mamamoo wrote:
For the last week we´ve had terrible time. It all started with comeback -to -school after being ill for a week.A day before, our son was terribly uppset, restless, going up and down the house, starting fights with all of us saying he simply doesn´t want to go back (he is eightgrader).He was almost agressive, threatning us all.At the end it seemed he was OK, we talked and talked explaining that it´s not such a long way to go to the end of the school year. But the next day, chool psychologist said that he visited her, that he seemed very upset saying that it would be best to take something sharp to school(?! !) to fight back all the bullies.She suggested we visit psychiatrist (even recommended one) to talk a little, especialy ´cause we´ve been discussing home schooling from next year, so we can ask her for an opinion.The next day we went.But after five minutes talking, when my son said he wouldn´t like to go to the "ordinary school", she attacked him saying why does he think of himself as an "royal child" and does he see himself as something "special"?She sid all the private schools and such are just for those people who are not able to function.
I was very shocked, surprised and many more things but I saw he was pretty lost too so I didn´t interfere. Maybe I was wrong.
She said not to mention Apergers, autism or similar to her, she thinks he should socialize 100% even if itś not pleasant(?).She said she would give him a medication(for children, mild one)just to end this year and then we ´ll see.
It turned out "mild" medication is Zyprax which we read is heavy atipsycotic just for adults with all kind of terrible side -effects.We were horrified.What to do?
We decided not to give that to him. Yes, he has been very difficult the last phew days, still doesn ´t want to go to school (he said one week more), he wanted to talk a lot, hugg (he usualy avoids that),he cried, was very angry,but after eight years shool problems I think thatś to be expected.
Does anyone have opinion about this?Do your teenagers have similar crisis?Any advice?
Sorry for being too long, maybe not quite understandable (we are not originaly English speaking people).
Love to all, mamamoo
This lady (the psychiatrist) does NOT know what she is talking about. She clearly does not empathize with those with AS, and thus is not qualified to treat those with AS.
When I was a child, I had a lot of school issues, partially because, like most children with AS, ordinary things had a tendency to overstimulate and stress me immensely. AS was not a diagnosis at the time, and my parents knew I was on the spectrum but this information was not shared with everyone involved in my care. Frequently I found myself sitting before a teacher, or teacher's aid, psychologist, psychiatrist...etc, being asked why I couldn't do something, and I would try to explain to them how stressed I was and I would frequently be met with phrases such as "Well (insert here) stresses me but I have to do it anyway," which only indicated to me that they had no idea of the level of stress I was talking about, and I have only become more convinced of this as an adult, as I am better able to cope with things and my stress tolerance levels are more on par with NT's now. As a child, while I didn't know I was on the spectrum growing up, I was aware that I was different than most people, but when I tried to describe this to others, without the word "autistic" or the term "Asperger's Syndrome", I could only say "I'm different," and though I didn't mean this in any superior way, it was always taken that way and then I was inevitably met with hostility and ridicule by those who were supposed to listen to me and help me. All of these reactions traumatized me to some degree and only served to frustrate and isolate me and make my life more difficult than it needed to be.
One psychologist brought me to tears during an event like this and my parents promptly fired him.
When you son talks about being stressed, it isn't the type of stress most NT adults experience going to work, waiting in line at the bank, being stuck in traffic, or paying bills. It is the type of stress you might feel if your world was falling apart, and try as you might, your efforts just aren't good enough. The type of stress soldiers in Iraq feel, when they are being bombed constantly and can never rest, and the type of stress that causes post traumatic stress disorder.
Get rid of this psychiatrist, resolve the bullying problem with the school and the bullies parents and try to get your son the homeschooling. He should socialize but this should be in the form of the controlled environment of extracurricular activities for kids his age. Ideally these should be fairly small groups with kids who would be happy to reach out to him...a lot of faith based youth volunteer groups are actually good environments for people with AS. I also recommend the Civil Air Patrol Cadet program because it's structured and the kids are expected to follow certain codes of conduct and have good moral. Bullying is not tolerated. He should also have some basic social skills training if he has not.
Last edited by Chronos on 22 Mar 2011, 3:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
21 Mar 2011, 7:38 am
