Monday, March 14, 2011

Medication

Many people have talked about medication for symptoms of Autism. There is medication for behaviors, attention and many other issues that can be related to Autism, including seizures and gastrointestinal issues. My son's situation has thusfar never required any medication, which I've been thankful for. I don't like using medication (for myself or my children) any more than absolutely necessary. However, after the visit with the neuropsychologist, I've had to rethink my stance on medication.

She recommended that Ryan begin taking Adderall for his extreme attention issues. She thought that it would help bring his attention to a more manageable level. I was concerned with side effects and she explained the possibilities very clearly. These included appetite loss and emotional distress on the short term and decreased blood pressure on the long term. All of these things can be reduced or stopped completely with the discontinuation of the medication. I decided to take the risk and try out the medication.

We started this past Saturday (3 days ago). So far I haven't noticed any negative issues but he does seem to be speaking more clearly and correctly. Today is the first day at school and I'm excited to see how it goes. One mother told me that her son reacted very well at home but school became overly stressful while on medication.

The hardest thing about knowing what paths to take regarding treatments, etc with children with Autism is that they all have such different needs and react differently to everything. Because something worked (or didn't work) for one child doesn't mean it won't work (or will work) for your child. It's all a big trial and error method of parenting...well, more than normal :)

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