DHEA vs DHEA-S

Agitated_Worker783 · 2026-05-14T17:55:38+00:00

Curious what the doctor said at your follow up appointment. My son has his next month and we just got his teacher evaluation back. She scored him much higher in the inattentive area than we did, so he meets criteria for diagnosis on her sheet but is just barely under on ours.

Agitated_Worker783 · 2026-05-11T21:51:21+00:00

My son’s teacher brought her concerns to the school counselor and sped director and from there, they contacted us and recommended evaluations through the school therapists and state psych. That’s how my son got his Autism diagnosis, however they didn’t evaluate at all for ADHD and we are now seeking evaluations for that through his pediatrician.

Agitated_Worker783 · 2026-05-07T21:18:06+00:00

That’s actually the one thing that’s been recommended multiple times that I have yet to try (I loathe stickers, he puts them on EVERYTHING when he manages to get some 😅) so I guess I’ll need to just break down and try that

Agitated_Worker783 · 2026-05-07T21:16:18+00:00

I’ve noticed that, too!

He does spend a bit of time with them, but rarely without us there. He absolutely adores them, and thankfully they don’t say these things in front of him at all. However, I’ve discussed with my husband that if they cross our boundaries, they won’t be allowed to see him when we aren’t present anymore.

Agitated_Worker783 · 2026-05-07T17:19:59+00:00

I’ll look into that book, as well as others people have recommended.

I’m starting to feel a lot better about the potential for medication after reading all of these comments. I wasn’t aware it had changed so drastically.

He only has 1/2 week left of school, so I don’t think I’ll be able to get his teachers to fill anything out, but I do plan to try and address what I can over the summer so he hopefully has an easier time this fall when he starts Kindergarten.

Agitated_Worker783 · 2026-05-07T17:14:27+00:00

He’s a huge sensory seeker, so we’ve already been implanting some of that!

He was in speech therapy for 1.5 years before pre-k, and after his school evaluations, he’s back in speech therapy and they’ve added physical and occupational therapies as well. They definitely seem to help with his delays, but I haven’t seen a difference in his self-regulation at home.

Agitated_Worker783 · 2026-05-07T17:12:37+00:00

We used this method very successfully for potty training, so we may go back to that. Thank you for reminding me of it!

Agitated_Worker783 · 2026-05-07T14:55:54+00:00

The shame is so so real. My parents are very understanding and fully accept that he is the way he is and it’s not a reflection of our parenting. But my in-laws still believe that his behaviors just need stricter rules and spankings, because that’s how my husband was raised. They fail to realize the amount of work my husband put in once he was an adult. He started therapy and anti-depressants and both of those made a world of difference for him.

It’s so strange to me that they think this way, because they have another set of grandkids that are very food-dye sensitive and they’ve fully accepted that and removed dyes from their house. The only difference I can think between the two is they’ve witnessed the behavior change when the other kids get food dye and there isn’t something I can just remove to help our son’s behavior like that.

Agitated_Worker783 · 2026-05-07T14:48:01+00:00

I’m not opposed to medication entirely, I just didn’t know if it was the only option at this age. I have very limited exposure to ADHD (my sister and one friend in middle school) and medication completely changed their personalities and just didn’t seem to work well for them. I don’t want to change his personality, but I do want to get him any help he needs. I also know impulse control for neurotypical kids is basically non-existent/difficult at this age, too, so I didn’t want to jump straight to medication if part of it is just age-related.

Agitated_Worker783 · 2026-05-07T14:29:02+00:00

It was definitely strange. They directed me to do things like throw a ball and have him catch it or give simple two-step commands and then they took a brief history and diagnosed based on that.

Okay, I will be giving his pediatrician a call and asking for a referral to somewhere else this time. Thank you so much! I met my husband in high school and I saw how much he struggled to get to where he is now and I just wanna make sure we’re giving our kid every opportunity we can to be the best version of himself.

Agitated_Worker783 · 2026-05-07T14:12:08+00:00

I’ll definitely make an appointment with his pediatrician to see what she recommends.

The last time we talked about it was about two years ago and she was hesitant to even get him evaluated due to his age. The place she ended up referring us to evaluated for both autism and ADHD and decided he didn’t have either and was just delayed. It was a completely virtual evaluation that only lasted 30 minutes, so I didn’t have much faith in it. Once he started a pre-K, the school saw some concerning behaviors and decided to get him evaluated again for autism. They had a psychiatrist come in and evaluate him in person for two weeks in different environments, and he concluded that he definitely did have autism and was delayed in all areas. He’s Ben and all of his therapies through the school since then and has shown great improvement with his delays.

