Medication

Your GP is right. I am coming off antidepressants after years of being given them for depression which was actually autistic burnout. Antidepressants just numb the brain. I found they allowed me to pish myself harder until I finally broke. The best way out is to minimise overload and allow quiet recovery time. Also try not to mask ( as NTs call it.) It feels like running my brain at full speed until it overheats. Antidepressants just delay the overload a little.

Would others agree?

By the way, there ars a lot if positive aspects to having an Autistic brain. In some ways it is non-autistic poeple who are disabled.

I wouldn't jump to giving him SSRIs. Mostly they are given for depression. They can help with anxiety but there are side effects, and once you are on them you become dependent. If there's any way you can slowly build up to taking him to a counsellor, that would be more likely to help in the long run.

I find it worrying that a boy, that age, would be on medication. That's the most worrying thing about Modern treatment of Mental Illness; targeting children.

Schools have become Warzones, and children view the World on reflection of that. There's no room for innocence, or teaching kids basic manners and respect. School and TV is their entire world view. A Militant Scepticism emerged, as a result. 

My child is 14, undiagnosed but on the pathway for Autism.  Last year they started unmasking, we saw sensory issues that had never been evident to us before, started to stim, and have meltdowns and told us they were Trans, which is fine.  We support our child to be who they are.  They had a build up of stress with mainstream school and I presume understanding themselves as their traits came out more.  Also they had friendship breakdowns - They were very black and white in their views, so now has no friends, despite intervention with school and trying to give social stories to let them know friendships can be difficult. 

They ended up not going to school, as it was horrific trying to get them to go.   They were having bad meltdowns, where they would hurt themselves when having a meltdown.   Doesn't want to go to out now because of being scared of seeing other kids their age.  Unable to sleep at night.  Self harming.   Unable to answer the simplest of questions and having meltdowns due to sheer burnout.  Selectively mute now. 

We recently got seen by Crisis Team at CAMHS and after no improvement, have started medication.   Counselling did not work as they struggle to communicate and shut down so were told to leave that avenue at the moment. Sometimes you have to try different avenues for help.  

I hope the tablets help my child to get back to a baseline, where they can start to understand themselves and work on being not so overwhelmed, to enjoy life a bit more as we try to put everything in place for them to thrive. 

SSRI's can be dangerous if you have low blood pressure or other health issues which can be part and parcel of Autistic biology. They don't help anxiety when it's Situational or caused by Environmental factors or a low GABA count, which is what an anti-anxiety drug in short-term low dose is used to help. Where it's legal, I know many who might use medical cannabis for this.

Alleviating external stress is important to start. But a few things which are incredibly stressful to Autistics involve how NeuroTypical society LOVES to exist, and this is due to different 'wiring' which changes how Autistics perceive and experience the world. The main 2 things to help reduce stresses due to differences: Minimise interruptions and always give beyond fair notice/warning if possible for transition, and help give practical step-by-step guides to doing a thing which is not blocked by society, or help with communication. Not being able to access the right word to assign to a system or exchange or problem we can understand an perceive with our imagination but not communicate is a massive thing of stress. Like being asleep and not being able to yell out. Simultaneously, waking a sleepwalker is a good analogy for the experience of Autistics being interrupted. 

Misphonia Doesn't ever go away. It is a normal human response which was needed in the wild, so it is an Environmental stress factor which one will deal with for their entire lives. The best we can do is minimise exposure and buy ear plugs/ear defenders. I can sit on a bus and silently debate with myself while listening to a completely inconsiderate and domineering human eating their crisps rudely and loudly. I can't make the stress from it stop except find a seat downstairs and get off the bus. If I was bigger than the chap, I might sit next to him and give him an intimidating stare until he stops. The bus is not a diner table.  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-38842561

Thank you for your replys,we’ll definable look into the ‘natural meds’ for now and do more research  as its all quite new to us as parents.

i was extremely anxious/shy as a kid and SSRIs at age 19 basically helped me get through life (still do) and i wish id have been on them as a teen in school….tbh im starting to think maybe im also on spectrum myself now (at 50) after learning about it? 

Anyway,thanks for comments and/or any further comments in advance.All help/advice/experience is valuable to us.

Hi there 

I have an adult son with autism. He was not medicated while at school. I think what would have helped him the most would have been a different school environment. I don't know if your son is in mainstream schooling or if it is possible to change his environment as a way to reduce his stress? Good luck

SSRIs are not as free of unwanted effects as they are sometimes presented. Sertraline, for the short time I took it, gave me appalling daily migraines.

Could your child try Bachs Herbal rescue remedy? I find this really helps me. 

The doctor may be apprehensive due to your child’s age? 

SSRIs can be prescribed for anxiaty / depression in autistic adults, I’m not sure about teens. for me personally I think the counciling was more help. I wouldn’t expect SSRIs to help with core symptoms of autism like sensory issues, difficulty sensitively expressing frustration etc. the GP won’t and shouldn’t prescribe SSRIs for that purpose. If it helps with shyness it’s only going to be as a side effect of reducing depression/ anxiety I would think.

Hi there.

It's an interesting take from the GP, as I would say the prevelance of mental health conditions alongside ASD is fairly well known? But to counter that I guess there is also a lot of stories of folk being treated with medication that does nothing to help (because its ASD). Personally if you feel there is underlying Anxiety (or not so underlying by the sounds of it) then I would have thought it worth exploring medication, as I'm sure they would with anyone with symptoms who didn't have ASD as well. 

I'm on Citalopram for my (fairly major) GAD. My husband is reluctant for me to come off it as the wheels then come flying off every time I've tried to drop it in the past (worse intrusive thoughts, suicidal ideation, etc) so I've resigned myself to staying on them. I was, however, prescribed this prior to my ASD diagnosis. 

Talking therapies can help, would he be more comfortable if done remotely? But yes I would seek a second opinion, obviously all medications come with risks of unwanted side-effects, but as long as he has careful monitoring, I would have thought it worth a shot.

Good luck.