I have a 16 year old newly diagnosed Teen with Aspergers and anxiety/depression. He does not like to leave the house , dropped out of school and when we tried Prozac he became extremely suicidal and will not see a Psychiatrist or try medication again. So now what?

My youngest son (14) has Aspergers but it has helped that we have known this for a long time.  If you've only recently discovered Aspergers, it could help you (and him) tremendously if you read everything you can find on it.  I'm sure you are trying to deal with the immediate problems right now though, so let me ask you, is his reluctance to leave the house an anxiety that he has had for a while, or is this something new, like maybe he's suddenly depressed?  Does he have special interests and is he engaging in them now?

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Hi jean.cauley and thank you for your question. Here is an answer to your question from Sheila Wagner, Ph.D., Assistant Director of the Emory Autism Center at Emory University.

Hello Jean,

The first and foremost issue is his safety. If you feel that he is in anyway threatening suicide, you should call 911 to get him help as quickly as possible. They may decide he requires hospitalization. Also, please work with your physicians on a crisis plan that can work with your son and family so you will be able to respond in an instant, if needed. Identify community resources that can help and assist. If you don't know of any, then ask the school system to help you find them. Always take these situations seriously and do whatever you can to connect him to emergency personnel and a physician as quickly as possible.

After he is stable from there, please work with the school system to get him back in school. Although I do not know him and cannot give specific recommendations, as a child with a disability, he is eligible for an IEP that is designed along his own needs; this means positive behavior programming, peer programming, the development of a crisis plan for the school setting, social skills training, any academic modifications that might be necessary, etc. Since he is in such crisis, it will take everyone working together to turn this situation around. Does he have a friend? Sometimes just having one friend can get our folks through rough spots. If he doesn't, then work with the school to try to help him develop a friend - someone that could call him at night to talk with, to go to the movies with on the weekend, and to have some social contact with.

I hope this answer helps your son and gets things back under control quickly. But always concentrate first, on his safety. Good luck!
Sheila Wagner, Emory University

Note: Top medical experts on autism answer questions like these on the ABC News OnCall+ Autism site: http://abcnews.com/autism .

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