catherinedeb
Member
Hello, my autist son (37) after 2 phone call consultations and one check up face to face with a nurse has just been giving a prescription for
Aripiprazole
- Thread starter catherinedeb
- Start date
el
New member
Hi catherinedeb
Were you actually at any of the consultations? He may be experiencing things that he has not felt comfortable disclosing to a parent, but will disclose when asked by a health professional. What I am getting at is he may have borderline psychotic symptoms, hence why he would be prescribed an anti-psychotic.
In my experience, having been diagnosed on some occasions with Aspergers Syndrome and other occasions Paranoid Scizophrenia or Scizoaffective disorder, I have come to understand that there is a significant cross-over between the 'negative symptoms'* of a psychotic illness and what you would observe in someone who is considered Autistic
* (in this context negative does not mean bad, it means lacking)
That is to say, while someone who has ASD typically does not experience delusions or hallucinations, they do exhibit issues such as taking phrases literally, and having diminished social imagination/communication, which are equally seen in an illness like schizophrenia.
My experience with anti-psychotics is that they really do help, but that several may have to be tried before finding the right one. Side effects are a real issue, for example some will cause weight gain, which itself can have many knock on consequences in the long term if not managed.
One thing to be wary of, is whether these clinicians have taken into account your son's Autism when carrying out the consultations. There is scope for mis-communication even by professionals who should have some knowledge of ASD.
Another longer term concern is how the dosage will be managed. There is a tendency for dosage to creep higher and higher, following future consultations, perhaps exacerbating the problems and introducing more side effects with little gain. It can be very difficult to reduce the dosage once it has gone too high. Healthcare professionals commonly react to symptoms rather than being proactive, and will never consider reducing a medication dosage if it seems to be 'working'.
I am not qualified in psychology or medicine, these are my personal experiences and opinions, so I would seek advice from others. I think he is lucky to have someone like you looking out for him, many people do not.
Were you actually at any of the consultations? He may be experiencing things that he has not felt comfortable disclosing to a parent, but will disclose when asked by a health professional. What I am getting at is he may have borderline psychotic symptoms, hence why he would be prescribed an anti-psychotic.
In my experience, having been diagnosed on some occasions with Aspergers Syndrome and other occasions Paranoid Scizophrenia or Scizoaffective disorder, I have come to understand that there is a significant cross-over between the 'negative symptoms'* of a psychotic illness and what you would observe in someone who is considered Autistic
* (in this context negative does not mean bad, it means lacking)
That is to say, while someone who has ASD typically does not experience delusions or hallucinations, they do exhibit issues such as taking phrases literally, and having diminished social imagination/communication, which are equally seen in an illness like schizophrenia.
My experience with anti-psychotics is that they really do help, but that several may have to be tried before finding the right one. Side effects are a real issue, for example some will cause weight gain, which itself can have many knock on consequences in the long term if not managed.
One thing to be wary of, is whether these clinicians have taken into account your son's Autism when carrying out the consultations. There is scope for mis-communication even by professionals who should have some knowledge of ASD.
Another longer term concern is how the dosage will be managed. There is a tendency for dosage to creep higher and higher, following future consultations, perhaps exacerbating the problems and introducing more side effects with little gain. It can be very difficult to reduce the dosage once it has gone too high. Healthcare professionals commonly react to symptoms rather than being proactive, and will never consider reducing a medication dosage if it seems to be 'working'.
I am not qualified in psychology or medicine, these are my personal experiences and opinions, so I would seek advice from others. I think he is lucky to have someone like you looking out for him, many people do not.
catherinedeb
Member
Thank you for your response, it is really helpful. I was not at any consultations and nor, in person, was my son as these 'meetings' were all done by telephone with the exception of the nurse who did a check up face to face at a different surgery to ours, to make sure my son was not going to waste the psychiatrist's time (my son's own words' description of his one to one with the nurse). I have no idea if his autism was taken into account as his communication is not good and as an autist parent myself, the situation makes me feel very angry/worried/seething that my 37 year old son has been given a box of serious drugs. As it happens he took Abilify as an adolescent when his autism was not yet diagnosed and psychiatrics thought he may be psychotic (your descriptions are very apt). He gained 20 kilos and spent most of time sleeping. However, in light of his past 10 years' activities he may have an OCD condition that has not been discussed...
Hi, you are correct to call these 'serious drugs'. I was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia 25 years ago, and have been on a lot of anti-psychotic and anti-depressant medications ever since. The psychiatrists insist that I will need to be on all of this medication for the rest of my life. There can be many side effects, some of them serious. For several months, I have been learning about Autism, hence my presence here, and I believe that I am Autistic. I don't know if my response is helpful, but I hope so. Please feel free to ask me any questions you may have.
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