I need help

April 17, 2012

Hi, I take another antipsychotic drug to treat my delusions. It is Geodon and it reportedly has less of a side effect of weight gain. There are other serious side effects such as drowsiness and involuntary muscle movements with long term use, so I appreciate your concern. I take it for a different reason, not for aggression. I am not sure how effective antipsychotics are for aggression. Have you tried a time out? I like a form of time out where the child is not physically removed, but the parent removes himself or herself from the child. This prevents the confrontation inherent in a physical or forceful movement to the time out area. Only recommended if harm is not being done during the time

out. Dave See my blog, Reward and Consent, on the ethics of behavior modification: http://rewardandconsent.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/RewardConsent From: Mom <ritzywright@...> autism Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 9:42 AM Subject: I need help

Does anyone have a child diagnosed with intermittent explosive rage? What works? Or even someone who is autistic with aggressive explosive behavior? Or please tell me it gets better in their 20's.

My son is 19, nonverbal, weighs 125 lbs. He has been on abilify for a couple of years and we are trying to get him off. The doctor is NO help. He just wants to switch to another antipsychotic drug which is worse in my opinion.

He was started on Risperdal but went back and forth between raging and being out. Then they gave him Elavil for migraines, then Abilify for raging. He has been raging for 3 years and we are at the end of our rope.

If anyone knows anything natural or anything drug that can help him without killing him, please email me. I am desperate. The doc has suggested Lamictal and Zyprexa. He takes a lot of vitamins but nothing helps.

Drissia

April 17, 2012

Thanks for your comments, but my son has started developing Tarkive Dyskenesia from the Abilify. I don't think that antipsychotics work for this problem from everything I have read. Weight gain is the least of my concerns even though this kid would be formidable if he gained a lot of weight. He is 6 ft. tall and strong as an ox now. The behavior looks like this: It looks like anxiety building for a couple of hours, then he will suddenly mash his face into the tv or computer screen until it is red and hunt down me or his dad trying to bite, kick, pinch us.

Drissia

From: Dave <rewardandconsent@...>Subject: Re: I need help"autism " <autism >Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 10:02 AM

Hi,

I take another antipsychotic drug to treat my delusions. It is Geodon and it reportedly has less of a side effect of weight gain. There are other serious side effects such as drowsiness and involuntary muscle movements with long term use, so I appreciate your concern. I take it for a different reason, not for aggression. I am not sure how effective antipsychotics are for aggression. Have you tried a time out? I like a form of time out where the child is not physically removed, but the parent removes himself or herself from the child. This prevents the confrontation inherent in a physical or forceful movement to the time out area. Only recommended if harm is not being done during the time out.

Dave

See my blog, Reward and Consent, on the ethics of behavior modification: http://rewardandconsent.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/RewardConsent

From: Mom <ritzywright@...>autism Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 9:42 AMSubject: I need help

Does anyone have a child diagnosed with intermittent explosive rage? What works? Or even someone who is autistic with aggressive explosive behavior? Or please tell me it gets better in their 20's.My son is 19, nonverbal, weighs 125 lbs. He has been on abilify for a couple of years and we are trying to get him off. The doctor is NO help. He just wants to switch to another antipsychotic drug which is worse in my opinion. He was started on Risperdal but went back and forth between raging and being out. Then they gave him Elavil for migraines, then Abilify for raging. He has been raging for 3 years and we are at the end of our rope. If anyone knows anything natural or anything drug that can help him without killing him, please email me. I am desperate. The doc has suggested Lamictal and Zyprexa. He takes a lot of vitamins but nothing

helps.Drissia

April 17, 2012

Hi Drissia ~My son used to have aggression/rages quite frequently. It seemed antipsychotics did not work with him. Right now, we're having much better luck with Depakote and Prozac. He no longer sees a psychiatrist but instead he's seen by a good neurologist. It might be that he needs a different classification of meds (not antipsychotics).HTH,HeidiFrom: "Mom" <ritzywright@...>autism Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 6:42:46 AMSubject: I need help

Does anyone have a child diagnosed with intermittent explosive rage? What works? Or even someone who is autistic with aggressive explosive behavior? Or please tell me it gets better in their 20's.

My son is 19, nonverbal, weighs 125 lbs. He has been on abilify for a couple of years and we are trying to get him off. The doctor is NO help. He just wants to switch to another antipsychotic drug which is worse in my opinion.

He was started on Risperdal but went back and forth between raging and being out. Then they gave him Elavil for migraines, then Abilify for raging. He has been raging for 3 years and we are at the end of our rope.

