anti depressants anyone have an opinion??????????

[Guest guest]

I decided to privately get my daughter checked out.In a couple months we will

be getting more test done.At the first the doctor couldn't image what the

problem could be.I told him since 2 1/2 she has had verbal apraxia,but I have

always thought there was something else ( nothing serious)This doctor felt

that way too,as a matter of fact he has never met a child like mine.He felt

she had autisic behaviour but that she wasn't autisic.She had some attention

problems ,he thought there also was selective mutism (spelt wrong).He thought

that after all the testing she might be a candidate for anti depressants.He

didn't think she was depressed but that this kind of drug would help her

obssessive compulsive behavior,help negative responses to things.He thought it

would give her the confidence to be with any speech therepy. SSSSOOOO, does

anyone have an opinion??????????.My daughter is 5 years and right now is in a

multiple disabilities kindergarten class. Also why do I to pay for this

outside evaualtion with my insurance company? Thank you, Leone

[Guest guest]

Deborah,

I don't necessarily agree with your statements....Many of the " autism

characteristics " that some parents see.....are Sensory integration

issues!!!!! This could be what the doctor was referring to!!!! Preemies

show this tendancy alot and some outgrow it all on their own!!! Just a

thought to add to your statements....While I do agree absolutely that a

doctor should not keep you in the dark and that parents need to forcefully

ask what they are saying exactly!!! I also agree with these treatments that

you have mentioned!! Looked into them myself when we were being looked at for

PDD/Autism Spectrum .......

Just wanted to add this.

[Guest guest]

Hi,

OK I am sure that many people can vouch for having had good results

with these medications, and for many they may well be something that

you ultimately need to consider but as a FIRST option !!

i am very sceptical abvout anyone treating autism solely as a

phsycological cndition so why should something designed to shift mood

and or produce seratoinin help. It is very unusual to have a

medication that is free from side effects - particularly with long

term use.

My son has autism and I hate to be rude but your Doctor does not

inspire me with much confidence . A child displaying autistic

tendencies has autism (I'm sorry if that sounds harsh) - it may just

be REALLY mild so either your Doctor is patronising you by feeling

that you would not cope with the proper diagnosis or he really does

not understand the condition.

A tendency is just a really mild form of the condition , so mild

perhaps as to almost go unnoticed but autism nonetheless. Treat it as

it is and you may see improvement. My son has made fantastic progress

by changing his diet ( gfcf - go to www.autismmedical.com or

www.autismdiet.com ) , many other children benefit from different

teaching programmes such as ABA. Many of the children looking into

dietary interventions only have dispraxia - some just very mild add

on conditions like Aspergers or ADD . Taking milk out helped Charlie

sleep and helped his eye contact - treating for yeast helped his

speech enormously - if your child is so mild these things may be a

complete answer for her. What specific tendencies are you seeing.

Autism ( especially mild ) is REALLY common now ( more common than

Downs , spina bifida and most other childhood difficulties combined

and parents are finding REAL treatments . Please explore the options

before you start on the medication route.

Whatever you decide to do I wish you and your little one evry good

luck.

Regards

Deborah

>He thought

> that after all the testing she might be a candidate for anti

depressants.He

> didn't think she was depressed but that this kind of drug would

help her

> obssessive compulsive behavior,help negative responses to things.He

thought it

> would give her the confidence to be with any speech therepy.

SSSSOOOO, does

> anyone have an opinion??????????.My daughter is 5 years and right

now is in a

> multiple disabilities kindergarten class. Also why do I to pay for

this

> outside evaualtion with my insurance company? Thank you, Leone

[Guest guest]

Dear ,

My daughter with apraxia and other factors that look like autistic

tendencies also has been advised to take an antidepressant.

Within the first few days we saw remarkable differences in several areas.

First, she started to sleep through the night. Second, her eye contact

improved. Third, nearly all temper tantrums stopped. Fourth, she started

to copy some of our language. Fifth, obsessive/compulsive behaviors

decreased significantly.

For our daughter who is on the autism spectrum somewhere, these changes

were nearly immediate. I attribute the changes to a positive effect on the

neurotransmitter serotonin as that was one of the elements of the medicine.

However, she is still struggling with many of the issues that are part of

autism. Her language still is seriously delayed, her social interactions

need much encouragement and work and there are still major sensory

processing issues.

I think that the medicine was (is) a tremendous help to us. However, I

feel there is still a biomedical clue that is not clear yet. The immune

system seems to be one of the factors that may not work well in her due to

a variety of factors. Some of the approaches that could help her and that

we consider are: the enzyme system in the body and the body's ability to

deal with difficulties such as viruses or toxins in the environment.

