Today we visited the developmental pediatrician

[orangejello]

Today was our very first visit to a developmental pediatrician. After talking with my son and myself for a long time and she gave me a diagnosis of developmentally delayed and autistic traits and ocd. There were no paper test or anything. She gave a Rx called Lexapro. Is this normal? And what should I suspect with this drug and also with this autistic trait 'thing'? I really don't know much about it. Can any one tell me more? Will this make a difference in how he learns?:confused:

[chiguirre]

I'm guessing that the developmentally delayed is PDD-NOS, an austism spectrum dx that means you have some of the criteria for an autism dx, but not enough for that dx. In practice, PDD and autism will qualify your ds for similar services. You will want a written report in order to access services (like speech therapy, social skills classes, OT). Depending on your state, a PDD diagnosis will require your insurance to cover some therapies and/or the public school to provide them.

 

Neither of my sons has tried Lexapro, but in general, meds are a crapshoot with autism. Some work for some kids, but you won't know unless you try them. Keep a diary to see if the Lexapro is helping or hurting. If it negatively affects your ds's behavior, you'll have to try another med.

 

If you're new to ASDs, you might also try either the GFCF or Feingold diets. These work for some kids, but not most, with an Autism Spectrum Disorder dx.

 

If you have any specific questions about materials or approaches that work for spectrum kids, post here and you'll get a ton of advice. Some will work for you and some won't, but you'll get a lot of good ideas to try.

 

:grouphug:

[Dobela]

Did she say why she was prescribing it? My brother is diagnosed with high functioning autism and he takes Lexapro with other meds. For him it is used as a mood stabilizer and a calming agent, if I remember right. He does have to watch it and goes for regular checkups and such to make sure it still works and isn't having bad side effects.