Questions about starting meds ASD

[Anonymous]

My child (6.5) was recently diagnosed with ASD. Child is high functioning/masking but increasing social/academic expectations at school are a stress on my child. Given the recent diagnosis, I'm still navigating various services and therapies needed. I'm also unsure about when/if medication might be needed and what Dr to even approach about this. Pediatrician is supportive but was dismissive of my initial concerns so not sure if I should start there or if we need another Dr for this. Any advice on how to start?

[Anonymous]

Is your concern anxiety? Or attentiveness?

[Anonymous]

Maybe they need a different placement to learn new skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is your concern anxiety? Or attentiveness?

OP. Both. Anxiety is the bigger issue but teachers are seeing inability to follow group activities

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is your concern anxiety? Or attentiveness?

OP. Both. Anxiety is the bigger issue but teachers are seeing inability to follow group activities

What else have you tried so far?

[Anonymous]

There are no medications for autism other than for severe aggression.

[Anonymous]

Most Pediatricians prefer to have a Psychiatrist prescribe & manage medication. We have found having a Pediatric Psychiatrist on our son's "team" extremely helpful.

[Anonymous]

OP, our ASD1 child is younger and not currently on medication, but we speak with a psychiatrist every few months to monitor the impact of anxiety and whether medication is indicated. We started with the psychiatrist on the advice of the diagnosing psychologist.

The psychiatrist we use is Dr. Jennifer Costello at Healthy Foundations and we really like her (we meet with her virtually, not sure if she does in person).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are no medications for autism other than for severe aggression.

While there's no medications that "cure" autism there are multiple categories of medications that are helpful in increasing the quality of life for both the patient and caregiver.

[Anonymous]

What do you think medication is for? Medication has been life-changing for us -- my autistic child is on 3 psychotropic medications -- but it's only a good idea if specific symptoms are interfering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do you think medication is for? Medication has been life-changing for us -- my autistic child is on 3 psychotropic medications -- but it's only a good idea if specific symptoms are interfering.

Talking to a psychiatrist doesn't automatically mean a child will be put on medication. The psychiatrist can actually discuss these very questions with OP instead of you trying to give medical advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is your concern anxiety? Or attentiveness?

OP. Both. Anxiety is the bigger issue but teachers are seeing inability to follow group activities

Obviously, I have no idea whether your child should be medicated for either of these issues, but in case they end up being medicated for both, you should know that stimulants used to treat ADHD can exacerbate anxiety, so get the anxiety under control first. There are some non stimulant medications for ADHD, but usually stimulants are tried first.

[Anonymous]

We didn't do medication until much later, but we tried a number of things that did help. Things that helped:

-More exercise and finding a sport
-weighted vest-now controversial, but wasn't at the time
-managing demands: e.g child could be advanced in math, but the increased demands caused great anxiety whereas being at top of math group was calming
-Very healthy and clean diet, natural sugars-avoid table sugar, no artificial dyes, and all the woo woo stuff people roll their eyes at helped
-OT
-guided imagery, calming breathing
-modeling managing anxiety by straying extra calm during stressful event and talking her/him through it

[Anonymous]

OP. Thanks for these, most we're helpful. We're still figuring out therapies but adding a pediatric psychiatrist sounds like a good idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP. Thanks for these, most we're helpful. We're still figuring out therapies but adding a pediatric psychiatrist sounds like a good idea.

You’re already very very late to the intervention game. Don’t waste any more time!