Re: Hi from a Newbie!

November 23, 2008

Welcome, Dee Ann, Hopefully the tenex will help your son. I think the blood pressure medicines have the fewest side affects. We all understand what you are going through. blessings, Pat K

Hello! I am a newbie not only to your group but to the whole world of Autism. I have been reading through many of the posts just to kinda make sure I was in the right "place" so to speak and so many of the posts that I have read are very familiar. My son is 5 years old and behaved "typically" until he started pre-K last year. He seemed to have some behavior related issues during the school year but I justified them by believing that maybe he was just a bit too spoiled since he stayed home with me until this point. He was corrected accordingly and we saw some improvement at first. Toward the end of the school year, his behavior had become so defiant that every day when I would return to pick him, he would be on the "time out couch".....every single day. For some reason, I felt "sorry" for him, I felt like he was misunderstood and started to just let him stay home from pre-K...#1-it became a major BATTLE just to get him there every day and #2-I figured if he spent the majority of his time on that couch, what was he really gaining from being there anyway. I guess I would later learn that this was a mistake. Then mainstream Kindergarten came. The first week was ok--no major problems. From the very first day of the second week of school, he has not been able to attend a full day. It seems his entire goal from the moment he arrives at school is to get back home and he does whatever he can to accomplish that. He was "suspended" from school pending a psychological evaluation because his aggression toward his teachers, the principal, and other students was considered a threat to others. Since this second week of school, we have been to a total of 3 psychiatrists, attend counseling (behavior and family) 3 times a week, attend SLT once a week, OT for fine motor skills once a week, OT for sensory processing twice a week, attend feeding programs, parent counseling, doctor after doctor after doctor, and to this day (almost four months later) his behavior has only improved a fraction, if at all. Eventually he was "diagnosed" with a form of Autism called PDD, sensory processing disorder, expressive language disorder, and ADHD. We have also been referred to Emory for genetic testing.In turn, we were then put on the roller coaster of medications. He was intially on Methylphenidate 10mg, one at 7 a.m. and one at 2 p.m., then they changed his schedule to 10mg, one at 7 a.m., 5mg at 12 noon, and 5mg at 3 p.m. Then it was changed to 10mg, one at 7 a.m., one at 12 noon, and one at 3 p.m. Well, we saw his doctor two days ago because he was "kicked" out of school for chasing the teacher with scissors, throwing chairs at the principal and then telling everyone he wished they would die. She discontinued the Methylphenidate completely and began him on a medication called Tenex 1mg BID. She explained to me that this medication was primarily used to treat high blood pressure but could also be used to calm down ADHD children. She said I should be aware that it could lower his blood pressure and I should keep a close watch on him. WTF?I am totally at a loss and quickly reaching "looney bin" status. I have spent so many hours, no days, searching and reading for an explanation, a way to help or cope or really anything to help me understand. He does not act even remotely like this at home. Until school began, the biggest issue we ever had with him was that he would consistently interrupt and resort to extreme attention getting behavior while in public places. In fact, that was the only problem he has ever had. He was a very happy baby but, it seems like now he is never happy and if he is-it does not last long before something "explodes".I am terribly sorry for the novel...Ü. But, I am very grateful to have found your group and I look forward to getting to know you guys.Dee Ann One site has it all. Your email accounts, your social networks, and the things you love. Try the new AOL.com today!

November 23, 2008

Who dx'd the ADHD? Often kids with sensory problems can be incorrectly dx'd

with ADHD

when it's really sensory. I would also ask why they don't consider a med like

Risperdal,

which calms the nervous system down. It sounds like he's in fight or flight

all the time

and his nervous system is very activated. My son with Asperger's gets

aggressive and

verbally abusive from stress and was also suspended this year after we got

switched to the

generic of Risperdal which didn't work well for him (now we're back on the brand

name

with great success). He told the teacher he was going to kill her, hit the

principal, etc.