If anyone knows anything natural or anything drug that can help him without killing him, please email me. I am desperate. The doc has suggested Lamictal and Zyprexa. He takes a lot of vitamins but nothing helps.

Drissia

April 17, 2012

Can you work up a program to help him when his frustration level is at the â€œanxiety stageâ€? Perhaps work on some self regulating techniques and that was he is empowered and feels in control and can nip the issue in the bud before it gets out of hand?? I know this sounds terribly simplistic but it sounds doable to me especially that you can see the progression of his anxiety. Hang in there

mary

From: drissia wright

Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 12:27 PM

autism

Subject: Re: I need help

Thanks for your comments, but my son has started developing Tarkive Dyskenesia from the Abilify. I don't think that antipsychotics work for this problem from everything I have read. Weight gain is the least of my concerns even though this kid would be formidable if he gained a lot of weight. He is 6 ft. tall and strong as an ox now. The behavior looks like this: It looks like anxiety building for a couple of hours, then he will suddenly mash his face into the tv or computer screen until it is red and hunt down me or his dad trying to bite, kick, pinch us.

Drissia

From: Dave <rewardandconsent@...>Subject: Re: I need help"autism " <autism >Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 10:02 AM

Hi,

I take another antipsychotic drug to treat my delusions. It is Geodon and it reportedly has less of a side effect of weight gain. There are other serious side effects such as drowsiness and involuntary muscle movements with long term use, so I appreciate your concern. I take it for a different reason, not for aggression. I am not sure how effective antipsychotics are for aggression. Have you tried a time out? I like a form of time out where the child is not physically removed, but the parent removes himself or herself from the child. This prevents the confrontation inherent in a physical or forceful movement to the time out area. Only recommended if harm is not being done during the time out.

Dave

See my blog, Reward and Consent, on the ethics of behavior modification: http://rewardandconsent.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/RewardConsent

From: Mom <ritzywright@...>autism Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 9:42 AMSubject: I need help

Does anyone have a child diagnosed with intermittent explosive rage? What works? Or even someone who is autistic with aggressive explosive behavior? Or please tell me it gets better in their 20's.My son is 19, nonverbal, weighs 125 lbs. He has been on abilify for a couple of years and we are trying to get him off. The doctor is NO help. He just wants to switch to another antipsychotic drug which is worse in my opinion. He was started on Risperdal but went back and forth between raging and being out. Then they gave him Elavil for migraines, then Abilify for raging. He has been raging for 3 years and we are at the end of our rope. If anyone knows anything natural or anything drug that can help him without killing him, please email me. I am desperate. The doc has suggested Lamictal and Zyprexa. He takes a lot of vitamins but nothing helps.Drissia

April 17, 2012

Please check out Stillman's material. He also has a website and you can reach him in person. He works with young people like your son and is ASD himself.

On Tue, Apr 17, 2012 at 9:42 AM, Mom <ritzywright@...> wrote:

Does anyone have a child diagnosed with intermittent explosive rage? What works? Or even someone who is autistic with aggressive explosive behavior? Or please tell me it gets better in their 20's.

My son is 19, nonverbal, weighs 125 lbs. He has been on abilify for a couple of years and we are trying to get him off. The doctor is NO help. He just wants to switch to another antipsychotic drug which is worse in my opinion.

He was started on Risperdal but went back and forth between raging and being out. Then they gave him Elavil for migraines, then Abilify for raging. He has been raging for 3 years and we are at the end of our rope.

If anyone knows anything natural or anything drug that can help him without killing him, please email me. I am desperate. The doc has suggested Lamictal and Zyprexa. He takes a lot of vitamins but nothing helps.

Drissia

April 18, 2012

We live in CA. My son is an adult, but his neuro sees adults and children. He has offices in CA and FL.HeidiFrom: "drissia wright" <ritzywright@...>autism Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 12:41:26 PMSubject: Re: I need help

The neurologist he had a couple of years back tried prozac with the Abilify, but it just increased the effectiveness of the abilify in the body. Where do you live? Is he an adult or a child?

