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Do I give up so soon? New to the medication route
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<blockquote data-quote="Marguerite" data-source="post: 226802" data-attributes="member: 1991"><p>I can hear MWM thinking. She & I are often on the same wavelength when it comes to Asperger's/Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) diagnosis of most kinds. And both of us have kids who were first diagnosed with something else.</p><p></p><p>Labels - they can help get better understanding from officials, they can help get more appropriate understanding and support from school. I agree, that for you they don't make a blind bit of difference, your son is still your son and no different the day after a diagnosis than he was the day before. The diagnosis is not for us - it's for everyone else. And if you have a kid who others consider a bit odd or different anyway, then a diagnosis explains it for people who need an explanation.</p><p></p><p>I do think Asperger's may have been ruled out a bit too soon. Beside, understanding of Asperger's is always changing over time. I encourage people to keep an open mind and maybe, where appropriate, to use Asperger's as a working hypothesis.</p><p></p><p>medications - we had different results to MWM. It's very subjective, really. I point people at Temple Grandin and her views on medications. She recommends the "Wow" approach - if you try a medication and say, "Wow! What an improvement!" then you're onto something worth sticking with. But if you try a medication and don't notice much change, or only see things worse, then generally it's a good indication to drop it. Obviously you have to keep medical needs in mind here, a kid can often feel sluggish when on anti-epileptic medications, for example, but if they're needed to block epileptic fits, then you need it even if you feel worse.</p><p></p><p>We were advised to put difficult child 3 on medications when he was 3. We did - even though we had family and friends criticising us a great deal. We persisted in the face of disapproval, because the difference was so wonderful and dramatic. We had a "Wow!" response. difficult child 3 had not been talking, more than a word or two (all nouns). easy child was away for a week's camp. She came back and said, "Mon Dieu, he's talking in sentences!"</p><p></p><p>It's difficult sometimes to get a clear diagnosis when your child is young. Also, an especially bright child is more difficult to diagnose because they so badly want to fit in, they adapt. This adaptation isn't true "recovery", it's a veneer. It's like the swan gliding serenely on the lake - unless you look under the surface of the water, you will never know there is a lot of furious activity going on down there, to maintain that semblance of serenity.</p><p></p><p>You sound like you're doing a lot of things right. Unless those medications are needed pharmacologically for something needing to be kept stable, I would discuss the observed side effects with the doctor. If it's not likely to be just a short-term transient thing, I would ask for justification for keeping him on it. There ARE other medications for ADHD, there ARE other medications for other disorders. Sometimes it's just a matter of trying different things to find what works.</p><p></p><p>We were lucky. Plus, we've had our medication disasters (including one as recent as last week). I've also questioned the diagnosis a few times, just to make sure it's still applicable.</p><p></p><p>Sometimes my son amazes me. Just a few minutes ago we sent him to do one of his chores - let the hens out and go into the hutch to change their water and check their food supply. husband called out to difficult child 3, "They might not want to come out. I just threw in a kilo of very rancid, rotten minced beef. You would have thought it was a kilo of snails!"</p><p>difficult child 3 quickly replied, "It's not a case of them not wanting to come out. It's me, not wanting to go in there!"</p><p>Quick. Unusually so, when it comes to clever use of words. But it shows just how fast he is learning, which again shows the remarkable adaptability you can get with these kids, as they get older and more confident (and more desperate to blend in).</p><p></p><p>He still did his chores without arguing - we warned him that a storm was on the way and doing the job now would be more pleasant, than waiting until the hail hit. We use logic and support still, to ensure effective task-changing.</p><p></p><p>Mainstream or not mainstream - he wants to try a mainstream school, which is a good sign. But WHY does he want to? Is he wanting the sort of things that TV shows and books describe school to be? What are his expectations? He could be horribly disappointed. And also frustrated.</p><p></p><p>It could be worth a try, I would investigate the possibility of part-time attendance as transition to mainstream. That way it would be a gentle slide into it and you could (either of you) pull the plug any time it's not working.</p><p></p><p>My own prejudice these days is geared towards home schooling if you can, where you have a difficult child whose learning style is not very compatible with mainstream methods. For instance, difficult child 3 (and difficult child 1) both did better (due to their increased difficulty transitioning) with staying on one subject until the week's work for that topic was completed. Then they would move to another subject and do THAT lot for the week. And so on. In this way they might spend an entire day just doing Maths, or just working on Chemistry. It has been more efficient for them, they have got through the work much more effectively.</p><p></p><p>But every kid is different. This is what worked FOR US.</p><p></p><p>medications again - our kids have done well on ADHD medications (dexamphetamine) but badly on other ADHD medications (ritalin/Concerta/Adderal). Some foods aggravated the problems (ie caffeine; oranges) and for some kids, diet can be a big issue.</p><p></p><p>Keep a diary of him, what you observe, what you have found to be good, what you have found to be bad. </p><p></p><p>Get a copy of "The Explosive Child" by Ross Greene. It gets discussed a lot on this site, it's a darn good book regardless of the diagnosis. I use it on easy child kids, I use it on parents, I use it on Dept of Education. I use it on schools, politicians, teachers. Anyone. Makes my life a lot easier. Makes my children much easier to handle. Makes us all happier.