Meds 4 Aspies w/ ADHD? Neurofeedback?

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Registered: 03-28-2003
Meds 4 Aspies w/ ADHD? Neurofeedback?
9
Tue, 05-01-2007 - 5:06pm

Hello everyone,
I'm new to the board, and am in the process of evaluating my 7.5 y.o. ds for Asperger's(which I strongly believe he has). He definitely has ADHD (Dx w/ IEP), but my DH is completely against any medications for ADHD.

My feeling is that I want to do anything to make him more comfortable at school and to help him feel normal (which I don't think he does). Just last week, he was at the Principal's office twice, and again yesterday (this is not typical). :( He has started to become a little violent (hitting another boy, pushing a girl) and more angry (pushing teacher's supplies on the floor), and I believe this is due to frustrations associated with both Asperger's (difficulty in reading other kids' emotions) and ADHD (trouble focusing and possbile dysgraphia (which has improved due to about two years of OT).

My question is: do you give your child meds for ADHD if they have Asperger's as well? I've read that it's not a good idea to give kids on the Autism Spectrum any meds for ADHD because they just don't work and can backfire, but I also have read in other places that it can be very beneficial. Anyone have thoughts on the subject?

Also, have any of you out there tried Neurofeedback for your kids? Our school Psychologist thought it would be a good idea for our son (after we brought it up to him). We're thinking of trying it this summer to see if it'll help him with any of his issues (e.g. inability to sit still in a chair for dinner or in class, anger management, etc.).

I'm hoping that w/ feedback from some people here, I can either give up on the possiblity of meds for our DS.....OR, I can have my DH read some of your positive experiences w/ meds so that he would be more open to giving them a try. Finally, I'd like to add that DH doesn't want to try meds because DS has a high IQ and does fine academically by compensating. I just feel like he wouldn't be under so much stress if he had a medication that helped him focus, since it probably takes all his effort/energy.

Thank you so much for reading this long post. I look forward to any advice out there from BTDT mom's.

Irene :)

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Registered: 06-25-2003
Tue, 05-01-2007 - 7:18pm

Irene,


I thought about neurofeedback for my DS, but the only practitioner I found anywhere near to me was unlicensed, and I wasn't going there.


My ASD son does not have ADHD, others may be able to advise you on this better than I.

-Paula

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Registered: 03-28-2003
Tue, 05-01-2007 - 7:33pm

Paula,
Thanks very much for your reply! I will show it to dh when he gets home tonight. I keep telling him that the medication is going to help Daniel FEEL better. I can't imagine how hard it is to go through life with ADHD, but I can see how he struggles. Thanks for sharing your story. I think it'll give him a chance to see that giving medication isn't necessarily a bad thing.

I will say that he works with a lot of medical companies and he's familiar with FDA approval for drugs, etc. and he knows how little dr.'s know about the brain. It is this knowledge that scares him and he would prefer to never give Daniel meds, but if we must, he'd rather wait until he's much older (since his brain is still developing) and (he feels like) who knows how meds alter the developing brain, etc..... My argument is that the negative ramifications of not taking meds should also be considered a side-effect and should be included in the equation when we decide what is or isn't beneficial for our ds.

Anyway, thanks again Paula.
Irene

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Registered: 03-25-2003
Tue, 05-01-2007 - 7:44pm

My 7yr son,Dakota, has ADHD and PDD-NOS and has difficulties in school like pushing & hitting & throwing supplies and chairs around. Very frustrating though last year was a lot worse. I'm not against medication but I refused to try it until he was old enough to know for sure if it was ADHD versus immaturity. Well he didn't get better and now he takes Focalin for his ADHD. For him it works well. I can't say that for every kid with ADHD. We still have issues like TODAY. Ugh! He hit a few kids and threw chairs, which one hit the principal. We had to pick him up from school.

Dakota is highly intelligent and does well in his subjects. Also, in Dakota's case after starting medication, his grades improved by two letter grades and his handwriting is a little better meaning it's legible (still stinks though lol).

These are some of my positives after starting the medication. Medication alone won't cure it or make it go away. The medication does nothing for the PDD-NOS side of him. I think it just help calm him down and helps him focus. Probably why his grades improved.

Just giving you an example, however, to medicate or not to medicate will have to be a personal choice. There are always pros and cons. Good luck to you and welcome to the board!! You've found a good group. :-)

Shell

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Registered: 03-28-2003
Tue, 05-01-2007 - 8:18pm

Thanks Shell,
Your Dakota sounds a lot like my Daniel. If you were able to find *something* that could have a positive effect on his life, then that makes me think that I might find a better way for my ds.

I know there's no magic pill and I know it won't take care of his other issues, but at least he won't have SO much to deal with on a day to day basis. To be honest, I never thought I'd be considering medicating my child for a behavior. It was even hard for me to give him medications when he had terrible asthma when he was younger (but I had to).