From: theshabbysheep@... <theshabbysheep@...>Subject: Re: I need helpautism Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 12:01 PM

Hi Drissia ~My son used to have aggression/rages quite frequently. It seemed antipsychotics did not work with him. Right now, we're having much better luck with Depakote and Prozac. He no longer sees a psychiatrist but instead he's seen by a good neurologist. It might be that he needs a different classification of meds (not antipsychotics).HTH,Heidi

From: "Mom" <ritzywright@...>autism Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 6:42:46 AMSubject: I need help

Does anyone have a child diagnosed with intermittent explosive rage? What works? Or even someone who is autistic with aggressive explosive behavior? Or please tell me it gets better in their 20's.My son is 19, nonverbal, weighs 125 lbs. He has been on abilify for a couple of years and we are trying to get him off. The doctor is NO help. He just wants to switch to another antipsychotic drug which is worse in my opinion. He was started on Risperdal but went back and forth between raging and being out. Then they gave him Elavil for migraines, then Abilify for raging. He has been raging for 3 years and we are at the end of our rope. If anyone knows anything natural or anything drug that can help him without killing him, please email me. I am desperate. The doc has suggested Lamictal and Zyprexa. He takes a lot of vitamins but nothing helps.Drissia

April 18, 2012

Where are you located?HeidiFrom: "drissia wright" <ritzywright@...>autism Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 12:42:13 PMSubject: Re: I need help

How do you find a good neurologist for an adult?

From: theshabbysheep@... <theshabbysheep@...>Subject: Re: I need helpautism Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 12:01 PM

Hi Drissia ~My son used to have aggression/rages quite frequently. It seemed antipsychotics did not work with him. Right now, we're having much better luck with Depakote and Prozac. He no longer sees a psychiatrist but instead he's seen by a good neurologist. It might be that he needs a different classification of meds (not antipsychotics).HTH,Heidi

From: "Mom" <ritzywright@...>autism Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 6:42:46 AMSubject: I need help

Does anyone have a child diagnosed with intermittent explosive rage? What works? Or even someone who is autistic with aggressive explosive behavior? Or please tell me it gets better in their 20's.My son is 19, nonverbal, weighs 125 lbs. He has been on abilify for a couple of years and we are trying to get him off. The doctor is NO help. He just wants to switch to another antipsychotic drug which is worse in my opinion. He was started on Risperdal but went back and forth between raging and being out. Then they gave him Elavil for migraines, then Abilify for raging. He has been raging for 3 years and we are at the end of our rope. If anyone knows anything natural or anything drug that can help him without killing him, please email me. I am desperate. The doc has suggested Lamictal and Zyprexa. He takes a lot of vitamins but nothing helps.Drissia

April 18, 2012

My son takes Klonopin .5mg. 3xday. They put him on that so that he could tolerate the anxiety from the Abilify. He also takes Amantadine. Even with everything he still has meltdowns.

From: theshabbysheep@... <theshabbysheep@...>Subject: Re: I need helpautism Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 12:01 PM

Hi Drissia ~My son used to have aggression/rages quite frequently. It seemed antipsychotics did not work with him. Right now, we're having much better luck with Depakote and Prozac. He no longer sees a psychiatrist but instead he's seen by a good neurologist. It might be that he needs a different classification of meds (not antipsychotics).HTH,Heidi

From: "Mom" <ritzywright@...>autism Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 6:42:46 AMSubject: I need help

Does anyone have a child diagnosed with intermittent explosive rage? What works? Or even someone who is autistic with aggressive explosive behavior? Or please tell me it gets better in their 20's.My son is 19, nonverbal, weighs 125 lbs. He has been on abilify for a couple of years and we are trying to get him off. The doctor is NO help. He just wants to switch to another antipsychotic drug which is worse in my opinion. He was started on Risperdal but went back and forth between raging and being out. Then they gave him Elavil for migraines, then Abilify for raging. He has been raging for 3 years and we are at the end of our rope. If anyone knows anything natural or anything drug that can help him without killing him, please email me. I am desperate. The doc has suggested Lamictal and Zyprexa. He takes a lot of vitamins but nothing helps.Drissia

April 18, 2012

He doesn't do any of that. It's almost like it hits out of the blue and he wants someone to stop the pain in his head. He tries to take our hands and pound the sides of his head. The guy who did the eeg said it sounded like classic temporal lobe seizures but didn't find anything. The only thing that comes before is pacing back and forth. Sometimes it seems to be anger but over something that happened hours before. Afterwards he just sits and blinks for a while like " I can't believe I did that".

From: Dave <rewardandconsent@...>Subject: Re: I need help"autism " <autism >Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 10:02 AM

Hi,

I take another antipsychotic drug to treat my delusions. It is Geodon and it reportedly has less of a side effect of weight gain. There are other serious side effects such as drowsiness and involuntary muscle movements with long term use, so I appreciate your concern. I take it for a different reason, not for aggression. I am not sure how effective antipsychotics are for aggression. Have you tried a time out? I like a form of time out where the child is not physically removed, but the parent removes himself or herself from the child. This prevents the confrontation inherent in a physical or forceful movement to the time out area. Only recommended if harm is not being done during the time out.

