Medications

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My son has AS. Recently he has started talking about how he wishes schools would blow up. In fact he talks ALOT about how he hates school! He is 8, BTW.

His doc wants to put him on Celexa to help with the obssessive thoughts about schools blowing up. He feels that he might act on the thought later in life if he doesnt get control of it now.

Does anyone have experience with this that you would care to share with me? I am hesitant about putting him on meds.

Sorry if this is discussed somewhere else. I am new and didnt see a place specifically for med discussions.

Personally, I wanted them to burn down.
I don't think it's so much he wants to blow up the school, he just wishes something would happen to it so he couldn't go.
I used to cry a lot after ever break from school (vacations, ect), just the thought of having to face all the kids again was so hard.

I would think it's not the school he actually hates, but the forced social interaction with the other children.
Does he have any good friends, maybe at another school? Maybe if he could be with them, it would be easier.
Or maybe a different schooling situation? I know 8 is young, but maybe you can discuss options with him and see what he thinks?
Feeling like I had no say in the matter at all wasn't helpful.

I was not diagnosed back then, so meds were never considered. My mom did tell me years later that they had considered putting me in the local mental hospital (when I was about 13), they just didn't know what to do with me.
I wasn't bad or anything, just troubled and depressed. They couldn't figure me out.

Being 8 and having AS, of course he hates school!

In my day's fortunately, medicating children was nearly unheard of.

Celexa is an anti depressant medication...is your son really suffering from depression? Many doctors over prescribe medications
for everything rather than getting to the real "problem." Is this a child psychiatrist, pediatrician or general practitioner making
the evaluation for medication?

Have you asked your son why he feels he wants to "blow up" his school? Are the other kids at school bullying him? Allow your
son to open up and communicate how he feels without being judgemental...he needs to know that he can trust you with his thoughts and feelings. Prehaps all he needs is your unconditional love, encouragement and support.

There are many side affects to medications and I would not turn to such "drugs" unless you really find his behavior difficult to deal" with at home and at school.

Good luck!

We have talked to him about it, but he just says its dumb. But I never thought of the forced social interaction aspect. There is one kids he talks to. He sits next to him in class. At recess though, my son just sits on the bench and rocks.

The doc who prescribed it is a pediartric developmental neurologist. And although Celexa is considered an anti-depressant, doc also use them to treat OCD. I know my doc put me on Paxil to treat my OCD.

Anyway, thank you so much for yout input!

My son takes fluvoxamine, the generic equivalent to Luvox. It also works to short-circuit negative thought patterns. No side effects for us.

The doc was going to give my son Luvox but our insurance wouldnt pay for it.

Celexa = Citalopram

Citalopram is an antidepressant drug used to treat depression associated with mood disorders. It is also used on occasion in the treatment of body dysmorphic disorder and anxiety.

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1. identify the issue - is it really depression?
2. if it is, identify whether it's driven internally (by the aspie condition itself) or by external factors.
3. if there are external factors involved, can they be changed (eg: bullies, unsuitable teacher etc).
4. if the depression is an external condition which cannot be changed, then consider Celexa/Citalopram

Normal aspie depression is not a reason to use an anti-depressant in a child (or really in an adult either for that matter).

Oh boy. This sounds like a case of he can't have what he really wants, so he acts like he really doesn't want it. Like when you (as a kid) really want a certain toy and don't get it.... then you're "well I didn't really want that stupid baby toy anyway."

It sounds like he has social problems to me. He really wants to be included, but doesn't know how. Perhaps he's picked on. Perhaps he just feels too "outside" of everything to even try to join. I spent so mych playground time as a child just pacing by myself, wishing I could fit in. (I'm a pacer more than a rocker.) I really wanted to join them, but just couldn't do it.

I don't know if you've seen these websites, but they give a pretty good description of how it feels, might give you a better understanding:
http://www.aspergerssyndrome.net/
http://www.freewebs.com/aspiefrommaine/index.htm

I have no idea if this might be the case in your family or if it was just me, but will mention it for your consideration:
When I was young, I what I needed from my parents was just support and understanding. Instead, they had to always try to "solve" my problems, which was of course impossible. They couldn't make the other kids like me, or stop picking on me. They couldn't make me "normal." And then they would get frustrated whan I didn't like their "solutions". That wasn't what I needed from them.
Like I said, maybe that was just me. Or maybe all you can do is be there for him, since there's very little that can be done about the rest anyway.
It will slowly improve with age.

zghost~ Thanks for your perspective. That was very insightful.

When you say support and understanding, how would I do that?

I dont want to baby him.

His psych told me to just change the subject when he talks about how stupid school is, or says, I would rather be dead than in school.

I just dont know! I cant understand and I want so much to just get a glimpse of whats inside his mind. He hardly ever lets me in though.

LOL my son started saying that he wanted to blow up the school in kindergarten. The teacher and principal's reaction to his statements was really aggravating to me. They acted as if he was going to grow up to be a psycho killer. When, in reality, he was a little kid with limited language skills and even more limited social skills.

So many 8-yr-old boys HATE school. Your son doesn't have a good filter and he's saying whatever gets him the most attention.

I've never medicated my son, but I did start homeschooling. I believed the school's perception of my son was going to be detrimental in the long run. He does not make these kind of statements any longer. If I had kept in public school, I probably would have had to do the meds to keep him from getting kicked out. Really, he wasn't the problem though. They were.

Well everybody's different, so this is a hard one. All I can tell you is how my parents were, and how I wanted them to be.
They would do the whole "what's wrong?" thing, eventually I'd tell them something. For example, when I didn't have friends and was picked on a lot. (This was common.)

It's hard to remember specifics, that was a long time ago. I remember the feelings really clearly, but I'm a bit vague on what was actually said.

What I wanted, I remember. I wanted them to sympathize. I wanted them to at least pretend to understand how I felt, and just hold me or something, comfort me. I knew there was really nothing that could be done to change things.

Instead they would play "let's find a solution". "How about if you did _____?" "Just ask them if you can play with them." "Why won't you even make an effort?"
Of course all this just made me not want to come to them with anything, all it got me was more hassle. So I just started keeping everything to myself, although they'd still occasionally drag something out of me.

It's hard to really suggest, everybody's different. Maybe you can ask him if you can help in any way. Maybe you can just tell him you love him and will be there for him. Maybe you can offer a hug.
However, he may not be able to tell you what he wants from you, I never could. The words just wouldn't come out. Almost like I was locked inside myself or something, wanting, but unable to say or do anything to achieve what I wanted or needed.
Just feel him out, see what, if anything seems to help.

Have you gotten him any books about kids with Asperger's? I know they're out there, sorry I don't know any titles. Maybe somebody will suggest some.
It might make him feel better to read about someone else having the same feelings and difficulties as he is.
Maybe get him a WP account, let him look around.
I wish I had more to offer.