Autistic and depressed

[Debs75]

My 15 year old DS has today been diagnosed with depression and the dr wants to put him on Prozac.

Back story is since Easter he has regressed; no longer goes to toilet independently, needs prompting to eat, do school work, get dressed. He is also very low and not his usual happy self. He has OCD tendencies, he picks up every piece of rubbish he finds and gets very agitated if he is stopped from doing it. He scans the room to find debris.

Does anyone have an advice about Prozac? We don't know anything as it was a total shock today

Prozac - tried and tested remedy for depression. Obviously it won't suit absolutely everyone, but I'd give it a try and see what happens. You might just find that a couple of weeks in, he is feeling a whole lot better and back to his old self. I clearly remember waking up about 10 days into a course of anti-depressants and feeling back to normal - it was great. Don't expect instant results, but do give it a try.
You must have been very worried about him, but depression certainly seems likely as a cause for his recent deterioration.

My ds, also autistic,was prescribed Prozac when he became depressed at 16. He started on a quarter of the starting dose. He got headaches and tummy pains.He refused to continue. In the meantime we secured a place at an independent specialist school and the depression went when he was no longer having to cope in an environment he couldn't manage and he was receiving OT, SALT and counselling weekly.

Insanityscratching IS your DS verbal? DS isn't so wouldn't be sure how he is coping aside from the sickness which we would obviously see.

My instinct is to give him it and see him get better. DP's is that Prozac is such a scary word he's not sure of it.

He is verbal although when he was depressed he had stopped talking. He refused to take it by refusing to open his mouth, there was no conversation. I found out about the headaches and tummy pains by him wafting a bent finger roughly in a general direction.He was so closed off.
Three years later he's started at college and has plans for university.The school was the making of him tbh.

See DS is completely non-verbal and since Easter when we noticed the regression he has become non-communicative. Is he still on the Prozac? The Dr said he would like to try DS for just 6 months

No once he was in specialist independent the depression went without medication. He went to Sutherland House and so had input from the psychologist,SALT and OT there. He had 1 to 1 sessions with a counsellor there and 1 to 1 with his tutor three times a week and they put him together again. The transformation was amazing, he started cowed and not communicating he couldn't even manage an hello but at his final person centered review he led it and gave a presentation to everyone there (we were all crying apart from ds who was beaming with pride)

That sounds a remarkable transformation. So happy that things turned out good for you.

DS has been at a special school since 4 and it is brilliant and I wouldn't want to move him anywhere else. They are on board with getting him through this depression and have been a great support to us.

Update he is getting his Prozac tomorrow. Quite anxious but happy about it.

On the other hand he also shreds clothes. Didn't mean to drip feed but he has a serious problem with holes in clothes and if he spies one he will shred the item of clothing. Since I started this thread he has shredded:
3 coats
2 hoodies
2 jumpers
10 t-shirts
3 trousers
4 school shirts
1 pair of trainers
countless socks.

It's not just holes but loose threads also start him off. Today he spied a loose thread and undid some of the hem on a t-shirt. I stopped him and signed NO and trimmed it off. He then started getting agitated and de-hemmed the whole t-shirt. I tried to stop him but he then just shredded it whilst still wearing it.
We've gone from polo shirts for school to plain t-shirts which he then ripped so what next? I can't keep replacing clothes at the rate he is destroying them.
Will this go with the Prozac?