Hello, I find myself stuck on whether or not to put my son on Adderall. He is 8 yrs. old with autism and now diagnosed with ADHD and hyperlexia and attends a Mild to Moderate classroom at a school that has only a few special needs children. My son seems to have a lot of anxiety and stims at school(especially on the playground with typical kids)and at home. At home I can deal with his behaviors but want him to be calmer too for his own sake. He recieves full day 1:1 behavior support and seems to be responding well. I was looking to see if there are any moms who have a child on this medication and see what they like/dislike about it. Any side effects to look for in a child who cannot tell me?
I am also told his current school has the best placement for him because he is in the "gray" area for placement options and there is no other class for him, yet the next 4/5 class is totally not right for him either. Any suggestions for 4/5 Mild to Moderat or Mild to Severe classes in LBUSD? He is more on the moderate side, but had such a great teacher she kept him up in academics and helped get his behaviors more under control. Now his teacher is out on maternity leave and things are changing. Help!
It took me about a year to make my decision. I put my 6 year old on Aderall and now he reads and I am working on having him leave his SDC class and mainstream. It is a hard decision, but the drug made a huge difference in my son's performance and happiness in the classroom.
Hello A.,
I am a mother of child w/ADHD (taking prescribed Adderall) and I am also a Psychiatric Social Worker working with children with mental illness.
(According to my daughter)The side effects most common with the stimulants like Adderall is weight loss, and stomach cramps which are associated with stimulant use. As you may know, Stimulants tend to surpress the appetite. These are my daughter's concerns/problems with taking the meds. I can not consult on medications per say but I can advise you to consult a child psychiatrist for your questions and concerns with medications.
About schools. Look into AB3632 services for non-public schooling. There are great non-public schools with emphasis on children with developmental delays, autism, MR and severely emotionally disturb diagnosis, also non-public schools have special ed teachers, behavior specialist and a host of other services to help address the issues of special needs children. The request for AB3632 is IEP driven. Also, there is a special ed school in San Pedro. If you contact me at ____@____.com I could fill you in with the additional information. Good luck, and remember that as long as your son has you he will be ok! (you are his best advocate).
M.
hello A. my name is G. I have 2 ASD children one witl mild autism but I also have a 6 year old gilr with aspergers syndrome
I don't know if you have seen this site
http://www.talkaboutcuringautism.org/index.htm
I like what they stand and believe in I hope it helps you
Sincerely
G.
ASD mom
I was very anti-drug when my son, at that time 4 1/2, was diagnosed at ADHD. I went a whole year doing the all-natural diet and nothing worked. I finally had my son try the Adderall XL - extended release lasting 8 hours, 5 mg and now 5 1/2, and it was a huge difference! His teacher said he was now able to focus in school for 20 minutes at a time and he never had a "drug-like" behaivor. Now at 7 he is at 20 mg which happens when their little bodies start growing that may may need in increase of dosage and doing great! I still encourage and practice a healty eating habit along with the medication. I feel that this medication had open some opprotunities for him and is helping him becoming a better kid. The only side effect that my son has his a loss of appetite, but it comes back once the medication wears off and I feed him a big breakfast. Somedays he eats all his lunch but I say at least 2 times a week he just eats the apple and juice. Good luck!
Good Morning A......
I personally do not have a child you your challenges. But have I heard of many moms (through this website) they want to go as natural as possible. I am an independant distributor for this awesome juice with 19 fruits. The acai berry being the primary fruit. This fruit has been all over the news. Here is a small clip I found from just a google search:
Monavie is a product that has had alot of success with autism, in fact there is a school in chicago for autistic children that have added it to their diets because of the success they have seen. Certainly everyone should do their own research on a product for validity. I hope that people give it a try for the benefits, I know anything that makes life easier is a good thing. There is a lot of information out there about the product and the main ingredient (acai berry) letting you know the benefits. I know that it has personally helped individuals that I know. There are people who use this as a forum to benefit themselves and I would hate for that to turn people off from the product. I will not be leaving my personal info to gain from this post. I just hope those dealing with autism look at giving it a chance for their own benefit. =)
I live in Costa Mesa, not to far and would be happy to give you more inforamtion. This juice has benefitted sooo many people I know, from high cholesterol, Anemic, sleeping problems and arthritist.
Please send me an email and I can give you my email address and phone number.
Good luck to you...
Who diagnosed him with ADHD? I am a psychologist and based on our diagnostic guidelines, a child cannot have ADHD and Autism. I would try to find someone who is more familiar with autism.
have you thought about trying to change his diet? there is a mom who started a company b/c her child had adhd and couldn't take the meds b/c of a heart condition - so she dealt with it nutritionally. the company is called wildtree (www.jenwarr.mywildtree.com) and here is some more info -
Wildtree received national recognition in the October 9, 2007 edition of Women’s World magazine (article: “Foods that cure
ADHD”) which told the touching story of an Ohio mother who was able to get her young son off ADHD medication that was
making him depressed and borderline suicidal, by eliminating the food dyes and chemicals from his diet by using Wildtree, and returning him to the sweet, functional, controllable child that she knew he could be—drug free!
let me know if you want some more info!
take care
J.
Hi A.,
I hit up a friend of mine who is deepliy involved in the Autism world and has 7 years experience with a child of her own. Her response to you:
Hi A.,
My name is Yvonne and I have a son named Matthew who
has autism. I don't know what avenues you've explored,
so if my suggestions are things you've tried and
discounted or are just not interested in, please know
that I'm just reaching out as one "Aut Mommy" to
another.
Here goes. Have you ever heard of TACA--Talk About
Curing Autism?
The website is tacanow.org and has the best info. Our
Matthew will be 10 in May and we've followed the
biomedical approach with him as well as all the
traditional therapies. Sometimes certain supplements
can work as well as, if not better than prescription
medications. A DAN (Defeat Autism Now) Doctor can run
tests and see what, if any, issues your son may have.
For example, Matthew had a lot of mercury, arsenic and
lead in his bloodstream, so we chelated him to get it
out. His language skills really skyrocketed.
Nowawadays, his issue seems to be yeast. When he is on
an antifungal his overall mood is better and he is way
less stimmy. He is also on a gluten/casein free diet.
Matthew also takes 5HTP (available at health food
stores) on advice from his doctor to help with his
general mood. Anyway, I hope this helps in some way. I
wish you the best of luck and I know you'll make the
right choices for your son. Feel free to e-mail me
back if you have questions, or just want to chat.
email: ____@____.com
I wish you well,
Bridget
