Has you’ve already read, I’m on the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). On social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, not only am I a part of these sites, but I also join groups that deal with autism and I am friends with people who are either on the spectrum themselves or the parents of children with this disability. Because I have to keep my true identity to myself for legal reasons, I’m having a hard time deciding how to respond to these people who are desperate for answers. There is some information I know that might help and I could give my real life examples as to why I tell them these things, but I don’t want to compromise everything I’m working for with my book. So I will share an actual experience I had to help anyone with a low-functioning autistic child.

So I’ve decided to give some rather helpful advice on my blog without trying to disclose my personal information. One of the main things I read from people are the parents who are dealing with a child that is lower functioning. To any parent who has a low functioning child on the spectrum is if their brain has not fully developed yet; meaning a female tends to fully develop by 21 and a male by 25, then there might be an answer. This is NOT a cure because, as of yet, there is no cure for a neurological brain disorder, but there is a medication that might help. First, I need to let you know that I’m not a doctor or a pharmaceutical rep, I’m a Special Education Teacher and I know as a witness what this medication did for my child. The medication is called Namenda (Brand Name) or memantine. If you look this up, you’re going to find a lot of information with this medication for patients of Alzheimers. The drug is to help people with memory issues which would be your neurotransmitters and the like. When my child was born, doctors told us that you will have to take care of your child for the rest of your life because she is low functioning. However, another doctor was doing a study on the use of Namenda for children that are on the lower end of the spectrum.

Our child was one of those selected back in the 90’s. So we decided to give the medicine a chance and though it took a few years, we started noticing an increase in activity in our child. So much so that her NEW diagnoses changed from a lower functioning to a higher functioning autism. The medication worked. She had started taking the medication at age 6 and kept taking the medication for 7 years. This was finally stopped because our daughter had made such huge strides that she didn’t need the medicine any more. You must have 3 members on your team to make this work – 1. A Child Psychiatrist who understands autism 2. A Child Psychologist who understands autism and 3. A Pediatrician who understands autism. YOU MUST TALK TO THE TEAM OF DOCTORS BEFORE TAKING ON ANY MEDICATION!!! Remember that boys and girls on the spectrum are not the same! The symptoms are not all the same for each gender. We still have our rough days with our daughter, but she has graduated high school and college! Do your homework…check this out for yourself.