But, I now know that it's not a matter of choice, just because it's not medical. Sometimes, behavioral stuff can effect a person just as much as a medical situation.

Anyway, I appreciate your input.
Irene :)

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Registered: 10-04-2006
Tue, 05-01-2007 - 8:49pm

My son was originally dx'd with ADHD.

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Registered: 03-27-2003
Tue, 05-01-2007 - 9:17pm

Welcome Irene!

It's been a long journey for us. Sam (now 7) had a tough, tough time his preK years and none of us knew what was going on. We tried a couple different diet modifications hoping that some kind of food sensitivity was the culprit. He was dx'd with AS just before his 6th b-day.....but something else was going on. The process of learning was just so difficult for him still. Last year we had a Neuropsychology eval done that confirmed his ADHD and reading disability. Since we had tried diet and behavior modifications for so long we decided it was time to try meds, though we were and are very cautious about it.

The meds have helped tons. He can really read independently now. He can still be impulsive, but he's not hitting people during tag or pushing kids as they walk past his desk. He's far less aggressive and his writing has improved a great deal. I feel like he can finally benefit from all the hard work we all have been doing all this time. Last year was horrible, but this year has been going very well so far.

But we are still very cautious and are working with a very knowledgible MD who works with mostly kids on the spectrum or other developmental disabilities. He's very sensitive to our concerns.

Good luck! It was a tough decision for us too.

Chrystee

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Registered: 10-03-2004
Tue, 05-01-2007 - 9:56pm

Hi Irene and welcome to the board!!

We avoided medication until our ds (PDD-NOS) was almost 9 years old and instead worked with keeping his environment as stress-free as possible, dietary changes, lots of OT, Speech, etc. We wanted to hold off on meds as long as possible.

And then we started to need more challenging schooling, and eventually we added an antidepressant. Now we are homeschooling (long story), but we certainly have noticed a big difference in our ds on the med (Zoloft). His brain just makes more connections, sees the big picture more and he is better able to stay connected and focused throughout his day. Also his anxiety is MUCH lower. And when he gets upset, he is better able to continue to communicate and respond.

Malcolm is not ADHD, but when he is stressed out, he can seem that way, unable to sit still for long, focus problems. However, even before med, when he is happy and understands what is required of him, he no longer seems ADHD at all --- can focus for long periods of time, participate happilyl. We do know several kids who are both ASD and ADHD, though.

Nice to "Meet" you, stick around!

Sara

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Registered: 05-01-2007
Tue, 05-01-2007 - 10:06pm

I'm writing this before I read any of the replies, so I apologize if I am repeating something already stated.

My own experience...

My now 11yo (boy) was diagnosed ADHD at the age of 7. He did very well on Adderal XR for a few years, only reason we took him off was because of his lack of appropriate weight gain. He was off meds for a few months and we tried Daytrana. HE said it wasn't working so we took him off at Christmas, now we're trying to figure out what to do med wise. He was only just now diagnozed PDD-NOS. Technically the PDD-NOS trumps the ADHD diagnosis, but that doesn't mean you don't treat the ADHD issues. We go back to the neurologist later this month, we'll see what we do for meds.

My little guy is 7 1/2 and was diagnosed ADHD this past fall. Let me tell you, he put the H in hyper!! He's on the PDD spectrum as well, not severe, but not near being PDD-NOS. If he would have been diagnosed earlier it would have been autism, but that's a whole other story. He's been on Metadate CD for a few months now and let me tell you - this is good stuff for him!

I do understand your husband's hesitation. Remind your husband that this is an imbalance in the brain chemicals and these meds help children (and adults) to balance everything out so they can function in the "NT world." Ask him this: if your child had diabetes, would he hold off on giving him insulin in hopes things would get better?

The brain is such a complex organ to try to understand - researchers have only just begun to scrape the surface right now with how it works. Thankfully we understand that chemical imbalances can be corrected for people to function in the usual day to day issues of the world.

Oops, didn't mean to write a novel, but hope it helps anyway!

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Registered: 03-28-2003
Wed, 05-02-2007 - 10:35am

Thank you ALL SO MUCH! I so appreciate you ladies taking the time to answer my tough question. For me, the choice is clear. We need to give this a try, for Daniel's sake. If it doesn't work, then at least we know we tried everything. We're planning to definitely try neurofeedback this summer. It is extremely expensive, but I really have a feeling it will do some good. I'll let you know how it works.

Finally, I didn't have a chance to show DH your wonderful responses. We had a fight last night, but today, we're talking again, so I think he'll be more open-minded. I'll let you know what he says as soon as he reads everything.

Thanks again!!!!
Irene