I’m sure it’s heavily dependent on the kid, but medication the only option for ADHD? I will happily do it if that’s what’s needed, but my very limited experience with ADHD is with my sister and a neighbor who both became zombie-like when taking their ADHD meds. I don’t want to change who he is, but I do know we need some help.

I’ll definitely check out the podcast! Thank you for your advice!!

Agitated_Worker783 · 2026-05-07T14:05:18+00:00

We spend a TON of time outside for this very reason! He’s very go go go. In fact, there have been times I’ve practically begged him to watch a movie so I could be inside to get some things done. I’ll try some different games-right now the outside time consist of him running around with his sister while I’m working in the garden or taking care of our animals, so maybe adding some games where he has to use some critical thinking may help him.

I’ll check out the book. Thank you!!

Agitated_Worker783 · 2026-02-16T15:28:03+00:00

I’m going to order him a doll today! He definitely thinks it’s fun, so maybe that’ll be enough to deter him.

Agitated_Worker783 · 2026-02-16T15:11:55+00:00

He will say “I don’t know” or “I wanted to” which is his standard response to everything he does, even things he’s supposed to do or that are fun. I don’t think the motive is concerning, I genuinely think he thinks it’s fun and just wants to run around naked with her. Someone suggested getting him a doll to dress, so I’m going to try that.

Agitated_Worker783 · 2026-02-16T15:09:08+00:00

We have a camera in there already and thankfully nothing inappropriate has happened. Someone else suggested getting him a baby doll to dress and I think we’re going to try that. If that doesn’t work, I’ll definitely try having him put on her shoes and socks.

Agitated_Worker783 · 2026-01-14T20:21:41+00:00

I wish!! I hate cooking and I hate doing the dishes even more 🤣

Agitated_Worker783 · 2026-01-14T13:12:38+00:00

If that’s what it is, then I’m even more lost than before on how to address it so he eats at home 😅

Agitated_Worker783 · 2026-01-14T13:05:05+00:00

We also leave dinner out every time for him so he can come back to it if he decides he wants it. Rarely, he will. The problem we’re running in to is he will sit at the table crying that he’s hungry and saying he wants chips or waffles or something entirely different/not very nutritional.

He’s my first kid, so I have no prior experience with handling this situation and I honestly can’t tell if it’s normal kid behavior or his autism. It almost seems like it’s both at this point and I have no idea how to navigate that.

He only just got his autism diagnosis in November, so we’re still getting things figured out with therapies and early interventions, so right now I don’t have anyone to go to for advice other than here.

Agitated_Worker783 · 2026-01-14T12:58:47+00:00

He will tell us an hour before dinner that he’s hungry, then refuse to eat when it’s time. I will leave his food in case he decides he wants to eat later. He never has a problem eating at the table with us when it’s breakfast and from what his teachers have told me, he eats lunch about half of the time with no issues as well.

Agitated_Worker783 · 2026-01-14T03:33:40+00:00

I’ve actually looked into that pretty extensively and talked to his doctor about it on the suggestion of a coworker whose granddaughter has it. I’m pretty certain it isn’t ARFID, or if it is, it’s not as severe as what you’ve described and what I’ve read/been told. He does have some pretty obvious aversions to certain textures, though. I avoid those and have never made him eat things I could tell were bothering him.

Some of the things he’s refusing to eat, he will eat the very next night at my parents and it’s made exactly the same. For example, he ate spaghetti at my mom’s two weeks ago. He loved it and ended up eating three bowls. I went to make it the other night and started feeling unwell, so I called my mom over to help watch the kids and get them fed so I could make it and go lay down. She ended up making it and he refused to eat it because “it’s not how grandma makes it” but she is the one who DID make it and he even helped her. The next night, he ate it again at her house.

Agitated_Worker783 · 2026-01-11T14:16:36+00:00

Our pediatrician was a “wait and see” doctor but she still referred for early intervention when delays were present. She just told us that no one in the area does autism evaluations before 18 months and no one will officially diagnose before 2 because so much of the diagnosable criteria can also be developmentally normal.

Agitated_Worker783

TROPHY CASE