Dave

See my blog, Reward and Consent, on the ethics of behavior modification: http://rewardandconsent.blogspot.com/ and follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#%21/RewardConsent

From: Mom <ritzywright@...>autism Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 9:42 AMSubject: I need help

Does anyone have a child diagnosed with intermittent explosive rage? What works? Or even someone who is autistic with aggressive explosive behavior? Or please tell me it gets better in their 20's.My son is 19, nonverbal, weighs 125 lbs. He has been on abilify for a couple of years and we are trying to get him off. The doctor is NO help. He just wants to switch to another antipsychotic drug which is worse in my opinion. He was started on Risperdal but went back and forth between raging and being out. Then they gave him Elavil for migraines, then Abilify for raging. He has been raging for 3 years and we are at the end of our rope. If anyone knows anything natural or anything drug that can help him without killing him, please email me. I am desperate. The doc has suggested Lamictal and Zyprexa. He takes a lot of vitamins but nothing

helps.Drissia

April 18, 2012

North Carolina, about 30 min. from Charlotte.

From: theshabbysheep@... <theshabbysheep@...>Subject: Re: I need helpautism Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 12:01 PM

Hi Drissia ~My son used to have aggression/rages quite frequently. It seemed antipsychotics did not work with him. Right now, we're having much better luck with Depakote and Prozac. He no longer sees a psychiatrist but instead he's seen by a good neurologist. It might be that he needs a different classification of meds (not antipsychotics).HTH,Heidi

From: "Mom" <ritzywright@...>autism Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 6:42:46 AMSubject: I need help

Does anyone have a child diagnosed with intermittent explosive rage? What works? Or even someone who is autistic with aggressive explosive behavior? Or please tell me it gets better in their 20's.My son is 19, nonverbal, weighs 125 lbs. He has been on abilify for a couple of years and we are trying to get him off. The doctor is NO help. He just wants to switch to another antipsychotic drug which is worse in my opinion. He was started on Risperdal but went back and forth between raging and being out. Then they gave him Elavil for migraines, then Abilify for raging. He has been raging for 3 years and we are at the end of our rope. If anyone knows anything natural or anything drug that can help him without killing him, please email me. I am desperate. The doc has suggested Lamictal and Zyprexa. He takes a lot of vitamins but nothing helps.Drissia

April 18, 2012

Who is your doctor?

From: theshabbysheep@... <theshabbysheep@...>Subject: Re: I need helpautism Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 12:01 PM

Hi Drissia ~My son used to have aggression/rages quite frequently. It seemed antipsychotics did not work with him. Right now, we're having much better luck with Depakote and Prozac. He no longer sees a psychiatrist but instead he's seen by a good neurologist. It might be that he needs a different classification of meds (not antipsychotics).HTH,Heidi

From: "Mom" <ritzywright@...>autism Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 6:42:46 AMSubject: I need help

Does anyone have a child diagnosed with intermittent explosive rage? What works? Or even someone who is autistic with aggressive explosive behavior? Or please tell me it gets better in their 20's.My son is 19, nonverbal, weighs 125 lbs. He has been on abilify for a couple of years and we are trying to get him off. The doctor is NO help. He just wants to switch to another antipsychotic drug which is worse in my opinion. He was started on Risperdal but went back and forth between raging and being out. Then they gave him Elavil for migraines, then Abilify for raging. He has been raging for 3 years and we are at the end of our rope. If anyone knows anything natural or anything drug that can help him without killing him, please email me. I am desperate. The doc has suggested Lamictal and Zyprexa. He takes a lot of vitamins but nothing helps.Drissia

April 18, 2012

Ok Thanks. He goes to a neuropsychiatrist now who has given me a list of medications that may help and depakote was one. The others were lamictal and zyprexa. I just can't understand how giving another drug in the same class with the same list of side effects is going to do much good and open him up to diabetes.

