high functioning autism and aggression

[emsylou]

My ten year old son was diagnosed with high functioning autism almost a year ago. He has a big problem with his temper and it is difficult to mexpect anyting from him. I have a daughter who is seven. I am worried about the impact of his behaviour on her. I have had to cal the police quite a few times as he is very tall for his age and I an=m a lone parent and find him physically too difficult to manage. His psychiatrist who he gets to see rarely talked about medication, Risperidone at our last meeting. I was anti this at the time, but I cant go on putting up with my house getting trashed and my daughter watching him hit me all the time. I feel like I am drowning. Can anyone offer any advice?

hello all by the way...this my first time on. sorry forgot the polite stuff. have had a v bad morning with ds

No advice really sorry but welcome to mn

My ds has no dx yet but has many traits of AS / HFA / and ADHD. He is 7 and also prone to aggressive outbursts and already he is difficult to restrain when he has a melt-down. It frightens me to think of what it will be like in the future if we can't find a way to help him with his aggressive impulses He has recently started tsking fluoxetine and that definitely helps with his levels of agitiation and although he is still hyper he is less aggressive on this med. Last week he also started on Strattera which will hopefully help with his hyperactivity but it will be a while before we see an effect.

Meds were my last resort too but they really can make a huge difference for some children. Several of the posters on here have found them to be a life saver.

thanx so much for your response. I have telephoned his psychiatrist and she is going to contact me tomorrow. Glad to hear you have had some positive results re the aggressiveness. we will hopefully chat again. All my friends have typically developing model children and i struggle daily. Will keep soldiering on, like us mums do. Good luck with getting diagnosis, its a rocky road i know. we have a good statement as well. if there is anything i can help with just shout.

Thanks
Ds has a really good statement with fulltime 1:1 thank god so the dx is not the be all and end all for us - although it would be helpful with accessing surther support etc.

I have had more support and advice from other parents on MN than I have had in rl from the professionals dealing with ds. My friends and family are really supportive and my Mum is a Senco which is useful I know what you mean about friends having typically developing children. They try to understand but most of them really don't get how hard it can be to deal with day after day. I hope you find MN as helpful as i have

am sure i will feel bit better already knowing I am not alone. Great having a mum who is a senco. It is such a shock to me that childrens services are so under resourced. These children are the future of our society and they cant access the help they all need when they need it. Every child matters - just a government slogan with little to back it up i have found. My experiences are specific to where i live though. probably different for others.

Have you heard of bibic? Google it and it's the first thing that comes up - I know a lot of people in similar situations have been helped by going there and it can be funded.
Sorry you arer having such an awful time.

Sadly I think thats the case countrywide I know that we are so lucky to have the statement and support we have - others who are equally in need get nothing.

thanks very much LL i will do that now. mums net is great, wish I had discovered it before

wow bibic sounds great. why am only hearing about this now. Why dont the professionals tell you? Very frustrating

Hi Emsylou and welcome! I dont have any useful advise but thought I'd say hello!
My son is a tall 8 (SLD ADHD and ASD traits) and can get very physical when distressed/ in meltdown! I am small, so I can identify with struggling to manage physically! We also resorted to medication (Concerta for impulsive/ hyperactive side) and it has taken the pressure off by allowing Ds to slow down fractionally to listen and learn! (He is also be more aware of potential consiquenses such as hurting himself or us!). A different child and different cercumstances, but for us taking that difficult medication step helped.

oops! cant spell either!

Emsylou - no advice but just wanted to say hello and acknowledge how hard it must be to deal with this as a single parent.

Thankyou all for your responses. i like this term meltdown and am going to use it. I thought i was the only person who has an older child having full on explosive tantrums. I am not alone, phew. Do you guys worry about adulthood for our precious ones?? I do constantly. Should probably just concentrate on surviving each day really!

Welcome to the madhouse
I think we all worry about the future, esp what will happen when we're no longer around. Or what level of independence they'll have, what kind of life. But you really have to try to put that to one side and focus on helping them in the here and now.

And we're all the walking wounded. hobbling around with broken toes, bitten fingers, broken noses and minor head injuries, so you're not alone in dealing with agression, not at all!