I am a grandmother of a teen struggling with SM. She has no close friends other than her siblings and no social interaction at school.

How do I know if medication is or isn’t the best answer for her?Hell

“In addition to the school, we want to create opportunities for social communication within the community, perhaps practicing these skills with her siblings coming along. Remember, comfort precedes communication and progress doesn’t happen in a group. One method is to focus on areas of interest in social interactions, which can help to lower anxiety and begin building a connection with new people.

A key aspect here is skill building. A lot of teens can speak, but they may not be initiative, elaborative, or conversational. They lack skills such as conversation starters, expanders, etc., which are areas that need to be worked on in therapy. Too often, we think that by using medication, all of a sudden anxiety is lowered and the child, or in this case, the teen, will just begin to speak.

What I’ve learned over the course of my career is that skill building is critical to the treatment process. Although they’re comfortable at home and may have some strategies, it’s out and about within the community, within the school, and while connecting with others that is challenging to the degree that really affects them socially, emotionally, and potentially academically.

So, is medication the quick fix here? Absolutely not. Could it be an adjunct in the treatment of this teen? Absolutely. However, I would not wanna make that recommendation without knowing this teen and working closely with the family, and particularly the individual, to help build the coping skills, learn the strategies, and begin navigating the social communication world in a confident way where we’re not pushing, but we’re working closely with the team through goal-setting and step-by-step.” – Dr. E

 

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