Frustrated and I don’t know what else to do

** he is on a wait list for ABA, currently being screened for IEP, and waiting to change his meds. His therapist said I should make friends and have breaks. Like out of the blue he said that. I wasn’t complaining about anything other than his actions at school. But, I’m sure I appeared tired. But as far as making friends go, it’s difficult for me as I am on the spectrum as well, but complete opposite side of the social spectrum. I’m really shy around people I haven’t known for years.

My son is autistic and adhd. He has not been formally diagnosed with ADHD, only hyperactivity due to his age, but it’s obvious. I’ve asked his dr for help, he has a psychiatrist but the meds seemed to make it worse by making him a zombie and then once the meds wear off he is 15x more hyperactive. He has had trouble at school. I feel so bad for him. He can’t focus on one thing for very long. Lately, he’s been hitting, throwing, screaming. I had some people from the health department come over for a parenting program. He kept crawling all over them. I told him to stop, I asked him to go to his room. I almost started crying. Then he started kicking me. I’m near wits end as I don’t know how much longer I can handle it due to his size and weight. He’s 5, but he is very tall and 70lbs. He is also on a wait list for ABA therapy.

** they have my son on clonidine now. He’s like a zombie though, and just wants to sleep. But when it wears off he is very impulsive, and just seems like he contained his energy until the meds wore off, then it’s like his energy combusts and he is all over the place. The meds he was on before was a form of Ritalin. It just made him angry and he would scream at people. 😞it’s so difficult. I’m a single mom and don’t have much help advocating for my kids besides my mom.

I may look into that. He’s very talkative though, and doesn’t understand stranger danger, which really concerns me.

*I’ve tried taking him to parks. He acts up and gets in all the other kids personal spaces. The other kids get really mad and it ends up being an unpleasant experience for both of is. I still take him 3 times a week, but it doesn’t seem to help. I try to find the ones that don’t have many people due to the issues. I have explained to my son several times he can’t get into peoples spaces, and I ask him if he’d like that done to him. He understands but he doesn’t understand how to apply it. I feel like I have tried everything. If you knew me personally, you would know I would never have chose to put him on meds to begin with. Up until he was 4 years old, we were a strictly organic household. But after this recent inflation happened I can’t afford that lifestyle anymore. Before and after him eating anything with red dye added hasn’t made a difference. He is not more or less hyperactive. What made me look into medication was at my grandmothers funeral back in April. He almost fell into her casket and his shoe almost fell into her grave because he literally could not sit or sit still. God love his heart, he tried the best he could. My heart sank when it happened, as I thought he had gotten himself hurt and I realized he really could have. I have to do something. my cousin obviously noticed what happened and she mentioned her son has the same issues and since being on medication for him, once they found the right med, he was so much less impulsive and was happier too. So that made me change my stance on medication. It’s not all about the energy because of him having autism too.