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| Sandy River, Rhododendrom, OR |
It's been a difficult summer for me. Especially on the Autism front--as noted by my "Regression Depression" post. But, hopefully I can start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. After a few months of regression, combined with obvious anxiety behaviors, I decided to start the process of getting my baby boy on medication. We've only been on the drug about 4 days. It's an anti-depressant and as a person with pharmacological experience, I have to say that I'm pleased we're going this route. Even though they say the drug won't take effect for 4-6 weeks, I have read some documentation indicating that effects can be seen in Autistic children as early as 3 days. I saw evidence on the FIRST day. He was lethargic in the morning but by afternoon he was not hand-biting nor playing with himself (this is very notable). The second day he seemed to have already metabolized therapeutic blood levels by morning as the hand biting resumed. But it was gone again by afternoon and he seemed more mellow. The third day he seemed to level out more and today is the 4th day. So we'll see. As a side note, I have noticed more spinning. Which is something I haven't seen since he was 2. I also asked him how he was feeling and for the first time he said, "happy."
As one who doesn't believe in medicating due to behavior, there are some behaviors that demand medication simply on the basis of a bad chemical brain imbalance impairing quality of life. I am happy with the results so far. As a parent you're always second guessing yourself because in Autism there are no concrete routes of treatment. You just have to do your best and do a lot of hoping and a lot of praying. And sometimes, more spinning. :)
