advice on medication ASD

[saintmom]

ds1 turned 9 last week, was diagnosed with ASD at 3, he goes to a SN school thats only for autism.

my dilema is ds1 is so anxious all of the time and its got worse

he doesnt want to leave the house not to even go to the gamestation, wont go to my parents anymore, no more days out, wont sleep through the night screams the house down and ends up throwing up, wont go in lifts but as we have ds2 also autistic and is only 3 we have to use SN pushchair, also ds1 has low muscle tone so not as if he can walk all down the steps in shops and car parks.

Dh is sleeping on the sette as we all cant fit in our bed, this morning dh been given a warning from work as he was late because he couldnt sleep with all the noise going on.

So i really dont want to tried evrything and this my last resort, also going through statmenting for ds2, feels like mine and dh relationship is at breacking point as we havent had sex for months due to ds1.

got appointment at doctors tonught for ds1 and am going to ask for some anxiety medication for him.

ant advice thanks

this all sounds very familiar to me. My DS, who is now 14, started taking Risperidone for these reasons when he was 8. We went through all the guilt and fear about putting him on medication but it has been a life line. He did not turn into an angel, he has not become a vegetable or become super bright. He just stopped having so many outbursts, if he had them they were shorter and he could start going again to the activities he enjoyed. We had been trapped at home and things just got worse, his life got "smaller" and everyone was unhappy. It isn't the magic answer, but if it will help him then it will help the rest of you. It also meant that we had to regularly see the Dev Paed to monitor which was a good thing. Once you're on the medication path it does take some management and maintenance but I think that's a good thing. You can always switch meds, reduce or increase or remove them if you think its appropriate.

thanks Davros thats reasuring

just tslked to the school for about 40 mins theyve suggested that we sort of go back to basics ie time line not so sure at the moment if that will work for ds1, so ive cancelled the doctors and thought we would give this a go for 2 weeks if no better then to the docs it is

My DS takes Risperidone too. He is 15. It made a huge difference to him. It is worth a try. He is now in the process of reducing the dose with the aim of taking him off it altogether, so it doesn't need to be forever.

My DS takes Risperidone too. He is 15. It made a huge difference to him. It is worth a try. He is now in the process of reducing the dose with the aim of taking him off it altogether, so it doesn't need to be forever.

saintmom, i know how you are feeling , my eldest dd1 (AS) is 6 and suffers from anxiety, she's not as bad as your ds as she will go out, i also have another dd2 who has more severe ASD and severe speech delay, i sleep on the sofa with dd2 and dh sleeps upstairs with dd1. Dd1 is not on any medication but i feel she will be in the future as her anxiety is getting worse.

Good luck, i hope the GP can help xxxxx