From: theshabbysheep@... <theshabbysheep@...>Subject: Re: I need helpautism Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 12:01 PM

Hi Drissia ~My son used to have aggression/rages quite frequently. It seemed antipsychotics did not work with him. Right now, we're having much better luck with Depakote and Prozac. He no longer sees a psychiatrist but instead he's seen by a good neurologist. It might be that he needs a different classification of meds (not antipsychotics).HTH,Heidi

From: "Mom" <ritzywright@...>autism Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 6:42:46 AMSubject: I need help

Does anyone have a child diagnosed with intermittent explosive rage? What works? Or even someone who is autistic with aggressive explosive behavior? Or please tell me it gets better in their 20's.My son is 19, nonverbal, weighs 125 lbs. He has been on abilify for a couple of years and we are trying to get him off. The doctor is NO help. He just wants to switch to another antipsychotic drug which is worse in my opinion. He was started on Risperdal but went back and forth between raging and being out. Then they gave him Elavil for migraines, then Abilify for raging. He has been raging for 3 years and we are at the end of our rope. If anyone knows anything natural or anything drug that can help him without killing him, please email me. I am desperate. The doc has suggested Lamictal and Zyprexa. He takes a lot of vitamins but nothing helps.Drissia

April 18, 2012

This article from the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis found that head banging in three disabled children was maintained by adult attention as a reinforcer. http://www.jeabjaba.org/abstracts/JabaAbstracts/27/27-131.Htm ... What do you do when he takes your hand and pounds the side of his head? Again, I'm only a researcher and a writer on the subject. A Board Certified Behavior Analyst is much more qualified than me to address head banging.Dave See my blog, Reward and Consent, on the ethics of behavior modification - of people with disabilities and of people with much power: http://rewardandconsent.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/RewardConsent. From: drissia wright <ritzywright@...> autism Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2012 10:15 AM Subject: Re: I need help

He doesn't do any of that. It's almost like it hits out of the blue and he wants someone to stop the pain in his head. He tries to take our hands and pound the sides of his head. The guy who did the eeg said it sounded like classic temporal lobe seizures but didn't find anything. The only thing that comes before is pacing back and forth. Sometimes it seems to be anger but over something that happened hours before. Afterwards he just sits and blinks for a while like " I can't believe I did that".

From: Dave <rewardandconsent@...>Subject: Re: I need help"autism " <autism >Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 10:02 AM

Hi,

I take another antipsychotic drug to treat my delusions. It is Geodon and it reportedly has less of a side effect of weight gain. There are other serious side effects such as drowsiness and involuntary muscle movements with long term use, so I appreciate your concern. I take it for a different reason, not for aggression. I am not sure how effective antipsychotics are for aggression. Have you tried a time out? I like a form of time out where the child is not physically removed, but the parent removes himself or herself from the child. This prevents the confrontation inherent in a physical or forceful movement to the time out area. Only recommended if harm is not being done during the time out.

Dave

See my blog, Reward and Consent, on the ethics of behavior modification: http://rewardandconsent.blogspot.com/ and follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#%21/RewardConsent

From: Mom <ritzywright@...>autism Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 9:42 AMSubject: I need help

Does anyone have a child diagnosed with intermittent explosive rage? What works? Or even someone who is autistic with aggressive explosive behavior? Or please tell me it gets better in their 20's.My son is 19, nonverbal, weighs 125 lbs. He has been on abilify for a couple of years and we are trying to get him off. The doctor is NO help. He just wants to switch to another antipsychotic drug which is worse in my opinion. He was started on Risperdal but went back and forth between raging and being out. Then they gave him Elavil for migraines, then Abilify for raging. He has been raging for 3 years and we are at the end of our rope. If anyone knows anything natural or anything drug that can help him without killing him, please email me. I am desperate. The doc has suggested Lamictal and Zyprexa. He takes a lot of vitamins but nothing

helps.Drissia

April 19, 2012

I'm so sorry you're having a hard time. I second the messages from Dave. I think a BCBA would be a very good choice to consult for help. They can also help you systematically and objectively determine whether any medications are helping. Check their credentials . . . for a case as intense and complex as your son, consider someone with a Ph.D./BCBA-D or a Masters Degree in ABA. Many BCBA's have a Masters in a "related field" plus a certificate in ABA. Some BCBA certificate professionals may be very good, so don't necessarily rule them out, but ask about their experience and success with similar cases. Those with a degree in ABA (plus proven experience) may be better prepared. Another clue that you've found a highly skilled professional, is that they prioritize doing a Functional Analysis or FA (vs. only

an FBA - Functional Behavior Assessment). There are sometimes good reasons for not doing an FA, but FAs are best practice for understanding the function of the problem behavior, leading to a function-based behavioral intervention which is much more likely to be effective. FAs can be definitive. FBAs are more like a good guess. Prepare yourself and your family to take a new approach to responding to your son's behavior based on the BCBA's behavior plan. If you can arrange a Personal Care Attendant or other support staff for your con to be trained with you, this individual can support you in implementing the plan and give you a break. It can often be intense at first, but your effort can really pay off in the end. And there is no guessing. The BCBA will provide data to demonstrate whether the plan is working or not. Best of luck!Kelley

April 19, 2012

Thanks. Seems like a good idea, but I live in a small town in NC. When I asked about behavior therapy 3 years ago when this first started, the ped commented that there were none he knew of that he could recommend. Case manager called a couple of people and they weren't interested in seeing a person with autism and who was MR.

