I have a 10 yo daughter with PDA autism (and ADHD) who decided to refuse her medication in early January. We have noticed a big difference from when she took them so we really want her to get back on them, but nothing we have tried works. Anyone with some experience they want to share? We are grasping for straws at this point. Help

  • spainball@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
    2·
    9 months ago

    To be a bit blunt, I have been thinking of meds as a way to reverse a downwards spiral, a way to get out of a rut. Then we could take further decisions together with her if its something she wants to continue with or not, after “the worst” is over. But hearing what you and others here have said that might not be the best way forward. I have learned a few important things today I think, and while I was of course hoping for a “just do exactly this and everything will be fine”-advice, I was not expecting it.

    The gaps in knowledge was undeniable at her previous school, as apparent not only by our situation, but some other former classmates of hers as well. At least we left them with a lot of reading material and advice on how to handle it in the future, lets hope they read it and act.

    Thanks and I will read up on that, it looks familiar at a glance and I suspect it’s stuff we have been reading about in another language

    • DessertStorms@kbin.social
      2·
      9 months ago

      As I mentioned above, the fact that you are willing to take a step back to assess and correct your course is the important part, so many parents, despite what are generally the best intentions, get really defensive and refuse to even consider they might need to adjust their thinking, so going forward you’ve got a massive advantage. Good work helping the other parents out too!

      I think the most important thing I would say to always keep in mind is that you can’t “fix” autism (not even in a similar way to how you can “fix” ADHD), so while some medications can help with some symptoms, and some therapies (not ABA) might help with others, always stop and think (and teach her to stop and think!) - are you treating a symptom to make her life better, or are you treating it to make her seem “less autistic” to the world? If it’s the latter, it’s probably never worth it. Embrace the autism, embrace the community (which you definitely seem to be doing), and let her be her.

      I really hope things go well!