Mental illness as an autistic child. (1 Viewer)

[Saint_Ward]

Like a key thing. What is the motivation for the killing? Is he killing on a scientific and clinical level b3cause he's curious? Or gets pleasure/excitement out of it. I.e. the act. Really only a psyche doc can properly evaluate that. How functioning is he with his autism?

Sorry if I'm being too blunt. Mental health issues suck. I've had a kid who had to be baker acted (72 hr hold) twice, but is much better now. His was more about sexuality and gender identity. Long story for another day.

 

[UncleTrvlingJim]

Hey Rick, I'm so sorry for what you and your wife are going through. It is scary and exhausting and yes, mental health infrastructure in this country is poor. I've mentioned on this board before about my middle kid who has spent several months off and on in mental hospitals and residential treatment centers for severe suicidal ideation (and one incident of homicidal ideation). It basically sucks. We've done the 24/7 watches, with the doors taken off of his room and we still have all medicines and sharp objects locked in a safe.

Our situation is not exactly the same, but it has gotten better for us in recent months. We have his medication dialed in - but it took a while, and it often feels like you're experimenting on your kid.

For autism, I will second what Ward has said, and make sure you're confident in your kid's diagnosis and what makes him tick. We've had two friends with a child with fairly strong autism, who are now considered mainstreamed and high functioning, but it took a very long time and very, very expensive schools/therapists (like 40-50K per year). Basically, it involved a lot of one on one work to rewire their neural pathways and reward centers.

Finally, remember to practice self care. This is super stressful and draining for everyone -- make sure you and your wife are taking care of yourselves and each other.

 

[Rickboy]

Has he been evaluated by a psychiatrist or psychologist? Has anyone mentioned conduct disorder (due to being a minor)?

How was he originally diagnosed with autism (neurologist, psychiatrist, psychologist?).

Basically, the therapy isn't going to help until he is properly re evaluated and possibly medicated, to then re develope the correct therapy protocol.

I think the children's hospital is the right call. But focus #1 needs to be a proper diagnosis and treatment plan.

My wife is an MSW working on her clinician license. She knows this is beyond her skillset, but would 100% recommend what I'm saying (I asked her)

Thanks for the comments. Our BCBA is a psychologist with a pretty good reputation. I’ve been impressed with him. He’s recommending we get him to children‘s. They have staff psychiatrists. You are seeing this spot on with me. He was diagnosed with ASD, by a neurologist, at three. He’s seen a psychiatrist before that confirmed the diagnosis about 5 years ago. ADHD was diagnosed by his pediatrician. What I want from Children‘s is a full diagnosis and a plan of action. They also do inpatient treatment. We need to know everything that is going on here and have a full plan to attack it.

 

[Saint_Ward]

Thanks for the comments. Our BCBA is a psychologist with a pretty good reputation. I’ve been impressed with him. He’s recommending we get him to children‘s. They have staff psychiatrists. You are seeing this spot on with me. He was diagnosed with ASD, by a neurologist, at three. He’s seen a psychiatrist before that confirmed the diagnosis about 5 years ago. ADHD was diagnosed by his pediatrician. What I want from Children‘s is a full diagnosis and a plan of action. They also do inpatient treatment. We need to know everything that is going on here and have a full plan to attack it.

Sounds good. The key is what's changed, or what is now manifesting.

I hope it's more of the scientific interest and just not understanding right from wrong. good luck.

 

[Rickboy]

This article is scary in how many things the Uvalde shooter and my son have in common.

Texas School Shooter Ramos 'Loved Hurting Animals': Uvalde Classmate

The teenage gunman who killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School was once seen "beating a little dog senseless," the student said.

www.newsweek.com

 

[UncleTrvlingJim]

This article is scary in how many things the Uvalde shooter and my son have in common.

Texas School Shooter Ramos 'Loved Hurting Animals': Uvalde Classmate

The teenage gunman who killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School was once seen "beating a little dog senseless," the student said.

www.newsweek.com

A lot of serial killers and such start off with hurting animals. To Ward's point it's important to figure out why your son likes taking apart animals... if it's because he likes seeing how different parts work, and wants to figure out how things work, a good behavioral specialist could work with him to rewire his reward centers to things like taking apart computers, clocks and other mechanical objects. You can essentially transfer the pleasure he gets to more benign activities. It's true for everyone, but from what I understand especially true of autistic children, it isn't enough to forbid certain activities, you have to transfer them to other activities.

 

[Bleu Raeder]

Rick, I just don't know what to say but my heart breaks for you and your wife and your son. I saw someone say that they usually do not pray for folks, but I will be on my knees for you and yours. Along with others here, I wish there was something I could do or offer.

 

[Rickboy]

A lot of serial killers and such start off with hurting animals. To Ward's point it's important to figure out why your son likes taking apart animals... if it's because he likes seeing how different parts work, and wants to figure out how things work, a good behavioral specialist could work with him to rewire his reward centers to things like taking apart computers, clocks and other mechanical objects. You can essentially transfer the pleasure he gets to more benign activities. It's true for everyone, but from what I understand especially true of autistic children, it isn't enough to forbid certain activities, you have to transfer them to other activities.

