desperate for answers...

i entered this site hoping anyone here could be of help, please do help...good day! i would like to state my brother's history to really know what his sickness is and can it be treated?please do read and help me...my brother is a loner and has difficulty in math and other subjects, but good in music and other arts when he was young. By the time he reached the age of 16 he stopped going to school esp. when he wasn't already studying in the school he badly wanted and he never got into the basketball varsity. Strange things like he sleeps under the bed with no shirt , he broke things and yells everytime he hears noise or someone laughing or chatting, and always irritated ;he runs at the living room at night when were all asleep and he's always angry. Right now after 6 years,he can't speak anymore, music is his therapy at times,we do things for him like make him pee, brush his teeth and also he like went back to being like a baby or a child; at times when he got bored of  daily routines and whenever he gets angry, hungry or tired he has violent seizures to which we can't manage esp. when he hurt all of us and he's very strong and the only man in the house is our dad whose 65 yrs.old already and not that healthy. our 1st doctor said he has aspergers, the other said mental retardation and he was saying like my brother's brain is shrinking, like he regresses and he said there's no cure for it which devastated me,for he was normal before 16 and i missed those normal moments. i badly wanted him to have his own life and i badly wanted to know if there's any cure to his sickness cause it really depresses me for i love my brother soooo much..please2x help me

[Jason C Bourret, Ph.D., BCBA-D]

The most immediate concerns, from a treatment standpoint, are getting the seizures and aggression under control. I highly recommend continued interaction with a neurologist about the seizures. I also recommend seeking out a board certified behavior analyst who has experience working with individuals with developmental disabilities. The aggression and other problem behavior is treatable and there is no reason why significant gains cannot be made. My third recommendation would be to seek out other opinions about the appropriate diagnosis for your brother. He may meet the criteria for an autism diagnosis but there are clearly additional symptoms present.

[Sam220]

I'm certainly not qualified to answer, but I wanted to respond to you & just send you some love & support.  My son is autistic, so I'm at least aware of diagnoses a bit.  It doesn't sound like Aspergers to me.  Is he receiving good medical care?  Are his seizures being managed?  Seizure activity and violent mood swings would seem to indicate some psychopharmacological intervention. The fact that he responds so well to music & had difficulty with math makes it seem to be left hemisphere related.  I would get him to as many top medical facilities as possible, those with a state of the art neurology group.  I don't know what state you're in, but you should (even with the budget cuts) be able to receive disability for him, which would allow you to bring some caregivers into the home.  Blessings to you.

[wenggay]

hi..thanks for the reply...caregivers, what do they really do with children that are special?my brother doesn't let anyone touch him but us...and um caregivers are expensive here. What do you know and mean about left hemisphere related?what therapies or daily activities you provide for your son?my brother always watches music videos and listens to music-that's what we always do and that's what triggers him at tiimes to have violent seizures-he easily gets bored of those routines. he has an occupational therapist which he went to  3hrs./wk only. We don't have enough speech therapists here as well and other care of special children like him..thank you and God Bless you too