The Meds Alternative

I see a very sweet 7 year old boy who has autism, OCD and ADHD. Whew, that's a lot. I've spent the better part of a year with him on modulation - and made a lot of progress - relative progress, that is. But then I hit the wall. His OCD and anxiety symptoms were too pronounced for him to attend to therapy. For example, when I tried to teach him to tie his shoes, he created a new OCD ritual around shoe tying.

His parents had him on a low-dose medication and were not certain about what to do next. I suggested going back to his doctor for a new approach. The boy was given an increase in his meds dosage, and finally, he was able to focus. His OCD settled down enough to do the more powerful interventions in my toolkit (IM and sound therapy), and now we are off and running again. We've been making incredible progress with social skills, modulation and play skills. Hooray!

I think that meds are a God-send for certain children. For my small buddy, it's the difference between running in circles much of the day versus significant interaction with adults and peers.

Will he be on them forever? Can't say, of course. I truly hope that he gets a reduction of symptoms with the next round of therapy ... and then maybe meds can be revisited.