</p><p></p><p>And keep challenging the diagnosis. I think you've only got te tip of the iceberg here.</p><p></p><p>Marg</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Marguerite, post: 226802, member: 1991"] I can hear MWM thinking. She & I are often on the same wavelength when it comes to Asperger's/Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) diagnosis of most kinds. And both of us have kids who were first diagnosed with something else. Labels - they can help get better understanding from officials, they can help get more appropriate understanding and support from school. I agree, that for you they don't make a blind bit of difference, your son is still your son and no different the day after a diagnosis than he was the day before. The diagnosis is not for us - it's for everyone else. And if you have a kid who others consider a bit odd or different anyway, then a diagnosis explains it for people who need an explanation. I do think Asperger's may have been ruled out a bit too soon. Beside, understanding of Asperger's is always changing over time. I encourage people to keep an open mind and maybe, where appropriate, to use Asperger's as a working hypothesis. medications - we had different results to MWM. It's very subjective, really. I point people at Temple Grandin and her views on medications. She recommends the "Wow" approach - if you try a medication and say, "Wow! What an improvement!" then you're onto something worth sticking with. But if you try a medication and don't notice much change, or only see things worse, then generally it's a good indication to drop it. Obviously you have to keep medical needs in mind here, a kid can often feel sluggish when on anti-epileptic medications, for example, but if they're needed to block epileptic fits, then you need it even if you feel worse. We were advised to put difficult child 3 on medications when he was 3. We did - even though we had family and friends criticising us a great deal. We persisted in the face of disapproval, because the difference was so wonderful and dramatic. We had a "Wow!" response. difficult child 3 had not been talking, more than a word or two (all nouns). easy child was away for a week's camp. She came back and said, "Mon Dieu, he's talking in sentences!" It's difficult sometimes to get a clear diagnosis when your child is young. Also, an especially bright child is more difficult to diagnose because they so badly want to fit in, they adapt. This adaptation isn't true "recovery", it's a veneer. It's like the swan gliding serenely on the lake - unless you look under the surface of the water, you will never know there is a lot of furious activity going on down there, to maintain that semblance of serenity. You sound like you're doing a lot of things right. Unless those medications are needed pharmacologically for something needing to be kept stable, I would discuss the observed side effects with the doctor. If it's not likely to be just a short-term transient thing, I would ask for justification for keeping him on it. There ARE other medications for ADHD, there ARE other medications for other disorders. Sometimes it's just a matter of trying different things to find what works. We were lucky. Plus, we've had our medication disasters (including one as recent as last week). I've also questioned the diagnosis a few times, just to make sure it's still applicable. Sometimes my son amazes me. Just a few minutes ago we sent him to do one of his chores - let the hens out and go into the hutch to change their water and check their food supply. husband called out to difficult child 3, "They might not want to come out. I just threw in a kilo of very rancid, rotten minced beef. You would have thought it was a kilo of snails!" difficult child 3 quickly replied, "It's not a case of them not wanting to come out. It's me, not wanting to go in there!" Quick. Unusually so, when it comes to clever use of words. But it shows just how fast he is learning, which again shows the remarkable adaptability you can get with these kids, as they get older and more confident (and more desperate to blend in). He still did his chores without arguing - we warned him that a storm was on the way and doing the job now would be more pleasant, than waiting until the hail hit. We use logic and support still, to ensure effective task-changing. Mainstream or not mainstream - he wants to try a mainstream school, which is a good sign. But WHY does he want to? Is he wanting the sort of things that TV shows and books describe school to be? What are his expectations? He could be horribly disappointed. And also frustrated. It could be worth a try, I would investigate the possibility of part-time attendance as transition to mainstream. That way it would be a gentle slide into it and you could (either of you) pull the plug any time it's not working. My own prejudice these days is geared towards home schooling if you can, where you have a difficult child whose learning style is not very compatible with mainstream methods. For instance, difficult child 3 (and difficult child 1) both did better (due to their increased difficulty transitioning) with staying on one subject until the week's work for that topic was completed. Then they would move to another subject and do THAT lot for the week. And so on. In this way they might spend an entire day just doing Maths, or just working on Chemistry. It has been more efficient for them, they have got through the work much more effectively. But every kid is different. This is what worked FOR US. medications again - our kids have done well on ADHD medications (dexamphetamine) but badly on other ADHD medications (ritalin/Concerta/Adderal). Some foods aggravated the problems (ie caffeine; oranges) and for some kids, diet can be a big issue. Keep a diary of him, what you observe, what you have found to be good, what you have found to be bad. Get a copy of "The Explosive Child" by Ross Greene. It gets discussed a lot on this site, it's a darn good book regardless of the diagnosis. I use it on easy child kids, I use it on parents, I use it on Dept of Education. I use it on schools, politicians, teachers. Anyone. Makes my life a lot easier. Makes my children much easier to handle. Makes us all happier. And keep challenging the diagnosis. I think you've only got te tip of the iceberg here. Marg [/QUOTE]
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