety, I am a stay at home mom, but I can’t possibly watch her every second. It is scary. It is so hard with her, I am just trying to go day by day, but it seems to be getting worse. Medication is an option, but not if it can hurt her. I just want everyone to be okay… never going to happen is it?
This sounds a lot like me when something is draining me so much, that I don’t have any functioning left NOT to fly off the walls (meltdown) when something little goes wrong (or not as planned). Though I don’t hurt other people now, I probably would have when I was younger.
I don’t know if there is something that is extremely stressful for her going on right now, or something bad in any other way? Or even something good that might just be too much to handle. For example: I had a new job for the past few months, that I liked, but it took every single bit of me that I had to give, so at home I was a disaster. When that ended, everything slowly turned back to a lot more pleasant.
Of course, she might not be anything like me and there might be something different going on, but at least it might be an area to explore if you haven’t already?
Given that my son is 21, I dallied with the prospect of medication for years, as previously shared here. Initially the search for something to help with obsessive behavior was a bust. I wrote about it.
http://www.revolutionhealth.com/blogs/resilientmom/obsessive-compulsions-4764
A few years later, we had to try something, and it was a slippery slope.
http://www.revolutionhealth.com/blogs/resilientmom/suicide-death-of-burt-5829
Now, Abilify seems to be the drug of choice for us, but I sometimes want to wean him from it to see if there is a difference.
Hope this helps.
xRobin
@Jackie,
That’s a lot plus—-and then some—what kind of therapy is she receiving, Early Intervention? Does she show aggression with the therapists or you? What efforts are being made to teach her to communicate?
We started my son in an Applied Behavior Analysis program when he was just over 2 years old and have, ever after, been in contact with some kind of behaviorist, or psychologist, and have been able to address these behaviors. Difficulties in communicating have often been one reason for my son’s frustrations and behaviors—-is there any mention of PECS or sign language for your daughter?
Hang in, really, days can be really really long but there is a light.
Hi Norah and Kristina, wow is it amazing to have adults to talk to, lol. Norah, your input is really great, I wish I could telll you what I think might triger her outbursts, but I haven’t gotten that down yet. She gets upset during the most simple things (to me). And most of it revolves around either; A. her favorite TV show ending, and I am not starting it over fast enough (for the 200th time in a day) B. her brother is making noises, baby talk OR C. she is scolded for doing something she is not allowed to do. Mostly she has a few things she does over and over. Like taking the dry dog food out of the bowl piece by piece and putting it into the water dish, throwing anything, like her diapers all over the room, or tapping the lamp to make it hit the wall over and over. SO I guess if you can see anything in that behavior that may explain her anger or outbursts, I more than welcome the input.
Kristina, Lily was on early intervention with a local org that helps children with delays, but none were trained for children with autism. Then we went onto a waiting list for another program, and we have gone through the evaluation, but the therapy hasn’t started yet. We also went to the Olsen Huff center in NC, they just told us what we already know. So I guess to answer you, she really is having nothing right this moment. One of the speech therapists started sign with her, she picked up “more”, but I am unsure if it is understod because she does the sign for everything and anything. Lily will bring me her bottle when thirsty, or the pack of oreos when she is hungry. She communicates her show is ending by bringing me the tv changer. But that is about it. I really don;t know what to do next. I thought of medication the other day because she is getting so violent with her brother, at times me, she mostly ignored the therapists. Sorry I wrote a book, lol. Thanks again for listening and input. There are really Angels out there.
When I get very upset over things like my food or TV, and such, that means my stress levels were already very high. In a stable situation, when things are going smoothly, I will be able to deal with my food not being exactly right, or not being able to watch a TV show that I had planned on watching. But when things are stressful (like, is she going to a school, or something like that, regularly? I’d also check if things are going well at wherever she goes, if she goes anywhere), like when I have to go to an office every day to work, I get upset very frequently and very loudly (and physically, but not to other people) over the smallest things.
And then it seems to just come out of nowhere, triggered by small things, but really there’s something big going on underneath.
I can also get upset when I cannot communicate something that I feel a great need to communicate, but that should be pretty easy to spot.
There can be so many reasons for people to react in so many ways, it can be hard to figure out. Anger, frustration, fear, overload (sensory or stress), physical pain? Something bad happened somewhere? But if you approach it sort of like a puzzle, like you’re a detective, there’s a good chance you will find out. There should be ways of sort of testing or following the clues.
My little brother (also diagnosed and an adult by now) had a speech delay, and it took a long time for anyone to figure out that he had chronic ear infections. Also that he wasn’t seeing very well. But my parents did figure it out eventually (not as fast as they’d like, but fast enough, mostly before he was 4 or 5).
There are also lots of other adult autistic people out there blogging and such about why they react the way they do, and why they reacted the way they did back when they were little. That might help.
My son is 2 1/2 and diagnosed with ASD and started receiving treatment over a year ago. He is a very sweet loving boy but has the social and communication delays. Our big problem right now is his lack of sleep. He will stay up some nights until 6am and he might sleep 6 hours then wake or 30 minutes then wake for the rest of the day. After trying Melatonin with no luck, I finally made an appointment to see his doctor to get a prescription to help him sleep. I was relieved that he gave him a prescription and an extremely small dose to start him on. When I got home with the prescription I realized it was not a sleep aid, but was an antidepressant. He prescribed 12.5 mg at night, 30mins before bedtime. I read the side effects of the trazadone and was quite concerned. One is priapism which occurs in 33% of males taking it and could cause ED later. The other is that it can cause increase thoughts of suicide in teens. My son is only 2 1/2 but the doctor said that he may require this to sleep for a long time, possibly permanently because his body will rely on the medication to put him to sleep. I don’t want to have to worry about him 10 years from now having suicidal thoughts. It’s after 1am and he’s still going strong and I’m really confused about what to do. I’ve read about Clonidine being prescribed for sleep disorders and would like some opinions or maybe more trustworthy info about sleep medications than what I can google. I am pregnant and would like to have my son on a normal sleep schedule before the baby is born or I feel that I will end up having a nervous breakdown from lack of sleep. I can barely function as it is. Thanks in advance for any information or advice.
does anyone know of a vitamin for a child with autism? my son won’t chew gummis, flinstones or any other kind. the adult ones are to toxic. he is 5 years old. he has not been diagnosed yet. we see someone on march 18th. i suspect this is what ails him. he has been taking adderal for about 2 months. he does not eat. and has lost weight and does not sleep. i try to only give it to him every other day. so he can get some nutrition in between doses. plesa help if anyone can. it will be so appreciated. thank you, kathy