What can be done?

[frobaggy]

My daughter has a 6 year old son who has been diagnosed with Aspergers As he has aged he has become more and more violent. He kicks and flails and anyone in his way gets injured. He has hurt my daughter physically and mentally. She is beside herself not knowing what to do. A recent example is he is a student at a special school for autistic children. The night before his first day, he was excited to go and said he would get up early and couldn't wait to get there. When morning came, he indeed got up early, but the enthusiasm was replaced with resistance and violence. He had to be restrained continuously during the drive to his school. Fortunately her sister was with her and could assist in his restraint, but not without consequences. You might ask where is his father? He is presently in Afghanistan on an assignment for a security company. He has had to deploy to increase; his income partly because of he expenses they incur with special schools, psychologists, doctors, etc. After this last outburst, my daughter is seriously considering a "cage" to be put in the last seat area of her SUV. It is similar to the cage that police have in their cruisers to protect them from getting hurt. She does not want to medicate him but she is getting to the end of her rope with this. What can she do? She needs help beyond what she is getting at the school she recently enrolled him in. To put it mildly, she is desperate! Please help in any way you can. What can she do to protect herself, and her other child?
Signed,
A very concerned grandfather.


This discussion is related to Asperger's and Violence.

[Super_sally888]

Hello,

very difficult.  i agree that medication may be of help.

Also think your daughter should get assistance with how to handle him.  There should a reward system for appropriate behaviour.  Ie. he has to earn things he wants or likes with good behaviour.  This will be tough to implement, but very important as he would get more difficult to handle as he get's older.

[ondracetrish4eva]

I have a 7 yr old son that has been diagnosed with Autisum and ODD. He started his ourburst around 5 he would kick and scream and was increasingly getting more violant. He scratched my face so bad I bleed he bit me reapeatly till he drew blood. I too hated the thought of medication, but my son's life depended on it. I called the dr and they started him on Risperdal and i seen a change in him almost immediatly. We had to adjust the amount to we found the correct dosage. He now is 7 and in 1st grade, he is still behind in school, however he is no longer hitting, throwing desks and being "mean", now he's hugging his teacher and being happy. Tell your daughter dont give in and medicine is not always the answer, however in can be the answer to helping your son and family.

[KarenDiane]

Is your grandson seeing a psychologist or psychiatrist on a regular basis? I'm really at a loss as far as advice. I've read about violence in autistic children, but not this extreme or at such a young age. And not with something as high functioning as Aspergers. There could very well be something more going on here. I think if I were your daughter, I would take my son back to a psychologist/psychiatrist and demand that they do further testing. And I would consider medication. Good Luck.