Depression

[Glock]

My 13 year old AS son has been diagnosed with depression by our GP and prescribed Cipralex (anti depressants). At the moment he struggles to leave the house and we have not been able to get him to school for over a month. While I would agree with the GP's diagnosis its a bit daunting. He has a lot of professional support and I will ask their advice but I just wondered if anybody else has teenage children with similar tendancies?

[Flora]

Hi Glock, sorry to hear about your son. My 12 yo AS son has had depression for a couple of years now. He's been on citalopran (which I think is the same as cipralex just a different name) for the anxiety and depression, and along with that he was prescribed respiridone because he also has trouble sleeping. Neither of them worked. I did some research in to melatonin which helps with sleep and also has been reported as having a calming affect.

 

In January we took him off all his meds and the consultant prescribed melatonin. The melatonin helps him sleep but he's still quite depressed, but certainly a lot calmer. He's also this year had a course of cognitive trainin with an OT, which was very enlightening (for me) and while he hasn't had dramatic results he certainly understands and puts in to practice the concept of thinking through things rather than just reacting to them.

 

I really sympathise with you and your son, depression is awful for anyone but it is very distressing in a young person; sometimes I feel very sad that my son's child hood and adolescence is slipping by in a cloud of depression.

 

I hope some of this helps. Maybe your son will respond well to the cipraxel, I certainly hope so.

 

Take care

 

Lauren x

[Elouise]

Nathan has GAD, his stay in suportive mainstream was so stressful the anxiety degenerated into depression + GAD. It produced a VERY aggresive lad who self harmed and destroyed EVERYTHING he could lay his hands on. Nathan is bigger than me it was NOT funny talking him into putting the carving knife down he was brandishing in my face just before he curled up in a ball screaming he wanted to die and never wake up again.

 

Its NOT funny to find yourself dealing with mental health issues on top of the ones that come from ASD.

Nathan got so bad he spent time in an Adolescent Psych Unit, finding out he was not the only teen who was so miserable, that people believed he felt awful even if he has no facial expressions and hardly any vocabulary to express emotional distress came as a huge relief to the lad. They did try assorted 'talking based therapies first silly sods.....Nathan took to art theraphy like a duck to water, he found a way he could express himself without verbalisation.

That helped him the most.

Nathan finds his anxiety is best controlled in a calm small supportive setting, if the anxiety is under control he does not fall into the pit of dispair. If he gets stressed I am straight onto his CAHMS team and I am beginning to work towards a transition for adult mental health services so he has a named Psychi' nurse to draw with on the 'bad days'. I cannot stop the world making him stressed so I need to put in place support to help him manage the stress rather than it managing him and throwing him back to a nasty level of depression again.

 

If he has support fight tooth and nail to keep it for him. He will need it.

Growing up is hard enough for a NT teen never mind an ASD one.

Young Minds are a good osurce of info IF he is able to cope with the language used on the site.

Nathan likes the BBC OUCH website for ease of understanding for him personnally.

 

There are others who use this board in a similar situation and I am sure as the day goes on they will post here as life allows.

 

*heads off to work*

[jb1964]

Hi Glock,

 

Yes my daughter is 12yrs and suffers from depression - we have talked it over with CAHMS and both they and us are reluctant at the moment to put her on medication - that most medication of this kind if only approved for adults and that the effects sometimes outweigh the benefits (if you know what I mean). They did say that they occasionally prescribe a sleeping aid (tablet of some form don't know if they're talking about Melatonin) for a few weeks as sometimes that can help.

 

It seems as though AS teenagers (puberty etc) are prone to this.

 

Hope he comes throught this soon,

Take care,

Jb

[curra]

Hi Glock,

 

My son (12) is also suffering from depression and he feels very stressed whenever he has to go out. It's very difficult to make him go anywhere. He's also been rsfusing to go to school. Indoors he finds that he cannot concentrate on anything and feels bored. He describes his depression as feeling constantly sad without particular reason. He is taking Risperdal and the Dr reduced the dosis to see if that helps. In my son's case what helps him most is when he sees that he is being understood and supported, even at school, where up till now they have ignored most of his special needs. It's very important that you discuss it with his Senco or HoY, if you don't mind me giving a little advice. IMO most of our kids' depressions are directly related to school stress.

Hope your son feels better!Take care

 

<'> Curra