Life with Aspergers

We've been taking our kids to see the same developmental paediatrician for a decade now and sadly he's moving to a less accessible place. Happily, he's such as great doctor that we'll still go the extra mile (miles) for him but our last visit did prompt the discussion; Where to now? I thought I'd share some key points of discussion with you because I know that so many parents are in the same position (not so much of losing a doctor but of having kids that are growing up).  It's probable that many of my readers have not yet have asked these questions. Ritalin into the Future Our eldest has spent a decade on Ritalin/Concerta and we can attest to the fact that it doesn't present any serious side-effects (at least, not in him).  We've always kept him and his brother off Ritalin on weekends except where there are events requiring significant focus. We stop the Ritalin during the holidays too, with the aim being to allow the boys to fully "be t...

The Parent's Guide to the Medical World of Autism: A Physician Explains Diagnosis, Medications and Treatments by Edward Aull, MD Behavioral Pediatrician. It was with great trepidation that I approached this book. I knew that it was an important topic but both the title and the cover make it seem like it would be a very tough read. Much to my surprise though, the first half is light and breezy and the second is too informative to put down. This is essentially two books in one. The first half of the book is about diagnostic procedures while the second is all about medication. The author, Dr Aull, is a Behavioral Pediatrician with over 30 years of experience treating and diagnosing patients on the autism spectrum. In this book he draws upon his experience to provide many real-world long-term examples of the effects of various medications. Diagnostics  I enjoyed the first half of the book much more than the second because it was much more relatable and be...

I don't often talk about specific issues with my kids on this blog preferring instead to tackle general topics which could benefit everyone. (and of course, I try to protect their privacy a little). I'm going to make an exception in this case because it illustrates perfectly some of the issues and decisions which parents of special needs children face all the time. My eldest son, aged almost 12, is in year six, his final year of primary school. He's been in "special needs" since kindergarten seven years ago and on ritalin almost as long. Over the years we've had our share of school issues, both social and academic and it takes each new teacher nearly an entire year to understand him. It was always our hope that one day, when he was old enough to "self-regulate", we could ditch the ritalin and I think that we all expected him to be off it by now. There have been many times over the years when we've forgotten the ritalin (or run out). ...

If you're new to the world of special needs, you'll quickly become acquianted with a list of "hot topics" ranging from debate about the use of jigsaw logos, to the words aspie, aspergian, autie and others. Of course, the biggest debate of all has always been - should we or shouldn't we medicate our children?  It's a good question and there's no easy answer.  Image by Ewa Urban from Pixabay Protest Groups You really can't discuss this topic without talking about protest groups. There are protest groups everywhere and they all have different motivations. Some of them are against any kind of medication - including aspirin, some are based on "knee-jerk" reactions to incorrect research and some are simply reacting to "bad events" or bad press. Of course, there are some good protest groups around too but they're usually drowned out by their noisier counterparts. Most of the protest groups seem to have ulterior motivations. They'r...

I have to say that I've generally (and quite successfully) avoided reading anything by Temple Grandin until now. It's not that Temple is bad, quite the contrary, she's arguably the most influential and inspirational person on the spectrum. My reasons for avoiding her work have all been about trying to stay "spoiler free" and figure things out for myself. The first thing I have to say about this book is that it looks like an autobiography. When reviewing books, I usually don't read the back cover or anything past the title and subtitle on the front cover. I skip the table of contents and go straight to the book. This enables me to judge the book by its cover - and then by its contents. I felt that the book looked like an autobiography but I was very pleasantly surprised. This book is a collection of Temple's essays and interviews and it covers a much broader area of study that any biographical work could. The fact that the essays are grouped into categ...

Introduction Ok, this is probably going to be a controversial post so I'll get a few things out of the way before I begin. Just a reminder that I am not a doctor - no medical advice from me should ever be taken seriously - go see a professional before you take any medication. My stance on medication: I'm not anti-medication but I am anti-harm. It's my belief that the only reason a child should be on medication is if it is doing them more good than harm. As I write this, my youngest child has just been diagnosed with ... well, nothing in particular. Our pediatric psychologist surprised us by simply saying that since it was obvious that he had emotional issues, he should go on Risperdal . I'll admit to being quite stunned. I had expected a recommendation of behavioural therapy of some kind - not a drug-based "quick fix". I'd heard some horror stories about the drug but then, being a balanced person, I knew that every drug, particularly those used in chil...

Just drawing your attention to a lengthy article on www.myaspergerschild.com about medicating children with aspergers. Medical Treatment for Aspergers http://www.myaspergerschild.com/2010/08/medical-treatment-for-aspergers.html The article is pro-medication and it initially had me quite worried because there's really no proven medication which is effective against aspergers - only against the symptoms. Eventually after a lot of waffle - important waffle - the article suggests that; "focusing on target symptoms provides a crucial framework for care. Knowing manifestations of symptoms and characterizing their distribution and behavior in that patient is most important." In other words medicate according to the symptoms rather than the label. This is mostly common sense. It's the final paragraph that seems to me to be a little "bittersweet"; Pharmacotherapy is not the ultimate treatment for ASPERGERS but it has a definite place. Medication can be a critical e...

