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fair_haired_lass Vice Captain
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 Posted: Sun Feb 04, 2007 7:43 pm
I know this drug has recently been approved for treatment of autism in children ages 16 and younger.
My son is three and I've always been very skeptical about medication for young children. His doctor, who is also the developmental and autism specialist on the base where I live, insists he's had great success in calming down the more severe aspects to help with therapy and things. I figured if he sings its praises that much its at least worth a months try.
Sutton does not really speak and has extreme mood swings that involve hitting, pinching and scratching (mostly either me or himself) as well as pulling out his own hair to the point where it is visably noticable. I know alot of parents might see this try as a sort of easy way out to managing and dealing with his symptoms, but I am honestly more concerned that he will end up hurting himself with his antics. There really isn't any way to calm him that I have found besides giving him what he wants... and thats not always a viable option. ( Scissors + 3 year old = BAD )
I was wondering if anyone in here happened to know anything about the drug or have had any experiances with it?
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Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2007 1:25 pm
Can't help you there. ^_^;; I've never taken medication for my symptoms.
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Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 10:38 am
Neither have I... I was asked if I wanted medication before diagnosis, and I declined out of worry that I would be losing control of my mental state in some way.
Also they were offering me anti-depressants, and I saw how those effect (or on many days do no effect) my mother, who is manic depressive.
But in the long run, those medications help her out a lot.
What kind of side-effects has your son's psychiatrist warned you of?
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Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2007 11:44 am
One was gaining weight... but my son is a little under 3 feet tall and weighs 31 lbs. He still fits into 24 month old pants. In short, the weight gain might be a good thing. However he did mention it could become excessive as he gets older.
High blood pressure is also a risk, but we go in monthly to get a refill on the perscription and he is checked thouroghly then.
The paper that comes with the bottle from the pharmacy lists other possible side effects, though none that would really be a severe problem for a 3 year old.
He's been on the medication for over two months now and I really do believe its been a big help. He's still very VERY hyper, but I can deal with that. He still lashes out from time to time, but I've noticed more and more that the episodes are getting shorter. He has stopped pulling out his hair, which was a major concern. Not for cosmetic reasons, but because I was worried he would literally pull out some of his scalp with the way he did it.
He will still put his hands up to his hair once in a while to grasp it, but he no longer pulls.
His vocabulary has grown considerable as well. He still mostly only says nouns like dog, cat, fish, milk, slide, boy, bus, ect. but he says most of them without being prompted by someone else to do so. Like if he sees a bus in the street, I don't need to ask, "Whats that?" He automatically recognizes it.
He's also said some sentances like ; "I wanna ride bus" "My bus" and "Annabelle a dog."
As you can see most of his world revolves around riding the bus to school and animals. Which is fine by me!
I think the medicine calms him down a little so he's able to get more out of his therapy.
I still don't like the fact that we are using it. And I hope, eventually, we can ween him off of it and try things without the meds for a bit. But right now I think its worth it.
I should also say that I ghavn't noticed any signs of him acting drugged either, which was a huge concern. we give him the full dose, .5mg, at night about an hour before bedtime. It does make him conk out, but the following morning he doesn't seem to be influenced at all.
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fair_haired_lass Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2007 3:03 pm
Wow, your son's behavior sounds a lot like my son. He doesn't pull his hair out, but does occasionally hurt himself during tantrums by flailing around and kicking. He's hyper as well, and it is tough to deal with sometimes. We can't go through a grocery store without a melt down.
We haven't tried medication, because his behavior isn't as severe. I would definetly consider it, if it were any worse though. sweatdrop I think medication sometimes helps as a short term way to deal with behavior while you and your child set up coping skills. If giving him medication bothers you though, just remember you have the right to refuse it. Especially if you don't see him benefitting from it. No one has the right to pressure you do something you're not comfortable with. 3nodding
Good luck with this, please keep us posted!
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Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 2:53 pm
Well, I'm glad this is working out for your son. Admittedly, I've been on a few medications (Risperdal, Fluoxetine, and Alprozalam) since they came out, and they've helped me considerably. I did gain quite a bit of weight when I started taking Risperdal to the point of me becoming chubby, but I've been working out and only have a slight bit of belly fat now.
I used to be very much like your son I'll admit. Kicking, screaming, hitting, pinching, scratching, even biting on occasion. I do sincerely hope things continue to get better for your son, and good luck with everything.
Sincerely,
An Aspie by the name of Foxxwell.
P.S. Trust me, if you keep working with your son like my family did with me, he'll get over most of the negative effects of Autism like I did. Keep at it, and good luck to you.
smile
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Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 7:40 pm
I took it, but not for Aspergers. They gave it to me as an anti-psychotic. A misdiagnosis. I know that I took it for about a month, but all I remember is sleeping. I think that's all I did. It also made me lactate a bit. That was gross.
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