I find the information at The Pfeiffer Treatment Center to be of interest

as those scientists are looking at the possibility that the metallothionein

protein in the body could be coaxed to work more effectively. If this

happens, the body system of someone who may be especially sensitive, such

as someone with autism, may work much better. This could affect learning

and language and interactions. You might enjoy looking at their website:

http://www.hriptc.org

Best wishes in finding help for your child,

At 09:55 PM 3/24/02 -0500, you wrote:

>I decided to privately get my daughter checked out.In a couple months we will

>be getting more test done.At the first the doctor couldn't image what the

>problem could be.I told him since 2 1/2 she has had verbal apraxia,but I have

>always thought there was something else ( nothing serious)This doctor felt

>that way too,as a matter of fact he has never met a child like mine.He felt

>she had autisic behaviour but that she wasn't autisic.She had some attention

>problems ,he thought there also was selective mutism (spelt wrong).He thought

>that after all the testing she might be a candidate for anti depressants.He

>didn't think she was depressed but that this kind of drug would help her

>obssessive compulsive behavior,help negative responses to things.He thought it

>would give her the confidence to be with any speech therepy. SSSSOOOO, does

>anyone have an opinion???

[Guest guest]

-

Hi ,

Thanks - thats really interesting . I know lots of ASD children have

sensory integration issues - I didn't know that it exists as a

condition on its own - nor that it can " clear up " .

I confess to being a bit jaded so perhaps I give the Doc's a hard

time but honestly I have seen so many parents given nonsensical

diagnostic gibberish because the Doc dosen't want to say ASD. I had

to go through the grieving process and that took some time but

because of the delay in getting the diagnosis in the first place , by

the time I was ready to get in the game and help Charlie I had lost

so much time already. One VERY ASD child at my sons nursery got

pulled out because, having two good diagnoisis of ASD the mum found a

psychiatrist who said she had attchment issues. That poor little one

lost out on goodness knows how much valuable time and help .....ah

well.

Thanks again - just when I thought I knew most of what I needed about

ASD ....!

Regards

Deborah

PS From the sites I've read sensory integration issues arn't

primarily treated with anti-depressants either are they ?

> Deborah,

> I don't necessarily agree with your statements....Many of

the " autism

> characteristics " that some parents see.....are Sensory integration

> issues!!!!! This could be what the doctor was referring to!!!!

Preemies

> show this tendancy alot and some outgrow it all on their own!!!

Just a

> thought to add to your statements....While I do agree absolutely

that a

> doctor should not keep you in the dark and that parents need to

forcefully

> ask what they are saying exactly!!! I also agree with these

treatments that

> you have mentioned!! Looked into them myself when we were being

looked at for

> PDD/Autism Spectrum .......

> Just wanted to add this.

>

[Guest guest]

Deborah....

You are welcome...look up SID on the net....there is lots of info for you to

browse through....as for the med's....I have never heard of treating this

with med's....like Autism related therapies....you need to do the work to see

the results!!!! OT/PT/SLP you name it!!!!!!

Anyway I don't know about the med's either!!!

Hugs,

[Guest guest]

,

You wrote this a couple of months ago but I haven't had a chance to respond.

Sometimes I believe using medications (anti-depressants) can be very helpful.

My son Mark who has autism is taking one right now. When he was 5 or so is when

we began using them (2 different ones over the years) because he was having a

lot of self-abusive issues and I was afraid he'd hurt himself. He wanted

desperately to be calm and handle a situation but clearly he was incapable of

doing that on his own. He'd get so upset about trying to handle the situation

(transitioning activities for example) that he'd begin to hurt himself, like a

" bad Mark " response because he knew his behavior wasn't normal. I was willing

to take the risk of using a medication at that time because we (including him)

were desperate to help him function without such trauma. They have helped him

tremendously with concentration and the self-abusive issues and have helped calm

him a little (he's a pretty hyper little kiddo) too so he can sit still for a

few minutes. No they didn't help his speech or social skills at all but the

ProEFA he is currently taking has yielded some miracles in those areas. I am so

proud of his progress. At age two, he was given the diagnosis of Kanner's

Syndrome, classic infantile autism which is a very bleak diagnosis. Currently

he's considered high functioning and I don't believe they professionals thought

he could ever do this well. Leave it to Mark to break out of their " box " ! :-)

Tammy

[ ] Re: anti depressants anyone have an

opinion??????????

Dear ,

My daughter with apraxia and other factors that look like autistic

tendencies also has been advised to take an antidepressant.

Within the first few days we saw remarkable differences in several

areas.

First, she started to sleep through the night. Second, her eye

contact improved. Third, nearly all temper tantrums stopped. Fourth, she

started to copy some of our language. Fifth, obsessive/compulsive behaviors

decreased significantly.

For our daughter who is on the autism spectrum somewhere, these

changes were nearly immediate. I attribute the changes to a positive effect

on the neurotransmitter serotonin as that was one of the elements of the

medicine.

However, she is still struggling with many of the issues that are part

of autism. Her language still is seriously delayed, her social

interactions need much encouragement and work and there are still major sensory

processing issues.

I think that the medicine was (is) a tremendous help to us. However,

I feel there is still a biomedical clue that is not clear yet. The

immune system seems to be one of the factors that may not work well in her

due to a variety of factors. Some of the approaches that could help her and

that we consider are: the enzyme system in the body and the body's ability

to deal with difficulties such as viruses or toxins in the environment.

I find the information at The Pfeiffer Treatment Center to be of

interest as those scientists are looking at the possibility that the

metallothionein protein in the body could be coaxed to work more effectively.

If this

happens, the body system of someone who may be especially sensitive,

such as someone with autism, may work much better. This could affect

learning and language and interactions. You might enjoy looking at their

website:

http://www.hriptc.org

Best wishes in finding help for your child,