I am the first to admit that life revolves around this kid and we need help with behavior modification--lots of help with sensory integration and maybe help with medication, but the resources are limited and our funds are more limited. When we first found out about ABA it was going to cost more than we made as a family. I recently ran across someone who had ABA for her son and she referred to it in a very negative tone saying "the folks had you by the throat and weren't worth the trouble".

I know there are all kinds of resources in some states and are paid for by insurance but this isn't one of them. We have a waiver program here and the TEACCH program to diagnose autism, but not much else in the way of professionals who specialize in the disorder. His ped said he knew nothing about autism so when I checked around, nobody else seemed to either. The classrooms were violent and chaotic and recommended putting your kids on drugs as soon as possible. The therapy centers are only pediatric and will not see anyone over 18. I could go on but it seems pointless.

Thanks for the recommendation. BCBA is what you said, right?

From: Kelley St. Clair <saintclairity@...>Subject: Re: I need help"autism " <autism >Date: Thursday, April 19, 2012, 7:30 AM

I'm so sorry you're having a hard time. I second the messages from Dave. I think a BCBA would be a very good choice to consult for help. They can also help you systematically and objectively determine whether any medications are helping. Check their credentials . . . for a case as intense and complex as your son, consider someone with a Ph.D./BCBA-D or a Masters Degree in ABA. Many BCBA's have a Masters in a "related field" plus a certificate in ABA. Some BCBA certificate professionals may be very good, so don't necessarily rule them out, but ask about their experience and success with similar cases. Those with a degree in ABA (plus proven experience) may be better prepared.

Another clue that you've found a highly skilled professional, is that they prioritize doing a Functional Analysis or FA (vs. only an FBA - Functional Behavior Assessment). There are sometimes good reasons for not doing an FA, but FAs are best practice for understanding the function of the problem behavior, leading to a function-based behavioral intervention which is much more likely to be effective. FAs can be definitive. FBAs are more like a good guess.

Prepare yourself and your family to take a new approach to responding to your son's behavior based on the BCBA's behavior plan. If you can arrange a Personal Care Attendant or other support staff for your con to be trained with you, this individual can support you in implementing the plan and give you a break. It can often be intense at first, but your effort can really pay off in the end. And there is no guessing. The BCBA will provide data to demonstrate whether the plan is working or not.

Best of luck!

Kelley

April 19, 2012

Hi Drissia:This may not relate to your situation at all but I thought I would share my son's experience. When my son, f was 2 - 3 years old he has terrible tantrums. Headbanging, throwing, kicking, screaming, you name it. Our behavior analyst told me to keep the environment safe and to ignore the behavior. I put pillows, removed all throwables, anything I could think off. Over a few months it got a little better. What really made a difference was f's emerging ability to use language. He rarely has a tantrum now. Like I said, this may not relate to your issue. Does your son have a way to communicate-PECS or dynavox? Could it possibly be sensory related if seizures have been ruled out? It is probably worth getting the more advanced eeg to make sure seizures aren't the cause. Anyway, I know your frustration. It's very tough to watch. Good luck to you.Best Regards,Eileen

April 19, 2012

Daphne, If you have ruled out medical problems, can you afford a Board Certified Behavior Analyst? Does Florida have insurance coverage for Applied Behavior Analysis? BCBA's do data-based functional analyses of the antecedents to behavior (A), the specific behavior involved (, and the consequences at play ©. Many times parents or teachers unwittingly reinforce unwanted behavior by allowing escape from demands or by giving negative attention to a problem. It's not their fault. It takes training in ABA to see how it works. An analyst may be able to tell you if this is taking place. Dave at the New Jersey Shore See my blog, Reward and Consent, on

the ethics of behavior modification - of people with disabilities and of people with much power: http://rewardandconsent.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/RewardConsent. From: DAPHNE <daffertulsa1@...> "autism " <autism > Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2012 9:33

