Asperger Mom

As mentioned in a previous post, my son has ALWAYS been very routine oriented. When there are changed to his routine it can throw him into a meltdown. When in preschool he attended the same school for three years, but changes in classrooms were EXTREMELY difficult for him. He knew all the teachers and one year his teacher even changed classes and taught him two consecutive years. None of this helped. I just figured he was just extra sensitive.

When he began Kindergarten he didn’t always play well with others and had difficulties sitting still on the carpet when they read stories, etc. I was actually told, “Your son is way below grade level.” I wondered how that was possible, I mean, he was in Kindergarten afterall! My husband and I had even paid tuition for him to go to all-day Kindergarten so he would get used to riding the bus and the routine wouldn’t change when he began first grade.

In first grade, I began asking if he had ADHD. He was evaluated and that was what we were told. The doctor prescribed a ritalin based medication and he seemed to calm, but lost his appetite and was a nightmare with major meltdowns every evening as he came down off the medications.

As he grew older we changed medications numerous times … because I wasn’t sure if his behaviors were side effects of the medications or just symptoms of his disorder (what ever that really was). After going through all the ritalin based medications and then the non-ritalin types we still didn’t know what to do!

He was on medications from first through fourth grades, but he NEVER had an appetite. He was smaller than most children in his class and very skinny. I would let him eat whatever he wanted, junk food or not, just to get him to eat … anything!

Through over two school years his pants size never changed. We only had to buy new pants because he’d warn them out and he’d grown a little taller. He also began complaining that he didn’t want to take his medicine because it made him feel like he couldn’t enjoy himself - that he felt so bored and sad all the time. THIS BROKE MY HEART. I couldn’t stand to see him zombified, especially when he was verbalizing it himself.

This past summer we took him off all meds and he did really well. His appetite picked up and he finally began to fill out. When school began he said he DID NOT want to take any medication. He is off his meds and his teacher has been very williing to work with him. We have made contracts regarding his behavior so he doesn’t disrupt the class and talk too much. If this happens his teacher will email me. Then he has a list of privileges that he must choose from to lose for four days. If we receive a second email from his teacher within the four day period, then he will lose a second privilege and the four day clock start all over. So far this has worked; I’m very thankful that our boy has a teacher who is willing to work with him and not require him to be doped up!

How about you, have any stories about trials on or off medications … what are your views?

Thanks for reading!
Jan

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