You're NOT overreacting. YOU know your child better than anyone and are his biggest advocate. Risperdal is a serious drug. If your Dr. won't listen to you and is "pushing" meds. then there's a serious problem.OT is a PROVEN intervention. He's more than a little out of the loop....
I would change Drs in a heartbeat, if the only thing they offered was meds
(at 3?????) I think its a little crazy to ignore all the tried and true behavioral
interventions and just try to medicate the autism out of your kid.
Also, any Dr who doesn't listen doesn't get a return visit from me.
Good Luck finding a better match for you and your family. Trust your gut in
this one.My decision to change would have been made the second he scoffed at OT. I would find a doctor who is more open-minded to other thiings besides meds. In many cases, OT, as well as other specialized services CAN make a big (a HUGE) difference.Wow, I think your gut instinct is right as well. There are a list of proven
intervetions to try. ABA, OT, SP. I am with you that I would try the behavioral
intervention and other approaches before meds.
Go with your gut, go with your gut, go with your gut! Mother's instincts win out every time. It sounds as if those particular doctors are locked into the "we doctors know best" mentality... the only thing their medical education does is make them better guessers! (And I got THAT from a doctor
It's amazing -- but truly not surprising -- as public knowledge about the rise in autism rates has increased, so has the doctors' pushing medications for autism "symptoms", whether truly approved for it or not. This is part of the "have a symptom, take a pill" mentality of overall society - take the convenient way with the quickest result, but not necessarily the most long-term benefits.
Meds have their place, I agree, but it isn't as first resort. Sounds like you're on the right track, though, so trust your instincts.
Stay with your feelings....you are right !!
A doctor needs to INCLUDE you in the decision process, not tell you what to do.
My daughter is seven, she does happen to be on Risperdal for the reasons you just listed.....BUT......I took almost 2 years to make my decision..... no one pushed me or told me what to do, they respected all my questions and I know that I tried EVERYTHING before I did the meds so I feel at peace with my decision.
I will add, that I am THRILLED with the results we see with the Risperdal.....but I DO NOT REGRET my wait and my decision process. I don't look back and think "gee, wish I did that sooner" I look back and I know that I gave her ALL the options available and this is the one that ( thankfully ) worked.
It is not a decision to take lightly.....keep listening to your gut and you will make the right decision for the both of you.......
Thank you all! I just needed that reassurance that I am doing the right thing.
It makes me sick to think other parents will be seeing these doctors though. They are the automatic office referred by the Ped. on post and our insurance company. I can't imagine how many poor babies are going to get the wrong treatment, because these doctors won't even consider other methods besides PSI and Med's
And what's more, after asking around to other parents in our local autism groups, and ds's occupation therepist, this paticular doctor's office already has a HORRIBLE reputation. I can not believe that they are still open and operating AND are the number one office our insurance agency uses and refers people too.
Is there anyone I can report them too? Can this even be reported? I don't want to get myself in trouble with slander here, but I really feel what they are doing is WRONG on so many levels.
you are SOOOOOO right ! dont listen to your doctor - some people actually believe that OT should be the backbone of our kids therapies as regulatory disorder are a HUGE part of our kids ' challengesYour child is THREE and they are recommending meds? And pushing so hard? I would change docs in a heartbeat! To me, (sorry to sound so controversial here) they sound like they have been completely taken over by pharmaceutical companies!
Also, they are not listening to you at all and clearly giving you a one-sided view point. For both of those reasons you need to make a change. To scoff at OT also concerns me.
Anyone who says "it will never do that" should be definitely doubted. With our kids, you should not say NEVER!
Good luck and keep us posted!
That is EXACTLY how I feel snoopy. I am so upset that a supposed "specialist" who works with children with autism would push for meds over therepy, and even scoff at the therepy.
I talked to ds's occupational therepist and she said this office has a bad rep for not listening to parents, not beliveing in OT, and pushing meds.
Dh thinks I am overreacting
We are JUST starting occupational therepy, and his therepist (who is AWESOME, BTW), said we will be working on these issues. But when I said this to his doctor, the guy literally scoffed, and said that OT was unproved and it didn't hold much weight with him. So both doctors pushed for risperdal (my child is 3, and like I said, making HUGE strides lately).
I said, "what if it makes him worse?". They said, "Not possible, it would never do that". Well that just isn't true. They did not listen to my concerns at all, and were completely one-sided. ALl they would do is tell me about the study's that said how well this drug preformed. Even for the side effects, I feel they misrepresented. They said "Well he will get a little more overheated with this drug, so he will ned to drink more and need more breaks. He will also be a little hungrier then usual" Well no, he will gain weight, it is a side effect listed. Instead saying "he will gain weight" they chose to put in a little blurp about "he will be a little hungrier". I am very dissapointed with them, and the more I think about it the angrier I get. I specifically told them, A. I wanted meds to be a LAST resort, if ever a resort B. we were JUST starting OT, it hasn't even been given a fair chance yet.
I just feel like the completely mis represented the facts to me about this drug, and were not forthcoming about other info. They completly dissmissed the idea of OT even working. I felt like they were drug pushers hanging out at a school yard. they so much as said, if I didn't put him on this med, he would fail in a school enviornment, and just spoke over me/cut me off when I voiced my concerns. I am just sick over it...
So now I want to change Dev. Ped.'s... Am I being irrational or over reacting here? Dh doesn't see the "big deal" (he is deployed, and I relaying the info back to him).
Agree with everyone and find a new dr! We're a military family too and I tell you, tricare picks some of the worse drs. The last two dev pedis have been a nightmare. We never even went to the first one cause she informed me that I had to pay what tricare wouldn't cover, which was illegal! Tell your PCM that you aren't happy, put in a complaint (assuming this was a referal and not a military doc). OT makes a HUGE difference, they can put him on a sensory diet. It has done wonders for my kids.