Services for Aspergers

[Dis1978]

My son has Asperger like syndrome. Now that we have the diagnosis I thought that we would get lots of help and services but we have had absolutely nothing. My son has severe depression and sleep problems. The doctor just keeps upping his dose of anti depressants( certraline) and that is it. She issued a warning yesterday to Ds that there is a higher risk of suicide on this dose. I feel that she has just put the thought into his mind now and don't see the point of a warning like that at all, not to DS anyway. Does anyone have experience of higher dose anti depressants for aspergers?
What help should we be getting?
He is also trying to do his exams which is only making him more stressed.

 

[freckles and boo]

My son has Asperger like syndrome. Now that we have the diagnosis I thought that we would get lots of help and services but we have had absolutely nothing. My son has severe depression and sleep problems. The doctor just keeps upping his dose of anti depressants( certraline) and that is it. She issued a warning yesterday to Ds that there is a higher risk of suicide on this dose. I feel that she has just put the thought into his mind now and don't see the point of a warning like that at all, not to DS anyway. Does anyone have experience of higher dose anti depressants for aspergers?
What help should we be getting?
He is also trying to do his exams which is only making him more stressed.

I have no experience with anti-depressants and my child is autistic, but not an Aspie. Even so, I had done a lot of reading about this because at first we didn't know what was going on with her, either. I am so sorry that nobody seems to be helping you. You don't mention how old he is, but I would assume he is a teenager because that seems to be the age when kids become seriously aware of their differences and start feeling the pain of not being "normal". Is your child's doctor a specialist or a pediatrician? I would INSIST that your doctor refer him to a neurologist or other specialist with experience with ASD. Pitch a fit if you need to. Do as much research as you can on your own - find an organization near you that can steer you toward resources. Look for an Autism organization in your state. Push the school to evaluate him for any services that might be available. Look for therapists working outside the system - for example, there is an autism center here that offers social skills training for kids with Aspergers. There really isn't a roadmap for any of this. Unfortunately you will have to start the process since your doctor or school hasn't. Good luck to you and your son!

 

[bzzymom]

I am interested in this as well. I think DS may have Asbergers as well. There has been a progression I have noticed over the past 3 years. I have been getting very frustrated with him and I couldn't understand why he is so literal, and inflexible. I have begun to loose my temper with him. I have started to swear and I am not that type of person. I think that there is something wrong and I need to figure out what it is because I am so stressed and I feel like I am going crazy.

I read on another thread about Asbergers and I looked up a few web sites, and wow, I have figured it out. He has the classic signs. His baseball coach is a family practice MD, not our doctor, but I talked with him briefly after the game, and agreed that I should talk to our doc about it. He even game me more examples of how DS views things. All the battles make perfect sense now. We have an appointment this coming week for his 5th grade physical. I am going to discuss it.

I would like to find out more about it and find out if there are any support groups out there where I can get some help.

 

[eeyorethegreat]

http://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/

great informational site with links to other areas of interest. Message boards is where you can find a fine online support group