Between a rock and a (frightening) hard place

For the last 6 years my son, Christopher, has been successfully navigating the isolating waters of autism. He has had an excellent program at school, and has made leaps and bounds in speech, reading, communication, and social matters. Of course, he has always had good and bad days, like anyone. Usually these "bad" behavior days were egged on by tiredness, illness, hunger, or over-stimulation (or some combination thereof). Always before, there was a cause.

Now, however, since the beginning of this school year, his usual 1-2 week blip of a bad spell has turned into a 3 month bad spell - with no apparent known cause. I wait on pins and needles for his behavior book to come home each day. We haven't gone more than 2 days at a time without serious infractions. And yet - at home, he is normal (well, as normal as normal gets around here).

I have my suspicions, of course. He is soon going to be 10 years old. He has recently had a enormous growth spurt. He's gained about 3 inches of height and at least 15 pounds since maybe last spring. And according to my husband, he himself began puberty right around this age. So I probably have testosterone-fueled aggression in my normally pretty mild mannered son. Who has autism. Who doesn't understand what's happening to his body. Who by the very nature of his condition has difficulty dealing with uncontrollable changes in his world.

There has been talk of counseling (expensive) and medicine (expensive and possibly dangerous). I have been trying to get him in to his pediatrician to get some answers and advice. Meanwhile, it feels like his teachers are telling me to please "fix" him and then send him back.

I am doing my research - and I know one thing for certain - I will do anything I have to in order to avoid giving him those powerful drugs. They are not the cure-all that doctors and Big Pharma would have the public believe. There are alternative methods. I will find them. I have to. Nobody else will fight for the health and well being of my little boy.

Autism is a very lonely road for anyone whose life it touches.