PM Subject: Re: I need help

Hello everyone, my name is Daphne Craig. I am the single parent of a 12 year old autistic son. I have had behavioral problems with him for a few years, to the point where i have had to have him bakeracted (how ever you wspell it) and had the local police out to my house on numerous occassions. I live in ville, Florida and my son has been on so many meds and nothing really seemed to help. He is currently on Ritilin 10 mg 3 times a day, Seroquel 200 mg (200 am, 100mg 12 noon and 200mg at night) and depakote 250 mg 2 times a day. When was on everything above but was only on a total of 400mg of seroquel he was out of control. The increased medicine in the noon time has made a world of difference, I do not like my son being on all these medicines, but for now they are

working.

It is so hard even in a big city to find services and doctors who really know what they are doing when it comes to autism, we finally found a awesome neurologist at nemours childrens clinic and joshua has been seeing a great psychiatrist too. It is trial an error unfortunately, I will see if i can find any information on natural medicines. Good luck toeveryone, if you want to correspond with me you can contact me at this email daffertulsa1@....

From: drissia wright <ritzywright@...>autism Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2012 10:15 AMSubject: Re: I need help

North Carolina, about 30 min. from Charlotte.

From: theshabbysheep@... <theshabbysheep@...>Subject: Re: I need helpautism Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 12:01 PM

Hi Drissia ~ My son used to have aggression/rages quite frequently. It seemed antipsychotics did not work with him. Right now, we're having much better luck with Depakote and Prozac. He no longer sees a psychiatrist but instead he's seen by a good neurologist. It might be that he needs a different classification of meds (not antipsychotics). HTH, Heidi From: "Mom" <ritzywright@...>autism Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 6:42:46 AMSubject: I need help

Does anyone have a child diagnosed with intermittent explosive rage? What works? Or even someone who is autistic with aggressive explosive behavior? Or please tell me it gets better in their 20's. My son is 19, nonverbal, weighs 125 lbs. He has been on abilify for a couple of years and we are trying to get him off. The doctor is NO help. He just wants to switch to another antipsychotic drug which is worse in my opinion. He was started on Risperdal but went back and forth between raging and being out. Then they gave him Elavil for migraines, then Abilify for raging. He has been raging for 3 years and we are at the end of our rope. If anyone knows anything natural or anything drug that can help him without killing him, please email me. I am desperate. The doc has suggested Lamictal and Zyprexa. He takes a lot of vitamins but nothing helps. Drissia

April 19, 2012

Daphne, If you have ruled out medical problems, can you afford a Board Certified Behavior Analyst? Does Florida have insurance coverage for Applied Behavior Analysis? BCBA's do data-based functional analyses of the antecedents to behavior (A), the specific behavior involved (, and the consequences at play ©. Many times parents or teachers unwittingly reinforce unwanted behavior by allowing escape from demands or by giving negative attention to a problem. It's An analyst may

be able to tell you if this is taking place. Dave at the New Jersey Shore See my blog, Reward and Consent, on the ethics of behavior modification - of people with disabilities and of people with much power: http://rewardandconsent.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#%21/RewardConsent. From: DAPHNE <daffertulsa1@...> "autism " <autism > Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2012 9:33 PM Subject: Re: I need help

Hello everyone, my name is Daphne Craig. I am the single parent of a 12 year old autistic son. I have had behavioral problems with him for a few years, to the point where i have had to have him bakeracted (how ever you wspell it) and had the local police out to my house on numerous occassions. I live in ville, Florida and my son has been on so many meds and nothing really seemed to help. He is currently on Ritilin 10 mg 3 times a day, Seroquel 200 mg (200 am, 100mg 12 noon and 200mg at night) and depakote 250 mg 2 times a day. When was on everything above but was only on a total of 400mg of seroquel he was out of control. The increased medicine in the noon time has made a world of difference, I do not like my son being on all these medicines, but for now they are

working.

It is so hard even in a big city to find services and doctors who really know what they are doing when it comes to autism, we finally found a awesome neurologist at nemours childrens clinic and joshua has been seeing a great psychiatrist too. It is trial an error unfortunately, I will see if i can find any information on natural medicines. Good luck toeveryone, if you want to correspond with me you can contact me at this email daffertulsa1@....

From: drissia wright <ritzywright@...>autism Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2012 10:15 AMSubject: Re: I need help

North Carolina, about 30 min. from Charlotte.

