AS/hyper/impulsive/outbursts/meds?
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| Mon, 02-13-2006 - 6:16pm |
Hello again. I've posted before regarding my 'going on 10' yr. old adopted brother w/ Aspergers. Here's an update, plus some past history, and maybe someone can give advice on if you think meds would help.
*he came into my parents home at 2 days old; they were foster parents; birth mom was/is a meth addict and in prison (where she is now as well); we adopted him at age 2.5
*we recently found out birth mom used HEAVY drugs (meth) while preg. as she tried to abort?
*he has always been a busy kid; stimming behaviors, etc; most recent stimming behavior (after a big move across country) is he shakes his hands very fast when he's excited about anything (it almost appears painful) He'll shake his hands for a few seconds and then be on his way running around
*I don't have all the medicine history, but he's been on Clonodine (blood pressure med) at night?, early am, and a dose during the day? It helps him sleep and focus some in school. He has begun bedwetting after the big move to a different state and this happens quite often now. This also happened after moving near us and he spends a lot of time w/ my going on 4 yr. old son (who wears pull ups at night). My brother spends nearly every moment with my son trying to persuade him to do this or that. It's very apparent that he likes hanging out with younger kids because he can control them. Boys his age don't have much to do with him. It's very sad--as we are trying to get him to talk about making friends in his new school, etc. It's been 4 mos. and still not one mention of having interest in a school friend. So it's constant talk of wanting to play with my almost 4 yr old son. He's got to do whatever my son is doing, have whatever he is eating, the list goes on. So that is why I've wondered if the wetting the bed at night is due to wanting to be younger. My brother does see a psychiatrist, so hopefully things can get worked out.
*My husband and I have had issues with my brother telling our son to say certain things. Boys will be boys, but words like 'die, kill, cut off your head, hate, butt, fart' (just to name a few) are part of our still 3 yr. olds vocabulary. We are trying to get settled in our new town too, and I worry that once I do have a playdate for DS, that parents would be flabbergasted if their child came home talking like that. SIGH. Again, it's very sad. What do we do? I am limiting their time together, that's for sure. And it has to be monitored. My brother screamed in my DS's face last week and nearly gave him a heart attack. My son was fed up with my brother and knocked him on the head with his fist to get his attention, and so that's why my brother reacted, but OMG he's over the top with screaming and over-reacting. So much so that it scares my children. I have a 22 mo. old too.
So without banning their playtime, do you have any suggestions in how to deal with a very impulsive AS/ADHD? kid??? He has been on Strattera and Concerta, but my Mom quickly stopped those after he talked of hating his brain and pounding himself in the head. Are those side effects from the med or just from AS???
Thanks--
Melanie

Melanie,
Some of what you said sounds so familiar. Has anyone considered the possibility that your brother might have childhood onset bipolar disorder (a mood disorder)? It's often misdiagnosed as ADHD, because they symptoms are similar AND because childhood onset bp is not understood very well. But, if you give a kid certain medications for ADHD (like Concerta or Strattera)...if they actually have bipolar, they tend to have a reaction like what your brother did, or worse. There are medications that are more appropriate, and they are the mood stabilizers (lithium, as well as a class of drugs called anti-convulsants.)
It's my understanding that bp is hereditary, as far as anyone knows, but I don't know anything about how in-utero drug abuse comes into the equation. Then again, I suppose it isn't a huge stretch to imagine that a woman who takes meth while pregnant may suffer from her own mood disorder.
I'm not entirely sure if you are his caregiver, or your mother is, but you/her might want to ask his psychiatrist about the possibility of bipolar....But not until you've gone to www.bp.org and learned a bit about it yourselves. "The Bipolar Child" by Janice and ?Papoulos, MDs is an excellent resource, as is "The Explosive Child" by Ron Greene and "Straight Talk About Psychiatric Medications for Kids." by Timothy Wilens, MD.
I hope this will be helpful. If he can be helped with a mood stabilizer, then that will make such a different for him as well as your children and everyone who interacts with him.
Evelyn
David 8, AS, BP (on Trileptal, which has been a life-saver)
Nathan, 4, no dx, but clearly suffered during his brother's unstable days