Recently there have been several discussions on the Autism web groups about medications, homeopathic and holistic solutions. Whats right and whats not good. How you make decisions. More over what combination works for your child and family.
One specific issue is the drugs and all the "baggage" that come with it. First line of defense is that you dont want to give your child drugs. Your whole pregnancy it is beat into your head what you can and cant take because you dont want to hurt your baby: No alcohol-- God forbid Fetal Alcohol Syndrome!, No caffeine could cause birth defects and your child could be addicted, No smoking of course thats not good for the Mom as well as the baby, Obviously no uncontrolled substances, eat right , get lots of sleep, stay off your feet,etc etc etc--- OK OK We all get it and we all want to have healthy happy non-addicted babies. For the most part we all sign on to this thought process because afterall; we want to be responsible caring protective parents.
Then the baby comes and if your lucky you go home with your little bundle of joy and life goes on basically without a hitch. I dont know the exact percentage but lets just say 75 to 80% of the time that happens. Its great odds right????
Well for those of us who havent been so fortunate, The world is a different place. You walk into the Nursery where your child is being pumped with numerous drugs and has gadgets attached and you are speechless. Then if your lucky it is only temporary and in a few months everything is ok and it is all a distant memory. Then there are the rest of us who go home with great aspirations that things will get better and it is all the "Great Unknown".
During infancy and toddler mode our kids have a great ability to "blend in".
Everyone is willing to work with your child and are exuberant about how cute they are and what a joy they are to work with. Somewhere around later elementary school, our children go from adorable and cute to "a force to be reckonned with!" They start growing and developing now the issues and confrontations start.
Most of us have professionals that help; hopefully ones who try to be educated about Autism. Even in Dakotas case we have people who have known him from birth. Though these pros are compassionate, caring people there comes a time when you question behavior or things happening to your child and even they give in to this damn exhausting Autism . It becomes easier and easier for them to say "well its just the nature of the beast"! My heart bleeds because I dont accept that.
As parents and caregivers we are willing to provide whatever it takes to help our child exsist in this less than perfect world. Many "Uber" parents have tried and done strategy after strategy GfCf diet, ABA, OT, PT, just to name a few, Mostly in the name of avoiding medications. My hat is off to them. It takes a lot of work and committment. BUT isnt isnt always the answer.
What I have discovered is that no matter what you do when you strip away all these options our kids are Autistic and will be for the duration of their lives. Ultimately we have to love and accept these kids as they are. WARTS AND ALL! Autism although it does not define them it is a part of who they are. There was recently a post by a girl who is High Functioning autistic who expressed her frustration with her parents because she felt that they were trying to "change" her.
I think the point I am trying to make is that you have to make decisions for whats right for you, for your autistic child and your family. And you have to advocate for your child when you feel something is not right. I have always said that you have to "GO with your GUT".
It will never let you down.
Finally there is never a cookie cutter answer when it comes to our kids. In the 23 years I have walked down this path I have seen "cures and therapies" come and go. For the most part these solutions work for a certain portion of the Autism community but I have yet to find anything that works across the board.
{Including medication} what I leave you with is one last thought: isnt always better to err on the side of Quality of life verses Quantity?
Dont let other decide for you-- take their counsel but make your own decision!
This as an after thought- what spurred this particualtr excerpt was a discussion about certain medications causing weight gain and the aversion many parents seem to have about their children gaining weight.I understand out kids are already faced with challenges beyond the norm and we need to be diligent and concerned about their health and the side effects any medication might cause-- However when you have a child so miserable that they are acting out or crying or WHATEVER because their heads are so filled with static wouldnt it make sense that weight gain could be a small price to pay if your child felt better?Hence the Ultimate Question about quality verses quanity
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