If you give an autistic child a ....... well, read on

So I'm going to make a confession that is very much for the record.

I have never inhaled.

As in, Not Ever.

(Just ask Jim.)

Since we're on this subject....... I'll note that, after reading writer Marie Myung-Ok Lee's essay about why she is giving marijuana to her 9-year-old son, we are (thank you very much) still sticking to the "traditional" meds that Charlie's been taking for a couple of years. It's true that medications like Risperidone and Zoloft have not completely solved things for Charlie and we've only used them in combination with lots of teaching and educational strategies, including ABA: The meds are only one among things that seem to help Charlie in school, to allay his anxiety which, as noted, can be extreme and manifest itself in extreme ways. There is some research about the use of Risperidone to treat irritability in autistic children; what's most important has been our observations about how the meds have helped (and also not helped) Charlie.

Lee's son is on the autism spectrum and has had "two serious surgeries for a spinal cord tumor" and also has "an inflammatory bowel condition." She writes about how his tantrums were more and more affecting his education:

his school called my husband and me in for a meeting about J's tantrums, which were affecting his ability to learn. The teachers were wearing tae kwon do arm pads to protect themselves against his biting. Their solution was to hand us a list of child psychiatrists. Since autistic children like J can’t exactly do talk therapy, this meant sedating, antipsychotic drugs like Risperdal—Thorazine for kids.

Lee's investigations about the use of psychiatric medications for children on the autism spectrum left her doubtful about how they might help J; she especially notes her concerns about the "risks" and the lack of studies on long-term use in Risperdal in children. Indeed, Charlie's neurologist himself noted this to us and I think it's possible that there will be a big change in his meds in the upcoming months.

Lee cites an article about marijuana use for autistic individuals from the Autism Research Institute, home to the Defeat Autism Now conferences. Lee specifically talks about her son's (gastrointestinal, in particular?) "pain," as if medical marijuana might help J as it has those suffering from cancer or chronic pain.

After a homeopath suggest medical marijuana, Lee first tried Marinol, a prescription drug containing a synthetic cannabinoid, for J. He first did very well, she writes, but his aggression returned after a few months. Reasoning that there are "few evidence-based scientific studies" for the use of medical marijuana "precisely because it is an illegal drug," Lee was able to obtain a medical marijuana license for her son to use. (Medical marijuana is legal in Rhode Island, where she lives.) Through a patient group, she met a licensed grower who provided her with:

....some leaves for tea, ..... a glycerine tincture, a marijuana distillate in olive oil (yes, organic), cookies (ditto), and a strange machine that looked, fittingly, like a lava lamp. Basically an almost-bong, this vaporizer heated the cannabis without producing carcinogenic smoke.

Lee's son, J, has been using the medical marijuana for a month and she notes the kinds of small changes that can mean a lot:

But since we started him on his "special tea," J’s little face, which is sometimes a mask of pain, has softened. He smiles more. For the last year, his individual education plan at his special-needs school was full of blanks, recording “no progress” because he spent his whole day an irritated, frustrated mess. Now, April’s report shows real progress, including “two community outings with the absence of aggressions.”

The big test, so far, has been a visit from Grandma. The last time she came, over Christmas, J hit her during a tantrum. This time, we gave him his tea, mixing it with goji berries to mask any odor, although it occurs to me that my mother, a Korean immigrant, probably doesn’t even know what pot smells like (and it actually smells a lot like ssuk, a Korean medicinal herb). She remarked that J seems calmer. As we were preparing for a trip to the park, J disappeared, and we wondered if he was going to throw one of his tantrums. Instead, he returned with Grandma’s shoes, laying them in front of her, even carefully adjusting them so that they were parallel and easy to step into. He looked into her face, and smiled.

The "special tea" is having, by Lee's report, some results for her son and one hopes these will continue, for his sake.

On the other hand, it does seem rather unlikely that there will be too many studies to say for sure what the effects of medical marijuana might be for individuals on the autism spectrum. Pain, and gastrointestinal pain in particular, are especially noted by Lee. We haven't noted such as the source of my son's own behavior issues, which seem much more connected to his anxiety and the way his neurology works. Regarding our decisions about Charlie's medications. One reason we've been doing a lot of testing (blood/genetic, EEG) under the neurologist is to get a better picture of Charlie's physiology and medical needs; we also rely a great deal on our own observations and those of Charlie's teachers and therapists.

No medication has been a "magic pill" for Charlie's challenges and we're not looking for such, but rather ways to help him do well at school, learn, reach his full potential.

Which grandiose statement having been made, what could be a better comment on how life raising a child on the autism spectrum, a child who's different, throws everything upside down all around, than realizing that you've just spent a part of your evening thinking about what would happen if you gave your child ...... a joint, the very behavior that kids in middle school get sent to the Vice Principal's office for?

(Yikes! did I write that----now I've thinking of the title of a certain book: Think mouse; think cookie (and Lee does mention cookies.............Like I said, I have never inhaled.)