We met with the Child Psychiatrist this morning to discuss options for medication for Brycen to help with his stimming, aggression, and obsessive behavior. It's been awhile since I've had someone ask so many questions about Brycen and his everyday behavior! Since so much of this behavior has been going on for a couple years, I find myself just going about my day around it. I don't think I even notice some things that he does until I am directly asked about it. I'm guessing this is part of that "acceptance" piece of the puzzle where we just have accepted that he has these "quirks" and we just go on as it's so normal to us now.
Anyway, she briefed us on the 3 different classifications of meds that treat 3 clusters of behaviors. After our discussion of his behavior, she concluded that she would like to treat the cluster of repetitive/anxiety behavior first. The other two clusters are aggression and Attention Disorders. While some medications help with all 3 or two of the clusters, some are very specific to a certain behavior and of course have a lot more side effects, especially with a child so young.
The decision was to start him on 4mg of Fluoxetine (Prozac) every morning. If side effects happen, she said it will be seen within the 6 hours after giving him the dose hence the reason we want him awake to spot the side effects. The main side effects that could happen but typically go away after a few days are headaches, stomach aches, etc. Since many studies have shown that people with Autism react very differently to some medications, she said if he becomes more irritable and anxious than he already is, then we will need to try something else. We are starting at a very low dose of course and there is room to go up if needed. He will continue to take the Children's Benadryl and Melatonin at night to help with sleep.
Tomorrow will be our first dose so I'll make sure to keep everybody updated on how these next few days are. Watching for side effects will be interesting as he doesn't really seem to feel most pain and of course has no way to tell us if he is feeling differently.
P.S. On another note...Brycen's trial Alt Chat device should be getting here next week!!! Once we try it out for a few weeks and send it back, we can start the process to order his own!
"When one door of happiness closes, another opens;
but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us."
Helen Keller
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Autism and Our Family
"Autism"----It's one word that can change the life of a child and family in so many ways. Autism Spectrum Disorders are being diagnosed at a rate of 1 in 68 children currently. If you do not already know someone that has been diagnosed, the statistics say it won't be long before you do.
Our son developed typically until around the time he turned 2 years old. We heard words...we saw him play with other kids...we watched as he played with his toys appropriately...we made eye contact with him...overall we understood his wants and needs. In a matter of a few months, that was all taken away from him. He began lining up toys, lost all of his words and signs except for one word "ball", ignored other kids, could not sleep through the night, lost eye contact and the ability to follow directions, and he had no way of letting us know what he wanted or how he felt. It was heartbreaking to see something happening to our child that we couldn't stop!
Brycen began receiving home therapy 1-2 times per month for about 6 months before we realized it wasn't just developmental delays. We knew it was Autism...we just didn't want to say it outloud to anyone. He was officially diagnosed with Autism (classic form and regressive), as well as Mental Retardation in August 2009 by the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
We continue to learn as we make our way through this journey with Brycen and we will continue to share this journey with you on this blog! The blog has been a great therapy for us to be able to vent our frustrations and struggles with accepting that we have a child with special needs, while sharing how blessed we are to have a child teach us what life truly means. It has also been a great way to inform others of his progress and changes over the last couple of years.
Thank you for your support of Brycen and our family! We hope you are able to learn something through this blog no matter if you are a parent of a child with special needs or a neurotypical child, a teacher or therapist, a family member, or just someone that is interested in the journey that a family goes on as they learn their child is battling a life-long disorder.
Our son developed typically until around the time he turned 2 years old. We heard words...we saw him play with other kids...we watched as he played with his toys appropriately...we made eye contact with him...overall we understood his wants and needs. In a matter of a few months, that was all taken away from him. He began lining up toys, lost all of his words and signs except for one word "ball", ignored other kids, could not sleep through the night, lost eye contact and the ability to follow directions, and he had no way of letting us know what he wanted or how he felt. It was heartbreaking to see something happening to our child that we couldn't stop!
Brycen began receiving home therapy 1-2 times per month for about 6 months before we realized it wasn't just developmental delays. We knew it was Autism...we just didn't want to say it outloud to anyone. He was officially diagnosed with Autism (classic form and regressive), as well as Mental Retardation in August 2009 by the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
We continue to learn as we make our way through this journey with Brycen and we will continue to share this journey with you on this blog! The blog has been a great therapy for us to be able to vent our frustrations and struggles with accepting that we have a child with special needs, while sharing how blessed we are to have a child teach us what life truly means. It has also been a great way to inform others of his progress and changes over the last couple of years.
Thank you for your support of Brycen and our family! We hope you are able to learn something through this blog no matter if you are a parent of a child with special needs or a neurotypical child, a teacher or therapist, a family member, or just someone that is interested in the journey that a family goes on as they learn their child is battling a life-long disorder.
Hi! I found you through Jennifer C's blog, Fingerprints of Autism. I wanted to wish you luck on the Prozac. My son has been on it since he was six, and it completely changed out lives--for the better. He let go of some of his routines, we saw fewer tantrums, and he was much happier. Family members thought he was like a different child--in a good way. I hope you have the same success with it.
ReplyDeleteThat is so encouraging to hear!! I can only hope and pray that we get results 1/2 as good as that! I really think once we can decrease his stimming and other anxious behaviors, we will see results in so many other areas. don't get me wrong, I love his personality, but as you know, these are such extreme behaviors that put stress on so many areas of life that a child needs in order to succeed. Thanks so much for checking out the blog!
ReplyDeleteWe also have a 4 year old on the spectrum. He has been on Prozac since October and it has made a big difference. He's currently on 10ml in the mornings and we've seen no major side effects. Our son is adopted and had failure to thrive at his orphanage. We wanted him to have a little more interest in life, which Prozac has helped with. He always had some stimming issues and they really haven't decreased much, unfortunately. I'm still considering a weighted vest for him.
ReplyDeleteGood to "meet" you! I'm now a follower :)
Another great thing to hear about this med!!! I've been checking out your blog also today:)
ReplyDeleteYou'll have to let us know if you decide to do the vest and what happens. Some days the stimming is out of control and I find myself telling him to calm down all day long. Other days, it doesn't seem to interfere as much or isn't as noticeable. Though I am used to so much of it that I might not even notice the smaller stimming behaviors. Anyway, keep me updated...and yes, it's so great to connect with many others in similar situations. I've always said that all of these people that I have not even met are probably my biggest support!