aspergers, lead boots and straight jacket! lol

Violeta - posted on 03/18/2010

jacket n lead boots? not me, hugs, plenty of loving.i know its hard. good luck to us who have kids like them.

Samantha - posted on 03/16/2010

Hi Claire! I'm a mom of 4 boys, 3 of whom are adopted and have special needs. Two have autism and we have tried all sorts of things, and eventually settled on medication. If your son doesn't receive occupational therapy through school or as an outpatient, it is a good thing to try. Weighted blankets, weighted vests, deep pressure clothing, brushing, and joint compressions are great for calming. If your pediatrician is not comfortable managing medication, they might refer you to a psychiatrist, even if your child is nonverbal like mine, which is totally appropriate. My boys have tried several things over the past six years, so I will share some of them with you:
ADHD meds: Ritalin, Focalin--Ritalin was calming but my boys would not eat well on it. Focalin is similar to Ritalin but for my older son who tried it became more aggressive.
Atypical antipsychotics: Abilify, Seroquel, Risperdal--one is currently on Abilify, one on Risperdal. These drugs stimulate appetite and can be sedating, which was good for my boys because they both had issues focusing and sleeping.
Others: Clonidine--used as a blood pressure med in adults and for sleep in children or to calm during the day. Intuniv--a new drug, non-stimulating, just approved for ADHD. My 14 year old takes it, and we have seen a decrease in his recent aggression.
I hope that answers your question, Claire. I'm not trying to sway you, you know your son best, but I just wanted to share some of what we have tried with our boys so you can have an idea of what another parent has been through. Let me know if I can give any more info!
Samantha

Dree - posted on 03/16/2010

Claire I understand that. But there is still a chance that he has ADHD. My son for example has ADHD, ODD, OCD, PTSD, Aspergers, Anxiety, BiPolar, and Trichotillomania. For those that dont know Trichotillomania is defined as "hair loss from a patient's repetitive self-pulling of hair" and is characterized by the repeated urge to pull out scalp hair, eyelashes, facial hair, nose hair, pubic hair, eyebrows or other body hair, sometimes resulting in noticeable bald patches. We had pretty good luck with the natural meds for about the first year that he lived with us. (He and his sister were taken from us when they were 3 and 5 yrs old. My partners mother deemed her unable to care for the kids due to her own BiPolar and to top it off...her sexuality!!!!! We lost them for 4 yrs. Two yrs of which she had to move back to Cali and fight in court to regain custudy.)

Kellie - posted on 03/16/2010

My son still goes through his "hyper" days,he is now 16.He is also aspergers and not adhd.I don't know if it will help, but whenever he gets like this we have a mad half hour.I will time him for running around the block,or how many push ups he can do.I find that the "hypers" can sometimes lead to trouble,so i get him to burn his excess energy.Even when he was younger this helped,so i hope this works for you.

Céline - posted on 03/16/2010

my son is autistic also and has ADHD...although we tried the "natural" stuff...medication was alot better and alot less stressfull ...on both my son and I. Not letting your kid eat what they want because they cannot have this or that is hard...VERY hard. Saying to my son he was not able to have this, this, this and this and oh that also..made him feel like he was not normal. The fact that he knew he was different with the autism...the not giving him this and that to eat and preventing him to not taste this and that made it 10 times worst on his self esteem cause all he wanted was to be as much as possible like the others.
Once we got the right combination of medication...OMG..the amazing difference it has made. Now we can all enjoy the same meals together and be a "real" family as my son says.

Claire - posted on 03/16/2010

Hi Dree, my son doesnt have ADHD he is autistic, he was diagnosed over 4 years ago

Abby - posted on 03/15/2010

Well, maybe not that far off - they do have weighted jackets and what I will call "wiggle seats" that the kids can sit on so they can sit and move at the same time. Maybe you can talk with him and figure out a way to motivate him to sit down at least for a short period of time at first.

Dree - posted on 03/15/2010

First off, even if you get a diagnosis of ADHD I would recommend you try natural supplements before going onto anything else. Here is some info I have found...



Some studies suggest that children with ADHD may have lower levels of zinc in their body. And some scientists have reported improved symptoms in children with ADHD who took zinc supplements along with traditional ADHD treatment.



Foods high in zinc include oysters and other seafood, red meat, poultry, dairy products, beans, nuts, whole grains, and fortified cereals.



There is some evidence that fish oil can help improve ADHD symptoms. Fish oil contains omega-3 fatty acids. There are some findings that suggest that, in children with ADHD who are 8 to 12 years old, fish oil supplementation may improve mental skills. For instance, it may help improve a child's ability to organize activities.



In one study, a specific supplement of fish oil and evening primrose oil was used. Results showed that it improved hyperactivity, inattentiveness, an inability to think clearly, and overall behavior in children with ADHD who were 7 to 12 years old.



Fish high in omega 3 fatty acids include salmon, albacore tuna, herring, mackerel, trout, and sardines



I hope this helps you out a bit!!!!!!