There is nothing psychologically wrong with my son, he simply cannot regulate

himself

when he's stressed out and his behavior becomes horrid. We were in a regular

1st grade

class at first and then I put him into a class where he's in special ed half the

day, regular

part of the day, which has also decreased his stress considerably. From what

I

understand many high functioning kids have a regulation problem--that's how

autism

effects them and it can show as aggression when stressed. I know how awful

this must

be for you and how stressful. Remember to take a deep breath and try not to

consider it

behavioral in terms of your son having a choice. He sounds very stressed out

and that this

is a coping mechanism, though obviously not a good one. Do you have an autism

specialist that your school district works with? I've found them to be an

amazing resource

when dealing with the school system. Another thing to consider about the ADHD

thing

and meds. Kids who DON'T have ADHD and get put on meds for ADHD tend to often

have

terrible behavior on them. Perhaps suggesting they focus on regulation and not

ADHD in

terms of meds might have better results. My son was very impulsive and hyper

before

Risperdal but he does not have ADHD at all. It was just a symptom of

regulation. On

Risperdal he's not hyper at all because his nervous system is calmed down. He's

also not

aggressive either, though he still has some lovely verbal commentary at times.

I'm glad

you see an OT--seeing an OT has been wonderful for my son and helped us TONS!!

>

> Hello! I am a newbie not only to your group but to the whole world

> of Autism. I have been reading through many of the posts just to

> kinda make sure I was in the right " place " so to speak and so many of

> the posts that I have read are very familiar.

>

> My son is 5 years old and behaved " typically " until he started pre-K

> last year. He seemed to have some behavior related issues during the

> school year but I justified them by believing that maybe he was just

> a bit too spoiled since he stayed home with me until this point. He

> was corrected accordingly and we saw some improvement at first.

> Toward the end of the school year, his behavior had become so defiant

> that every day when I would return to pick him, he would be on

> the " time out couch " .....every single day. For some reason, I

> felt " sorry " for him, I felt like he was misunderstood and started to

> just let him stay home from pre-K...#1-it became a major BATTLE just

> to get him there every day and #2-I figured if he spent the majority

> of his time on that couch, what was he really gaining from being

> there anyway. I guess I would later learn that this was a mistake.

>

> Then mainstream Kindergarten came. The first week was ok--no major

> problems. From the very first day of the second week of school, he

> has not been able to attend a full day. It seems his entire goal

> from the moment he arrives at school is to get back home and he does

> whatever he can to accomplish that. He was " suspended " from school

> pending a psychological evaluation because his aggression toward his

> teachers, the principal, and other students was considered a threat

> to others. Since this second week of school, we have been to a total

> of 3 psychiatrists, attend counseling (behavior and family) 3 times a

> week, attend SLT once a week, OT for fine motor skills once a week,

> OT for sensory processing twice a week, attend feeding programs,

> parent counseling, doctor after doctor after doctor, and to this day

> (almost four months later) his behavior has only improved a fraction,

> if at all. Eventually he was " diagnosed " with a form of Autism

> called PDD, sensory processing disorder, expressive language

> disorder, and ADHD. We have also been referred to Emory for genetic

> testing.

>

> In turn, we were then put on the roller coaster of medications. He

> was intially on Methylphenidate 10mg, one at 7 a.m. and one at 2

> p.m., then they changed his schedule to 10mg, one at 7 a.m., 5mg at

> 12 noon, and 5mg at 3 p.m. Then it was changed to 10mg, one at 7

> a.m., one at 12 noon, and one at 3 p.m. Well, we saw his doctor two

> days ago because he was " kicked " out of school for chasing the

> teacher with scissors, throwing chairs at the principal and then

> telling everyone he wished they would die. She discontinued the

> Methylphenidate completely and began him on a medication called Tenex

> 1mg BID. She explained to me that this medication was primarily used

> to treat high blood pressure but could also be used to calm down ADHD

> children. She said I should be aware that it could lower his blood

> pressure and I should keep a close watch on him. WTF?

>

> I am totally at a loss and quickly reaching " looney bin " status. I

> have spent so many hours, no days, searching and reading for an

> explanation, a way to help or cope or really anything to help me

> understand. He does not act even remotely like this at home. Until

> school began, the biggest issue we ever had with him was that he

> would consistently interrupt and resort to extreme attention getting

> behavior while in public places. In fact, that was the only problem

> he has ever had. He was a very happy baby but, it seems like now he

> is never happy and if he is-it does not last long before

> something " explodes " .

