Autism / Autism Spectrum Support Group
Autism is classified as a neurodevelopmental disorder which manifests itself in markedly abnormal social interaction, communication ability, patterns of interests, and patterns of behavior. Although the specific etiology of autism is unknown, many researchers suspect that autism results from genetically mediated vulnerabilities to environmental triggers.
My son is 6 years old, 4 feet tall, and weighs 73 pounds. He's a big kid, and I'm not sure what to do. Lately he's been having tantrums all the time. You can't stop him from doing something- once he has it in his head that he's going to do it, that's it. No stopping him.
Last night I told him we needed to get him dressed, and he started walking past me and just punched me out of nowhere. So I told him he's done for the night, and he had to go to his room. That's when all hell broke loose! He came at me again and I tried to restrain him, but he is so big that I couldn't. I have a genetic knee disorder and have trouble just walking sometimes, and last night he kicked me in the right knee and knocked me down the stairs. I was trying to move him away from the steps, but he's so big and grabbed onto the doorway. Now I'm covered in bruises and in a lot of pain today. My husband and I are separated, but even if we were living together, he just had back surgery and wouldn't have been able to help anyways.
I'm very worried about my son. I don't know what I can do.
My husband (his father) and I have always said "no" when it comes to medication, but we are both lost as far as what to do. He's so big, and the behavior is getting so bad. I'm lucky that I'm not in the hospital today after what happened last night. Is there anything I can do? He's even attacked my mother before, and this isn't the first time he's hit me.
What meds are OK, and what are the side effects? Is there an alternative to medication?
I usually just let him throw his tantrums, and clean up the mess once he settles down, but now he comes after me instead.
Please help!
Last night I told him we needed to get him dressed, and he started walking past me and just punched me out of nowhere. So I told him he's done for the night, and he had to go to his room. That's when all hell broke loose! He came at me again and I tried to restrain him, but he is so big that I couldn't. I have a genetic knee disorder and have trouble just walking sometimes, and last night he kicked me in the right knee and knocked me down the stairs. I was trying to move him away from the steps, but he's so big and grabbed onto the doorway. Now I'm covered in bruises and in a lot of pain today. My husband and I are separated, but even if we were living together, he just had back surgery and wouldn't have been able to help anyways.
I'm very worried about my son. I don't know what I can do.
My husband (his father) and I have always said "no" when it comes to medication, but we are both lost as far as what to do. He's so big, and the behavior is getting so bad. I'm lucky that I'm not in the hospital today after what happened last night. Is there anything I can do? He's even attacked my mother before, and this isn't the first time he's hit me.
What meds are OK, and what are the side effects? Is there an alternative to medication?
I usually just let him throw his tantrums, and clean up the mess once he settles down, but now he comes after me instead.
Please help!
my son has a high level of anxiety. he's 11 now and doesn't like it when he did not know what is going to happen. when he was younger, we used a calendar with a picture schedule but he's very high functioning so now i let him know what the schedule is for every day. i also used a regular calendar and for each day he used the " right choice" i let him put a star on the calendar at the end of the day. i started out small two or three days and eventually especially when school started, moved it up to five days. if he had five stars at the end of the week, he got to choose his reward and for him, it was usually skating or bowling.
as far as medications, i always say it is a personal choice. i tried no medication and it didn't work for us; the behavior just got worse and his anxiety continued to grow. we are using risperdone at the moment. the only thing i have noticed is weight gain but i monitor what he eats.
i also have speech therapy work with him on social skills and social situations and i made that part of his iep at school . i can tell you that my son at your son's age was really agressive as well but it has gotten much better. good luck