any one have a child who is high functioning adhd and asperger.We are looking for support .family does not understand and we have not shared our diagnosis with friends .Embarresed I guess . My child was removed from public school due too behavior problems and attends a chartter schoolfor adhd and aspergers.He takes med.s straterra and symbyax. He is high functioning ,but his personality is dulled by the drugs .Today when i told him i was proud of him he forgot the meaning of the word and asked me what proud meant. I could have cryed.He is in 5th grade and has used the word proud in his vocabulary since he started school. Last week we went to the zoo 4-5 hour trip with a friend ,out of town and everything. In the evening he asked me where we went today????? he literaly could not remember. he knew we went somewhere but he just couldn't say where. How sad! I am seeing more and more changes .Like aspergers is taking over . I don't understand it.How could this just start. he was not like this when he was younger. Stress at school in the 3rd grade seemed to trigger the emotional rollercoaster. is this possible?

Aspiemom,
My 15 year old son was also diagnosed as having ADHD when he was younger ,than recently dx as having AS. He was on ritalin (methylphenidate), for awhile then, and yes it did dull his senses. He was weaned off after six months of being on it, at my insistance of course.
The new Doc we are seeing now, is a god send, he wants to make absolutely sure that he has taken everything into consideration, with the proper evaluations, tests etc., before coming to a conclusion on how to deal with it as far as medications and or whatever the means we must do.
Have you spoken to your sons physician about it?
My son didn't adapt to change very well, everything has to be structured and almost routine for him. And if you don't mind.. how old is your son and was it recently that you pulled him out of public school? It could have been a trigger like you stated.
Please speak to your son's physician and keep us posted.
Keep the Faith *hugs*
~I-Mom~

My girlfriend and I are 20 and 21. We both have Asperger's. Neither of us has had problems like those you described your son experiencing. However, my girlfriend was prescribed quetiapine (Seroquel) by her psychiatrist between the ages of 14 through 17 and she remembers often forgetting by evening what had happened that day while she was on it, and she struggled to stay awake every time she sat down.
Symbyax is a combination of the powerful atypical antipsychotic drug olanzapine (Zyprexa), and fluoxetine (Prozac). People with Asperger's do not need antipsychotics. They are stupefying drugs and will make it even harder for your child to learn some amount of social skills. Being zombified has some obvious negative effects on the development in any growing person.
Atypical antidepressants also are known to cause extreme weight gain, and this could be very unhealthy for your child.
I also encourage you to read about the use of antidepressants in children.