I can say with certainty he doesn't care about how things work. It's more of a 'signs of damage' kind of thing. He likes seeing the aftermath of the destruction he caused. There are a lot of holes in my drywall from that. Also, he threw eggs at the neighbors houses (that was a fun time). Drops items off the deck to see how they break (including a dog once). I've tried redirecting him by putting together chunks of legos and letting him smash those. Sometimes that works. The least destructive redirection I've got is him simply pouring a cup of water from the deck to the patio. The splash of the water seems to calm him a bit. He has a major attraction to water.

 

[UncleTrvlingJim]

I can say with certainty he doesn't care about how things work. It's more of a 'signs of damage' kind of thing. He likes seeing the aftermath of the destruction he caused. There are a lot of holes in my drywall from that. Also, he threw eggs at the neighbors houses (that was a fun time). Drops items off the deck to see how they break (including a dog once). I've tried redirecting him by putting together chunks of legos and letting him smash those. Sometimes that works. The least destructive redirection I've got is him simply pouring a cup of water from the deck to the patio. The splash of the water seems to calm him a bit. He has a major attraction to water.

I'm sorry, that's really hard. You're probably doing all the right things, it's just frustrating knowing that even doing all the right things does not lead to any answers.

 

[sammymvpknight]

Like a key thing. What is the motivation for the killing? Is he killing on a scientific and clinical level b3cause he's curious? Or gets pleasure/excitement out of it. I.e. the act. Really only a psyche doc can properly evaluate that. How functioning is he with his autism?

Sorry if I'm being too blunt. Mental health issues suck. I've had a kid who had to be baker acted (72 hr hold) twice, but is much better now. His was more about sexuality and gender identity. Long story for another day.

Sometimes the impulsiveness in ADHD can be an enormous problem. We’ve all had crazy thoughts before, but we have the ability to rationalize. Some kids ADHD is so bad that any crazy thought must be persued because they don’t have the ability (or struggle significantly) to suppress it.

Believe it or not, the number one associated diagnosis with childhood suicide is ADHD. Part of that is likely prevalence of the ADHD diagnosis, but another part is impulsivity.

 

[hotairgypsy]

I read this post a couple of days ago and just wanted to stew on it....It is crazy reading stuff i have in my head...I have 2 special needs kiddos and love them to death but they are trying...especially my son which is autistic...as i type this he is moods i have to deal with almost daily...I am just fortunate he is high functioning but everyone around me is telling me he can never live on his own....either of my children actually...i have to figure out how to live for ever it seems...i try not to take it too serious cuz the future is unwritten so i have lots of hope....I think i am raising 2 professional walmart greeters so i guess i should start training them...like i said i just try to work with what i have and hope for the best...I could talk about all the little things but those in this world know it already...and all the stuff we mention is just depressing to think about so work with what you got....i got a buddy who has a non verbal son and that would be a lot for me to handle...mine at least gets to tell me he hates me everyday...so weird how as a parent i take that as a complement... i guess i am doing something right...not my job to be his friend...my job to raise him to be a productive member of society...we shall see how that goes...here i am just rambling... you all understand...hang in there...its only gonna get rougher and hopefully there is day light at the end...

 

[Rickboy]

Here we go. We went to Children’s Hospital today and checked in with the ER. After a few interviews it as determined that our son would benefit from the inpatient program and they had a bed available. It took all day and we didn’t get him to bed until 9:30 but he’s settled in. We’ll be heading back tomorrow evening to speak with one of the psychiatrists and discuss the treatment plan.

Frankly, it went A LOT smoother than expected. Leaves me with slightly higher hopes.

 

[DaveXA]

Here we go. We went to Children’s Hospital today and checked in with the ER. After a few interviews it as determined that our son would benefit from the inpatient program and they had a bed available. It took all day and we didn’t get him to bed until 9:30 but he’s settled in. We’ll be heading back tomorrow evening to speak with one of the psychiatrists and discuss the treatment plan.

Frankly, it went A LOT smoother than expected. Leaves me with slightly higher hopes.

Had a relative who went to the Children's Hospital in DC after a suicide attempt and she stayed there I think 5 days and they were very good. But it was just the first step in a long process. Specialists, therapy and staying involved. Lots of ups and downs and challenges, but the process can be rewarding as tough as it can be at times. Hang in there man.

 

[Rickboy]

Today we got our son back. He was discharged from the inpatient program at Childrens. Now he has two weeks of outpatient care.

Besides autism and ADHD, the psychiatric nurse practitioner thinks we may be dealing with some sort of genetic loading for an anti social personality disorder. I don’t mean to be harsh, but his birth parents are a mess. The next two weeks are to help lock down the diagnosis and determine pharmaceutical and therapy treatments. It’s highly unlikely he’ll ever be able to care for himself as an adult. The nurse was surprised we hadn’t had any law enforcement encounters yet. It’s likely he’ll need to be in a group home as an adult. I just hope we can help him adjust enough that he can be happy and stay out of harms way.

There are a lot of options we’ll be exploring. I’m in the process of getting him on medicaid. He’ll likely be on full disability at some point. My wife, unfortunately, seems to have given up. I don’t blame her at all. She’s been assaulted, several times, by him. He may be small but she is too. I think she’s afraid of him and afraid for him.

I’m mentally just trying to work through this. At least I’ve got him back. We’re going to hike in the mountains this weekend.