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Name: Aussie Lee
[ Original Post ]
Hi
Just wanted to share my story about my 4 year old son with moderate autism and adhd in the hope that parents of children with challenging behaviours might consider going down this path. My son was diagnosed at 3 and has always been a "handful" by anyones standards . childcare was impossible due to hitting and biting etc and life at home was becoming unbearable. He (and we) suffered numerous brutal tantrums on a daily basis and our house was steadily getting wrecked. He also had several obsessions which would basically rule his day. His functional speech was very limited and his poor brother was merely a punching bag in an effort to interact. Things came to a head, when we realised that we couldn't take him out of the house without major dramas- he would see a road and take his cue to run blindly across it-we are very lucky he is still alive. the stimulation outside the house was too much. In addition he had taken to crawling out windows upstairs and running on the roof, then sliding down the steepest pitch. Discipline (any type) wouls result in the nearest objects being hurled at us -sometimes knives. we took every preventable action to minimise his damage to his surrounds and people-all to no avail- he would find something new to do. As a family we were beginning to implode. I had always been against drugs, so it was with a heavy heart that we decided to consult a leading child psychiatrist for help. Basically we could not continue the way we were. I should add that my son has had numerous interventions, all sorts of therapy and support services in place, but life for all of us was just miserable.
the psychiatrist prescribe prozac for 3 weeks on its own- behaviour actually got worse but speech development took a giant leap. He then added ritalin (10mg) in the morning. the change is unbelievable. he is calm, compliant (mostly) and is showing more normal patterns of play. Speech is cotinuing to develop rapidly, tantrums are very infrequent, and he is just so much happier. Kinda is going brilliantly, he is starting to interact appropriately, loves singing and can sit at a task till its finished.. (I can't stop smiling)
I shed a tear when he actually answered a question-we are virtually now having a chat!
the highlight was our first big excursion to a local music festival. He didn't charge madly around, just hovered close by -I had a conversation with friends!. nor did he try to deflate the jumping castle, run on the stage, or hit anyone.
any side effects you ask? the only one we have noticed is a reduced appetite when on ritalin (effects last about 4 hours) this can be easily managed with a bit of juggling of meal times. No othe side effects have been noticed. yes I know there can be lots ( Ihave made acareer out managing my son) but these are generally rare.
no. his autism is not cured, but we are seeing the real boy emerge, and he is showing lots of potential. I don't know how long we will medicate him and at this stage, I'm not concerned, its wonderful to see a happy boy and as a family we are functioning again. so if you are goingthrough hell as we were, don't discount medication-if it doesn't work you haven't lost anything. Hope my story is helpful for someone
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Name: lisa | Date: Mar 31st, 2006 5:57 AM
hi my son is 5 has high functioning autisim and we have after being told he do something or he cant do a full day at school as he is adhd as well, his speech is good and his behaviour sucked, i was dead against drug after all the media hype you read, but have given in to ritalin 10mg and the best thing we ever did, the hyperactivity has gone and it has allow him to function and is learning at a great speed. the drugs work for some we are the lucky ones , others it can have an adverse effect you have to find the one that suits your child.
after 5yrs of struggling to keep sane i should have trialed it sooner,
lisa 

Name: aussie Lee | Date: Mar 31st, 2006 8:37 AM
thanks for your reply
So glad ritalin worked for your son, and that he is going well at school etc
and you're right -the drugs work for some and don't help for others, but I think we need to keep an open mind in order to do the best for our children-please parents, try everything that is offered - you just might find something that really helps. Where do you live Lisa? We might be able to swap ideas and strategies if we live on different continents. I am interested to know what discipline/learning/teaching ideas you might be able to share, and iIwill certainly do the same for you.
aussie lee 

Name: KRISTEN | Date: Apr 3rd, 2006 10:38 PM
If you look at all the research out there today - you might also come to the conclusion that Autism is caused by the mercury in vaccinations. Once the mercury (which the body cannot get rid of on it's own) is removed from the body by chelation, the child slowly returns to the way he should have been in the first place. I have seen it with my own eyes. A 4 year old with no speech, staring spells, in diapers and almost no emotions became this talkative, loving, intelligent girl in less than one years time while being chelated. 

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