I've noted a link between aspergers and sleep disorders. My son takes hours to go to sleep and is sometimes awake in the middle of the night. I used to think that it was his ritalin (he's on it for his ADHD/ADD) but I noticed that when he has a break from the ritalin, during school holidays for example, his sleeplessness is unchanged. I also remember from my own childhood and most of my adulthood, that I had sleeping problems too. I still do occasionally though these days, the dual stresses of work and family combine to make me tired enough to drop off. I've also learned to cope with sleeplessness better by staying up until I really feel tired then going straight to the bedroom with my eyes partially close and without talking or doing any "thinking" work. In winter, I even go so far as to wrap myself in a doona (blanket) while watching TV and staying "wrapped" all the way to the bedroom. Even so, it's fairly common for me to go to bed at between 1...

How an Individual Education Plan (IEP) is Structured An IEP is designed to be a "flow-on" document where the issues are identified up-front and the remainder of the document covers methods of dealing with them. The IEP will start with a bit of information about the child, the diagnosis, who is present at the meeting, etc. I'm not going to cover this bit as it's simply box-ticking on the form. The first part of the IEP will attempt to ask and answer two questions; 1. What are the child's strengths and interests? 2. What are the perceived weaknesses of the child? It is important to get these questions properly answered as the entire remainder of the IEP will reference them. This post will attempt to provide some background on the sorts of things that should be in these areas with particular emphasis on their relevance to the aspergers condition. Keep in mind though that aspergers manifests itself differently from one individual to another and that all c...

First of all, I'm not intending to cover this from a "medical" perspective. If you want to know this look it up in a medical journal or on wikipedia . Ritalin is a medication which has had 50 years of field testing in children, it's therefore generally considered to be safe and to have minimal side-effects. Of course, being a parent and giving my child a daily drug which is deemed safe isn't quite enough for me. I need to know what's really going on. Since my child doesn't communicate in any detail about the effects of the drug, I decided that I should give it a go myself. Since my genes are closest to his, I expect it's the next best thing to testing it on him (and getting decent reporting). He's currently 7 years of age and is on 1.5 tablets in the morning and 1 at midday of Ritalin 10. I did two tests, which gave me a good indication of the short term effects. I don't intend to do any further testing - not because of any side-effects b...

This wasn't the topic I wanted to write about today but time is short and I'm very busy and I already had this one prepared, so here goes. What is a curebie? You are a curebie if any of the following ring a bell. 1. You think that one day, with enough funding, someone will invent a magic pill, therapy or operation that the kid can take which will make them Neurotypical (NT). 2. You think that you can simply change a kids diet, parents, proximity to power sources, TV or Game viewing/playing hours and they'll suddenly become NT. 3. You think you can make a kid NT by electroshocking them, beating them, locking them up or otherwise torturing them into normality. 4. You think that being Aspie or Autistic is wrong..wrong...wrong. A burden thrust onto you (a parent) which needs to be "fixed". 5. You don't think anyone would be happy the way they are unless they are NT. 6. All you want is for your child to be the same as everyone else's child. 7. You think that a...

Aspies have a lot of trouble with food. I've already covered parts of this as part of the "under-eating in children" section of How the Whole Asperger's thing can be detrimental to your Health but now it's time for more detail and a few real-world examples. Why don't aspie children eat? Texture Memory Distraction Medication Taste Texture Texture plays a very important in aspie eating habits. For example, I have problems eating peaches because of the feel of their skin and because of the "powdery" taste of the fruit within. I also have a lot of problems relating to sultanas which I believe began with texture issues. For a long time I could eat sultanas in biscuits because they were dried out but not when they were in cakes. now I can't eat them no matter where they are. Possible Solution: if you have a texture issue, you can get around it by mashing or blending the ingredients. Just make sure that there is no skin left on the object before you ...

This post is bound to be a little controversial - sorry. Technically, there is no medication that helps aspergers in general however Ritalin can relieve some of the symptoms. In this post, I'll attempt to explain what Ritalin does, which symptoms it addresses and how it affects youinger children. Our experience We have a seven-year-old son on Ritalin. Sometimes, we forget to give it to him. When this happens, we almost always get a phone call or a note from the school asking if we have forgotten to give him the medication. I think they have only ever asked once when we have actually given him the medication . It is therefore obvious that Ritalin provides a positive benefit in his behaviour and ability to work in class. Interestingly enough, these comments come from teachers who were initially very resistant to the introduction of Ritalin. Such a turnaround implies obvious benefit. The Ritalin does not suppress all of the aspie traits but instead allows him to think before act...