Hi,

I am a new member. I posted a variant of this message on the child treatment and medication forums, but am very interested in input from Aspies.

My 10 year old son is a very complicated kid. He has a dx of bipolar w/ "mild" Asperger Syndrome, ADHD and ODD. The presentation of his symptoms change alot, so it's hard to tell which dx's are accurate -- we've had many, many evaluations. He is a moving target.

We have tried stims in the past w/out much luck. Last year, he did well on Adderall XR for a few days but then got more irritible and aggressive and we had to take him off of it.

Some of his regular symtpoms are: hyper, impulsive, chronic irritibility, ODD, rapid mood swings, perseverations that come and go. He has been on two mood stabilizers (Lamictal and Trileptal) and an antipsychotic (Abilify) for two years. Frankly, these meds don't do that much for him. This is why I sometimes think he's more Asperger than BP or ADHD.

A few days ago we decide to try Adderall again. He is taking 20 mg XR in the am and I am experimenting w/ afternoon doses.

So far so good he's been calm and focused, less irritible, more compliant -- But soooo perseverative. He is fixated lately on fly fishing and tying flies. He has tied flies for about 8 hours each day since being on Adderall -- to the exclusion of all other activities! Again, perseverations are nothing new and I like the ability to focus -- but this takes "focus" to a new level.

The other problem is that the crash is really really bad. He gets very aggressive for several hours at night. We are experimenting w/ Clonidine to soften the fall.

Any one else have problems w/ increased obsessions/perseverations on Adderall? Any ideas here?

Thanks,
Shadey
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My 9-y-o son is ADHD/ASD (probably Asperger's) and taking 10 mg Adderall XR since mid-November. The ASD diagnosis is relatively new.

With the ASD we've tried to change our parenting and try to work with him rather than the *do it or else because I said so* routine I was raised with - we're seeing remarkable progress just by explaining things to him and being patient (like bite the tongue 'til it bleeds patient sometimes). We try to maintain routine and we try to do what we say so there are no surprises. If there's a change, we explain it and he usually makes the right choice.

The public school couldn't/wouldn't change their approach to deal with ASD and insisted on punishment, willy-nilly changes and really caused a lot of frustration and stress. Most of his tantrums and issues were caused by their attitude. Another thing we discovered with our ASD - I always knew I was really going through self-torture if I took him to the grocery store - now I know why! It's the visual *noise* that can cause extreme hyperactivity - his brain can't process all the colors, noises, choices, etc. A therapist noted that this happens to these kids in the classroom every day - all the colors, posters, artwork, charts, etc. are driving them crazy.

We've started homeschooling him and we're now debating the ADHD portion of the diagnosis - he's unbelievably kind, calm and polite now. We've removed the noise and stuck to a routine that seems to be working right now.

If you listen to the teachers and staff, they will urge drugs and the more the merrier, but really watch your child - call him in sick for a week since he could be, in a way. Environmental factors can be huge with the ASD portion.

Next week we're going to explore diet too. He's now so much calmer and happier that we're thinking of scaling back on the drugs and trying diet changes to see what, if any, effect that may have too. He's been on drugs for four years now so I'm thinking there may be a light at the end of the tunnel here.

Now, last night after a weekend of grandma's and a 1-hour melt-down, I would have been ready for some Valium - oh wait, we're talking about the kids, not the moms.

I'm not saying kids should be off drugs - I firmly believe in them when appropriate, but I am finding that you can't always trust the teachers and the drug prescribers - some things can't be cured by a magic pill. Watch for other factors, not just meds.

I had a very active son back when ADD was never diagnosed, but hyperactive kids were arbitrarily put on ritalin when schools complained. He was a real pain in the school and they complained so about him that we put him on ritalin as they requested. It made him positively miserable, so we took him off of it and simply told the school to "deal with it", and they did.

It is sad to realize the schools do not care about the kids. They care about what is convenient, and kids who are very active or have complex issues get treated as a hinderance becase they require too much special handling.

I can not say this is true for all educators, because I know it is not, but when it comes to dealing with a bureucratic system like the present educational system in the USA, it is most decidedly the case.

Me :D

Thats me to a T. I will be totally focused and achieve anything I put my mind to while on adderall, but when it wears off I crash hard and am better off staying away from people so I cannot get irritated by them. a low dose of tegretol daily helps the irritability or seroquel. Also 5htp lessens the crash too.

aspie/hfa









Hi,

I am a new member. I posted a variant of this message on the child treatment and medication forums, but am very interested in input from Aspies.

My 10 year old son is a very complicated kid. He has a dx of bipolar w/ "mild" Asperger Syndrome, ADHD and ODD. The presentation of his symptoms change alot, so it's hard to tell which dx's are accurate -- we've had many, many evaluations. He is a moving target.

We have tried stims in the past w/out much luck. Last year, he did well on Adderall XR for a few days but then got more irritible and aggressive and we had to take him off of it.

Some of his regular symtpoms are: hyper, impulsive, chronic irritibility, ODD, rapid mood swings, perseverations that come and go. He has been on two mood stabilizers (Lamictal and Trileptal) and an antipsychotic (Abilify) for two years. Frankly, these meds don't do that much for him. This is why I sometimes think he's more Asperger than BP or ADHD.

A few days ago we decide to try Adderall again. He is taking 20 mg XR in the am and I am experimenting w/ afternoon doses.

So far so good he's been calm and focused, less irritible, more compliant -- But soooo perseverative. He is fixated lately on fly fishing and tying flies. He has tied flies for about 8 hours each day since being on Adderall -- to the exclusion of all other activities! Again, perseverations are nothing new and I like the ability to focus -- but this takes "focus" to a new level.

The other problem is that the crash is really really bad. He gets very aggressive for several hours at night. We are experimenting w/ Clonidine to soften the fall.

Any one else have problems w/ increased obsessions/perseverations on Adderall? Any ideas here?

Thanks,
Shadey
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actually I prefer wellbutrin and low dose tegretol, I feel fine without the roller coaster effects of adderall, and it makes me witty!