What is Asperger Syndrome
Asperger syndrome - also referred to as Asperger's syndrome, Asperger's, Aspergers or just AS - is one of five neurobiological pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), and is chara...
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Nobody will help my 13 year old with AS
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My 13 year old son was diagnosed with AS when he was around 6 years old. Here is a little history: The school noticed problems when he was in kindergarten. He teted on an 8th grade reading level in 2nd grade. He was advanced in all accademic areas. He was also diagnosed with Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD) because he would become violent (age 6-7). The school counselor suggested inpatient care at a children's psych hosp. I set up the apt. The doc there evaluated him and agreed. So, at age 7 he went inpatient. I took him out, against doc's orders, after about a week because the next youngest child there was 13. Suddenly my son developed selective mutism, and did not speak (accept to me) for 1 1/2 years. I remarried and we moved from South Carolina to Oklahoma in 2004, and things started to get better. My son went from a self contained school class (on an iep) to a regular class, and then he came off of the iep. We relocated from Norman to OKC, and things started to go downhill again. The school told me they could not help him. So, I took him out to home school him. Then I found out that they have to help him, so I put him back in public school, after being home schooled for about 2 years. I did this because he still continued to go downhill and trying to home school him was a nightmare. I tried several home school programs with him, and he just could not complete anything.
He is now 13, and is continuing to decline. He has pulled a knife on his older brother because he was told to turn off the TV because a bad show was on. He has made very nasty comments to girls. When my husband or I are getting on to him for something like lieing about school work, he balls up his fist like he is going to hit us. He is a habitual liar. It is like he cannot decipher truth from a lie. He has poor grooming skills. He has no friends. He has all the AS symptoms. He does not do or hand in his school work and lies about it..he swears all the teachers are liars. He is starting to show early signs of becoming suicidle..such as curling up in a corner and crying when he gets lectured over not doing what he is told (school, chores, etc..). I have called and called and called places to try and get him help. Nobody will see him. We have good insurance, so that is not the problem. They keep saying they do not treat patients like that. You name it, I have called (Psychologist, Psychiatrist, DO's, etc...). I have a total of 4 children, and I cannot give him all of my attention. My children’s ages are (son) 18, (him) 13, (son) 4, and (daughter) 6 months. I am scared for the outcome of his life. Can anybody tell me how to handle this? Or, give me suggestions? How do I handle his constant lies? What activities can I put him in? He does not seem to have an interest in anything except collecting junk (paper clips, rubber bands, pieces of lint/fuzz, strings, etc..). He is about as mature as a 5-6 year old. Please help if you can..Thank You Posted on 10/06/09, 01:10 pm |
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If I were you I would call your local Community Mental Health center (or whatever they call it where you live). His needs may fall somewhere between those of a mentally-ill kid and a developmentally-disabled kid, and normally only a CMH can handle both at the same time. Most private psych clinics are set up to treat much lighter cases than your son. In my state these are listed in the county-government section in the phone book, and under Mental Health in the yellow pages. The 1963 Community Mental Health Act mandates that every citizen should have ready access to affordable mental health services. There must be SOMETHING for him unless you live in the Alaskan outback. 
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Thank you! I will try that tomorrow morning. I will post in here what happens.
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im sorry society has neglected him so long but good luck!
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Well, don't despair, there is always help.
He should be put on anti-anxiety medication. That will help tremendously. Possibly a mood stabilizer as well. My son is 9 and on the anti-anxiety medication at this point. I can relate to the lying, the violence, the mood disruptions. Do as Cliff said, get the CMH involved. The violence needs to be dealt with. You can't have that kind of behaviour in your house with your younger children. Speak to his doctor, and get him started on some meds. When he's more stable, you can start plotting a course for him academically.
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When I first met my fionce` he lied to me about his past. It wasn't a big thing like a criminal record or something, but I did tell him that if he didn't stop I would leave him because I will not live that way. Since then, he has admitted to having problems with disifering truth and has sought help with his psykietrist, and the lies have stopped.
Also, do you think your son might have bipolar as well? Jonathan told me that before he was put on proper meds for bipolar, he used to curl up and just lie there and wish the world would go away, or fly into rages.
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Many children with Asperger's syndrome also have coexisting conditions and may have symptoms of these conditions also. (Bipolar, ODD, ADD/ADHD, depression, etc..)
I am unable to locate a loal community mental health center. And, I hate to get DHS involved. This morning I made another round of calls, and am supossed to call a doc at Camelot around 1:30. But, they are an inpatient facility, and I do not want to resort to that unless we have tried everything else. But, what would everthing else be, seems to be the question. I think it is because of his potential for violence that nobody wants to see him, along with showing early suicidal signs. So, do I maybe NOT disclose that information until I get him in somewhere?
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I had never heard of Asperger syndrome before until a visit with my 13 year old son's psychiatrist a few weeks ago. she suggests that i have him tested for this in a rigorous study at the NIH. After reading your entry, I felt that some of the behaviors you describe in your son reflect my sons behavior (especially the lying and violence) I was a bit hesitant to call for the study, but will now call first thing Monday morning. It has been an emotional roller coaster all through grade school thus far and seems to be more complicatred as he grows older. I am concerned that he is at the stage where I may lose all control if nothing is done soon. He has ADD, takes Concerta and recently began Zoloft for mood (which seems to be helping a bit). But some of his increasingly odd behaviors and impulses are driving me to worry and become extremely scared.
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Camelot is NOT the place for your child. I live in Oklahoma and checked it out. I need a friend real bad, your son sounds so much like mine. We are homeschooling, can't tell you how many times we have tried PS with no help given. I even got an IEP, they just don't care!
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