Focalin | Autism PDD

my 14 year old brother (NT) has add and dysgraphia and takes a very small dose at home when he has homework or housework to do, at school he gets ritalin LA in a 20 mg dose. which lasts him through the day. His low dose of Focalin actually lets him focus very well in order to get his homework done.

~Wendy~

My son has been on all stimulants and they always made him more aggressive. yes, focaline did too. If his main problem is focusing then strattera would be good and it won't promote aggression. 18 mg to start is the norm. Also, go to a pyschaitrist rather than a peditrician for these meds because sometimes you really need a expert and peds did not go school for that. Strattera is non-stimulant and never be so willing to put your child on meds until you've done your homework.Good luck!

please forgive,but I just now saw your son is 3 and I think he is waaayy too young for meds. you should wait.

joyful39081.7080555556I was wondering if any of you had tried this medication. My son's attention span is very short and at times cannot focus at all. He is also hyperactive. Our reasoning for trying this is he appears to have the capability to learn but not the focus. We want to maximize his potential for learning. The pediatrician agreed so we start next Sat.

My 10 yr old son was also given a trial of this med as soon as it came out. It did not help any that we could see, In fact it made him feel sick to his stomach. Other than that I could not tell a difference. The docs were just trying it to see if it would help in any way. They did not give it to him for any oarticular reason.

Venus

my daughter is the same age as your son, learns well...but cant sit...still to save her life. unless she has one of her videos...I am severly adhd...and take adderall rx 25 mil in the morning and...20 mil ritalin in the afternoon. dd was diagnoised adhd...but I would NEVER think of medicating her this young...that is just my opinionI am suppose to start my son on Focalin XR and have found your responses very helpful. Like mom2thomas, I am to start on Monday. My son is 6 with PDD, and very high functioning, but does not want to do his work in school. He has a high IQ verbally but is having difficulty reading and writing. Actually he just goes under his desk. A friend of my has her kids on Strattera and is very happy. I am afraid of the aggression part.

How many of you have tried Strattera and your experiences with it?

Pancha

Hi Panch,

I want to be the first to welcome you to this board. I know Joyful has had alot of experience with meds so I take her recommendations seriously-Tzoya knows EVERYTHING about special ed law and is studying to become a professional advocate. I know a fair piece about ASD criteria and interventions. We even get the benefit of having adults on the spectrum post from their perspective. Keep an eye out for gtto and bullet.

Alot of the new parents on this board have kiddos on the same part of the spectrum as your ds, so you will find alot of the discussions relevent to you-in addition, you will find it reassuring to see that so many people share your experiences in parenting. (sometimes I feel like the odd parent out with my peers)

If I were you I would start a thread introducing myself and my ds, and perhaps another thread asking a specific question, so you get numerous replies to your specific situation.

This is a great place with alot of view points, and really educated parents. I also recommend autismweb.com-they seem to go more for the biomed stuff than most of the parents here, and several of the parents here also frequent that site.

As a stay at home mom who perseverates on my dd's dx I can be found on this site several hours a day

I feel like we are one big FAMILY

edited to add:

I would make sure that the school had a behavioral intervention in place for your ds (since he has had none in the past) so he can find acceptable ways to make his needs known. (Like: I cant do this, or it is too loud for me, or I dont know how to even start this, or I need sensory input right now) It is important that what he is experiencing in school (ie the under the table incedent) is seperated into catagories: what he can do with supports and what he wont do because he can get away with it. My dd had very significant behavior issues. When these were cleared up she was able to learn and function at a higher level; and at times her behavior is better than her nt peers. She has adhd and I will probably looking to putting her on something when she is around your ds's age. I can see what behavior still exists because it is out of her control.