Meltdowns, sensory issues and autism

My now 19 year old has struggled with sensory issues since age 3. When he was young he didn’t like certain sounds and would respond by yelling, screaming and sometimes even physically reacting. One of the big triggers was sirens from police, fire and ambulance. He would start screaming and hold his hands over his ears. As he got older and we were home, he would run outside to hear the siren and respond. He also would exclaim profanities. This response pretty much disappeared with both maturity and medication. Thank god for psychiatric medications. I feel he would still be very uncomfortable without them.

Another sensory trigger was babies crying in public places and the birthday song. These triggers have also decreased in intensity or vanished with both maturity and medication.

 I wish I had sought out psychiatric help when he was younger. We didn’t visit a psychiatrist until he was in middle school. I personally was concerned about the use of the medication and it’s effect it may have on my child’s overall health. The teachers and therapists at his middle school were the ones that introduced the subject and encouraged us to seek help. I was a little offended that they introduced the subject but after some thought and their insight I scheduled an appointment.

It took some time to settle down the sensory responses with medication. The doctor visits resulted in trial and error with different meds and slowly increasing dosages before he found relief. We met with a fabulous pediatric psychiatrist that was very patient and had excellent bedside manner. That had a major impact on my comfort level and support of using medication. After a couple years, that doctor transitioned into a different medical setting and we were sad to see him go. He was in high demand and we were lucky to be accepted as a new patient. He referred us to another psychiatrist in the practice that has only had to monitor the existing prescriptions without any change. My son has continued to thrive and only occasionally has meltdowns now.

I look forward to hearing your experiences with your child’s sensory issues and if you had success with medication. Feel free to comment below.