From: theshabbysheep@... <theshabbysheep@...>Subject: Re: I need helpautism Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 12:01 PM

Hi Drissia ~ My son used to have aggression/rages quite frequently. It seemed antipsychotics did not work with him. Right now, we're having much better luck with Depakote and Prozac. He no longer sees a psychiatrist but instead he's seen by a good neurologist. It might be that he needs a different classification of meds (not antipsychotics). HTH, Heidi From: "Mom" <ritzywright@...>autism Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 6:42:46 AMSubject: I need help

Does anyone have a child diagnosed with intermittent explosive rage? What works? Or even someone who is autistic with aggressive explosive behavior? Or please tell me it gets better in their 20's. My son is 19, nonverbal, weighs 125 lbs. He has been on abilify for a couple of years and we are trying to get him off. The doctor is NO help. He just wants to switch to another antipsychotic drug which is worse in my opinion. He was started on Risperdal but went back and forth between raging and being out. Then they gave him Elavil for migraines, then Abilify for raging. He has been raging for 3 years and we are at the end of our rope. If anyone knows anything natural or anything drug that can help him without killing him, please email me. I am desperate. The doc has suggested Lamictal and Zyprexa. He takes a lot of vitamins but nothing helps. Drissia

April 19, 2012

Hello,

It seems your son definitely has some medical issues. If he is touching his temples you have to ruleout headache, earache, tooth ache or sinus infection. If you suspect gastritis it should be corrected. I heard about few adults with autism whose meltdowns decreased after taking peptobismol.

If you are not sure 100% that these behaviours are not due to some physical problems then having a behavioural plan to put these behaviours to extinct will cause more problems, not less. I am not against ABA. It is an extremely good therapy to teach skills. Especially for nonverbal kids to learn skills and communication it is quite valuable. If you have an ABA program and everything goes good, well, success needs no explanation. It is very difficult to have a good program even with experts who have high qualifications in this field for kids with complex issues like your son, because according to behavioural principles you should not pay any attention to the inappropriate behaviors which is very difficult if your kid is having pain or some other medical issue. So if the program is not going great as planned then you will end up having more problems. The negative effects of an

incorrectly implemented ABA program is much more severe compared to other therapies for autism. I am cautioning you. I am not advising against ABA and I am talking from my own experience .

Is he eating good? Do you suspect any hypoglycemia? Having low BP in the morning is not good and that itself may be reason for his behaviours. Does his low blood pressure get corrected during the rest of the day ? Do you see any pattern in his behaviour? Does his behaviour improve after eating or once his BP improve?

Watch him closely. Monitor him through out the day . You have to raise a lot of questions about your son's health yourself and by careful observation of your son's behaviours you will get answers. This is very hard and you have to do it yourself. You can get some help from medical doctors , not much though as they can see your son only for a few minutes.

It seems that you are doing a gluten free diet but it is not 100%. You might want to totally

eliminate gluten from his diet and see if it makes any positive changes in his behaviour.

Feingold diet is another option. These dietary modifications will limit the number of foods he eats , but as long as you make sure he is not hungry and his basic nutritional needs are met you will see a marked improvement in his behaviour. Take care. Good luck.

Savithri

April 19, 2012

My daughter will tantrum when she has a bad headache. She hasn't had one in awhile though since we realized one of her seizure meds was what caused the headaches.Giving motrin helped her. However if your son has stomach problems, motrin might makes it worse.Elaine

u

April 19, 2012

Thanks. I appreciate your comments. In fact the gastroenterologist has said that he has gastritis for which we have started daily prevacid, possibly going up to twice a day. This concerns me as they found osteoporosis 6 months ago and have been trying to correct it. He also thinks he has IBS but can't find any meds that he can tolerate. One med shut down his kidneys and the other made him have meltdown behavior.

I did several blood pressure checks today. Once the anxiety, pacing or whatever starts(about 10:30 am) his blood pressure went to 140/114. 4 hours later was 132/105. It is never high in the doctors office, so they don't see any problem. He has normal cholesterol and blood sugars with blood tests but his iron and vit. d are low--very low. Some of the liver enzymes are a little high but he takes 3 drugs.

I have an older son with IBD and his blood pressure spikes which he gets under extreme stress. So it makes sense that this son may have some of the same problems. I have felt for a long time that we are looking at a "fight or flight" problem with his behavior and that it is something he seemingly has no control over.

He is a spoiled kid as in getting what he wants but the aggression seems to be totally unrelated.

From: savithri kumar <savithrikumar2003@...>Subject: Re: Re: I need helpautism Date: Thursday, April 19, 2012, 1:51 PM