On Medication and Judgment

 I have started and stopped this blog entry about six times over the last week.  I know that what I write may upset people, and fear of ridicule and judgment has plagued me with an inability to finish writing this. However, I promised to be more open on this blog, so I'm going for it.  I devote my first 2014 entry to the topic of medication. It is a topic that ruffles feathers and causes people to judge and condemn on either side of the issue. 

     My children take medications and are under the care of very skilled and caring psychiatrists at a local children's hospital. I did not make the decision to medicate them lightly. I do not keep them on medication without great thought. I trust my instincts. I trust their doctors.  I do what I feel is best for my children.

     I am a member of a Facebook autism group. I won't name it specifically. I am seriously considering leaving it though. The judgment and vitriol is ridiculous. Instead of a place where parents can go for help and support, it seems to be a place for other parents to bash, criticize, and judge. 

     The other day, they posted an article from several years ago about a little boy who had been given psychiatric medications and then committed suicide. He was very young, seven, I believe. It is sad, of course.  However, the comments that people wrote were horribly insensitive and judgmental to any parent who has decided that medication is the best choice for his or her child. Flippant remarks insinuated that parents medicate their kids because they are lazy and they don't want to deal with challenging behaviors. There was a lot of soap boxing going on from people acting as if parents who choose to medicate their children are not good parents. It was disgusting. 

      Are these news stories important? Of course! Is discussion worthwhile? Without a doubt. However, it is also important for parents who are faced with the decision of whether or not to give medications to their children to not be ridiculed and looked down upon. Should medication be the first option? Not in my opinion. If and when the time comes, and all parties involved decide the pros outweigh the cons, people outside of the situation need to have a bit more compassion and understanding.  

     Two of my children suffer from intense insomnia. Troy, who is now seven, would, as a toddler, stay up all night, every night and would scream and scream and scream. It was unbearable. Nothing I did worked. I was up all night with him every night and trying to maintain a full-time job and care for three babies at the same time. I was miserable. My mother came to stay, sure she could help. She quickly saw the problem was serious. Melatonin didn't work. Every single bit of advice I came by was tried and failed.  It was awful. If he did go to sleep, it was short lived. He'd quickly awake and would scream some more. It was not night terrors. It was much, much worse. He had a sleep study. The report said: "Insomnia due to mental illness." 

     And so, he was given Clonidine. And he slept!  He was, soon after, diagnosed with a mood disorder and anxiety and was prescribed Risperdal and Zoloft. These drugs, especially the Risperdal, completely transformed him! I will never forget the feeling of gratitude I had as I saw how much Risperdal helped my son function. I called it liquid gold!  Years later, he was diagnosed with ADHD and was prescribed Intuniv and Metadate. He was better able to follow directions and focus in school.

     That's a lot of medication for a little body! Do not ever think that I don't know that. Don't ever, not even for a moment, think that I don't know about possible side effects and that I don't constantly weigh the pros and cons of every thing I give him. The doctors we see are incredibly conservative in the dosages they prescribe. Our appointments are lengthy (45 minutes minimum per child) and decisions are made after thoughtful deliberation. These medications are allowing him to function in ways that he would not otherwise be able to. They give him the best opportunity for success. 

      We do not, as I've seen many critics suggest, rely on medication only. Our house is run on a strict routine, and he has consistency in every aspect of his life. He goes to play therapy and is seeing a special education counselor. A behavior specialist is involved at school. He has an IEP at school, and an aide works with him in the classroom. In the past, MHMR worked with him at home and school. Medication is one component of his care, but not the only one.

      Koby, for a time, also suffered from insomnia that melatonin could not touch. The psychiatrist put him on Clonidine as well. It seemed to affect him much more profoundly than Troy. When it came time to refill the prescription, I had a hard time getting in touch with the pediatrician. During the two or three day period, I gave him melatonin only, and he slept fine. So, guess what I did...I took him off of the Clonidine! He has been off of it for over two years.  

I am not looking to medicate my children. 

       That being said, Koby has had many problems with his behavior. Inability to communicate for so long led to him having meltdowns constantly. We dealt with it though. He's always been so petite and (seemingly) fragile. I didn't want to medicate him at all.  When he started to talk over a year ago, the meltdowns decreased. Aggression really began though. When he started kindergarten, he began having several hour-long meltdowns a day. He was destroying his classroom. He attacked the other children, the teacher, and the aides. Every single day. He drew blood from another child. Every attempt his skilled and experienced teacher made to diminish the trouble behavior failed. He is in a structured, self-contained classroom with only about six students, a teacher, and three aides. Yet, he still could not be controlled. Several behavior specialists were brought in to assess the situation and offer ideas. Every attempt that was made to improve the predicament failed. Finally, I had to make the decision that I needed to consult a doctor. As a mother, I would not like to send my children to school, knowing that another child was attacking him or her. I felt a responsibility to those other children to act.

     So, the psychiatrist decided to start him on Abilify. She put him on the smallest dose. We began it on the weekend, and at the end of day one, we saw a huge improvement in his behavior and demeanor at home,-but he also seemed a bit too sedate. So we cut the smallest dose in half. And guess what! It has been a miracle worker! He has not had a single aggressive episode at school, has followed his work schedule there and been more willing to comply, he is much less likely to be agitated, and (I don't know how this is connected, but I swear it is) he suddenly, overnight, was potty trained! 

      Laura's medications have been just as necessary and just as positively life-changing. Hers are still in a state of flux because her behaviors are much, much more challenging than her brothers'. I'm sure I'll write more about her in the future. 

     All I ask is that if you are a parent who has decided that come hell or high water you are NOT going to medicate your child, and you meet someone who has decided that medication is necessary for his or her child, do not vilify that parent. If you are a parent who DOES medicate your child, and another parent with a child like yours has decided not to use medication, be understanding! 

     Every parent knows that raising children is difficult. Constantly questioning whether you're doing the right thing is part of what you sign up for when you take on the role. So, as fellow parents, heck, as fellow-human beings, we owe it to one another to be a bit more understanding and supportive of the tough decisions that are made in the attempt to give our children the best chance at success they can get.

Source of the article: http://www.brandiewiley.com/2/post/2014/01/on-medication-and-judgment.html?