September 20th, 2005 by Jemaleddin Cole
I’ve been reading a blog about the child of a friend of mine lately, and realized that I wish that I’d been capturing more of the stuff that Kellie and I have gone through raising Jared on my blog. I get a lot of search engine traffic here, and it’d be nice if some of it could be helpful to the parents of other autistic children.
After his fifth birthday last January, Jared had his semi-annual visit with his neurologist. His teachers at school were suggesting that we find something to help him manage his impulses. Jared was learning at a great rate, but every time he got the idea in his head to pour water on the floor or knock over a table full of crayons, he couldn’t help himself.
So we asked the good doctor what to do, and he suggested we try a stimulant like Ritalin. He said that the best thing about starting out with Ritalin was that it’s been around long enough that there’s a good understanding of how to prescribe it and when it is and isn’t working.
When Jared started flipping out the first week and screaming that his eyes were missing, we figured that maybe we should try something else. Ritalin was clearly not what Jared needed.
His doctor prescribed him Clonidine - half of a 0.1mg tablet, three times a day. The effects were immediate: Jared fell right to sleep, and stayed that way. Every dose we gave him had him knocked out for a few hours. This also didn’t seem right.
But after a few weeks, he started adjusting to the medicine, and now he just gets a little drowsy after taking his pills. If he didn’t sleep well the night before, he sometimes catches a nap in the morning, and if not, might get one between school and dinner.
The change in Jared has been dramatic. By being able to sit still and pay attention longer, he’s learning faster than ever. We’ve even taken down the two top gates that were keeping him out of the kitchen, and he hasn’t climbed over the bottom gate once.
I’m not a doctor, and I can’t give any kind of medical advice, but Clonidine has worked well for my son. I’d encourage the parents of any high-energy autistic-spectrum child to ask their doctor about it.