I finally was told of my diagnosis at 16. At the same time, they decided to start drug therapies on me. Suffice to say, come to find out four years down the road that what I needed treated was depression and high blood pressure, not autism. In fact, meds aimed at 'fixing' the autism issue made me worse, which culminated in a big blow out between my father and I about 7 years ago. Things are okay between us now (for the most part), but because of this and other occurrences throughout the years I remain a heavy skeptic of the idea of 'trusting people' to 'do right by me'. Far as I'm concerned, I've got a better idea of what's good for me than even my family (see thread on getting the 'selfish' lecture for more info on that).

I hate people thinking that medication does anything good. For certain "symptoms", it does, but with stuff like Ritalin it robs you of any knowledge from that time period. A friend of mine once described it as having learned things, but doing them automatically but without knowing how he's doing them, since to his knowledge he didn't actually learn it. He was super-great at math (not autistic, just AD/HD combined with OCD), and I could barely figure out how he was doing it. I asked him, and he told me what I said above. Not sure what dosage he took.

Oh, and here's my own contribution the the 'chemical' list of titles: chemical shackles. Because what else does it do except shackle our mind, limit our capabilities?

Yes, it is the generic Prozac. I am concerned about the depression changes coming alongside the hormonal changes and the recognition that he is different, can not seem to relate to peers, has very few friends, turns off way more, and doesn't think anyone loves him. As if 14 yo Aspies were not confused enough, now he is hormonal to boot. He seems to be self-medicating his own depression symptoms because "it makes me feel better" and helping him change his mindset is difficult at best. I don't believe Aspies will be cured from Aspergers with drugs of any kind; but I am not opposed to treating symptoms associated with it (like depression) if it makes them live a more productive and positive life.

If he's into books, I'd recommend Luke Jackson's "Freaks, Geeks and Aspergers Syndrome". That's the age group.

I concur, quite a good book.

I agree with Schnoing and Lestat. Luke Jackson's book certainly helped me, and I discovered my diagnosis when I was older than he was when he wrote that book. It still helped immensely. Truth is, I think it could help adults recently diagnosed as much as teens, if only to show them that what they experienced as YAs was not a one-off occurrence but a common one for people with AS.

Not by any means a chemical straitjacket, but currently nicely medicated with my morning shot of oxycontin.

Mmm...feeling a nice contented warm glow.

To BernerPup:

I would avoid cannabis (marijuana) for anything because it is
very strong but has not been clinically characterized to determine
just what its effects really are and it varies greatly from one
batch to the next.
Meds like fluoxetine (Prozac) are of dubious use but have at least
received (more or less) believable clinical testing.
Note that HFA is not a problem in itself regardless of what
"curebies" would have you believe but that being chronically
ostracized for being different from the pack can lead to
depression, et al., which do need treatment.

medically,
kullervo

I think you will find, that cannabinoids of all manner of shapes and sizes have actually had extensive research published about them, indeed I read an entire BOOK dedicated solely to cannabinoid neuropharmacology, it was quite an interesting read.
Can't remember the author, but its an ebook titled 'cannabinoids and the brain'.

Herb is known as a muscle relaxant, antinauseant, and one of the most side-effect free ones, lacking the tendency towards possibly irreversible tardive dyskinesias  or tardive akathisia.

As well as beneficial effects for some with MS, and I find it effective for a gentle sleep aid, without the potential for dangerous, and truly, truly hideously miserable withdrawals, and for the constant muscle cramp in my left calf.

Smoking bud and hash has never done me any harm, nor have the synthetics I've tried (HU-210, CP-55,940, the dimethyloctyl homolog of the latter, JWH-017, JWH-250, 1-(5-fluoropentyl)-3-napthoylindole, a damn potent CB1 agonist, but short acting, UR-144, and a few others)

Out of the lot, I think I prefer the full agonists, unlike herb, especially CP-55,940, and HU-210.

If cannabinoids haven't undergone clinical testing, how do you explain meds in use like marinol, nabilonr and the full spectrum herb mouth spray sativex?

It may be a bit off-topic, but I have self-medicated for years for my AS, not really realizing what I was doing till a couple years ago. I may be a fringe aspie, meaning I can mimic NT behavior pretty well and sort of sink into an NT mind-state so it all comes automatic, but it only happens for short periods, and it takes a great deal of relaxation. Since I am naturally stressed in social situations, this is achieved with drugs or alcohol. I know, NOT a sustainable way to live. I was a psychonaut for years trying to find the right "fix" from different psychedelic substances. While I gained some insight and also wasted a lot of time being needlessly high, nothing ever took, I always sobered up as me again. Then I found a certain balance of meds - anti-anxiety, pain, disassociatives -- could get me into that place in a way where I remained sober-minded AND aspie AND saw all the NT social cues. It felt complete, but short-lived. And I do NOT recommend trying to live a drug-fueled life, as it is not sustainable.

These experiences did lead me to a theory, that may seem off the wall. I think Aspies can be emotional and social and all that stuff just like NT's. We have the same potential inside of us. However, stress or nervousness puts up walls on that, as a way to let us focus on the task at hand. Since any social situation makes me nervous, the walls are always up. But there are rare moments when I am in a social setting and have no nervousness. Because I am with people I trust completely, am on home turf, very relaxed, everything in its place, etc. Or because I have found the right "intoxication zone" to shut down my stress. And in these short-lived zones of relaxation, I find myself acting very much like NT's and fitting in very well, picking up on social cues. But as soon as I get any stress, that goes away.

To the extent some people say being on the spectrum is like being color blind to certain social cues, I think maybe we are not blind, but are wearing filters that come down in times of stress. However, we are so often stressed living in an NT world, not fitting in, that the filters are in some way permanent for many of us. I do think if we created an AS society where we did not feel we were missing out, failing to meet expecations, etc., that maybe we would find that level of relaxation that allows for those filters to lift. Then we would have all the benefits of the AS perspective AND the NT perspective (and I do think both have positives, though I'm happy being AS).

Anyway, I post this not to encourage drug use, but to encourage people to seek relaxation and ways to manage stress and see how that affects your disposition. My quest to find sustainable, non-drug ways to achieve relaxation has led me to meditation, taoism, tantra, massage, yoga, music, art, and other stuff. Of it all, I think yoga, meditation and massage are great tools that aspies can embrace. Well, it gets into my thoughts on aspies and religion, which is way off topic, so another time/place.

~Ken the Aspie Lawyer