>

> I am terribly sorry for the novel...Ü. But, I am very grateful to

> have found your group and I look forward to getting to know you guys.

>

> Dee Ann

>

November 23, 2008

Hi, Dee Ann, and welcome. Mine is too young yet (2) to have any suggestions or words of wisdom for you :0 )

blessings,

e

To: AutismBehaviorProblems Sent: Sunday, November 23, 2008 10:12:54 AMSubject: Hi from a Newbie!

Hello! I am a newbie not only to your group but to the whole world of Autism. I have been reading through many of the posts just to kinda make sure I was in the right "place" so to speak and so many of the posts that I have read are very familiar. My son is 5 years old and behaved "typically" until he started pre-K last year. He seemed to have some behavior related issues during the school year but I justified them by believing that maybe he was just a bit too spoiled since he stayed home with me until this point. He was corrected accordingly and we saw some improvement at first. Toward the end of the school year, his behavior had become so defiant that every day when I would return to pick him, he would be on the "time out couch"......every single day. For some reason, I felt "sorry" for him, I felt like he was misunderstood and started to just let him stay home from pre-K...#1-it became a major

BATTLE just to get him there every day and #2-I figured if he spent the majority of his time on that couch, what was he really gaining from being there anyway. I guess I would later learn that this was a mistake. Then mainstream Kindergarten came. The first week was ok--no major problems. From the very first day of the second week of school, he has not been able to attend a full day. It seems his entire goal from the moment he arrives at school is to get back home and he does whatever he can to accomplish that. He was "suspended" from school pending a psychological evaluation because his aggression toward his teachers, the principal, and other students was considered a threat to others. Since this second week of school, we have been to a total of 3 psychiatrists, attend counseling (behavior and family) 3 times a week, attend SLT once a week, OT for fine motor skills once a week, OT for sensory

processing twice a week, attend feeding programs, parent counseling, doctor after doctor after doctor, and to this day (almost four months later) his behavior has only improved a fraction, if at all. Eventually he was "diagnosed" with a form of Autism called PDD, sensory processing disorder, expressive language disorder, and ADHD. We have also been referred to Emory for genetic testing.In turn, we were then put on the roller coaster of medications. He was intially on Methylphenidate 10mg, one at 7 a.m. and one at 2 p.m., then they changed his schedule to 10mg, one at 7 a.m., 5mg at 12 noon, and 5mg at 3 p.m. Then it was changed to 10mg, one at 7 a.m., one at 12 noon, and one at 3 p.m. Well, we saw his doctor two days ago because he was "kicked" out of school for chasing the teacher with scissors, throwing chairs at the principal and then telling everyone he wished they would die. She

discontinued the Methylphenidate completely and began him on a medication called Tenex 1mg BID. She explained to me that this medication was primarily used to treat high blood pressure but could also be used to calm down ADHD children. She said I should be aware that it could lower his blood pressure and I should keep a close watch on him. WTF?I am totally at a loss and quickly reaching "looney bin" status. I have spent so many hours, no days, searching and reading for an explanation, a way to help or cope or really anything to help me understand. He does not act even remotely like this at home. Until school began, the biggest issue we ever had with him was that he would consistently interrupt and resort to extreme attention getting behavior while in public places. In fact, that was the only problem he has ever had. He was a very happy baby but, it seems like now he is never happy and if he

is-it does not last long before something "explodes".I am terribly sorry for the novel...Ü. But, I am very grateful to have found your group and I look forward to getting to know you guys.Dee Ann

November 24, 2008

Welcome Dee Ann,

I have a 7yr. old PDD son. His psychiatrist also wants to try him on

Tenex. Before that she'd like him to have a basic work up on his

heart, EKG and whatever else they do to make sure it's not defective I

guess.

>

> Welcome, Dee Ann, Hopefully the tenex will help your son. I think

the blood

> pressure medicines have the fewest side affects. We all understand

what you

> are going through. blessings, Pat K

>

> In a message dated 11/23/2008 10:13:16 A.M. Central Standard Time,

> tigger0772@... writes: