Question about meds in 6 yr old boy with autism, ?

Question

ADHD, tardive dyskensia, hyptonia and a sleep disorder. Johnny is currently on Trazadone, Wellbutrin and Clonodine and has tried several different other medications for the most recent was Metadate. Nothing seems to working to control his outburts. He was diagnosed when he was 2 years old and had a good set of meds then. He was on Risperdal and after two years of being on the drug he developed tardive dyskensia from it and can no longer take it anymore and now ever since then things have not been going well at all.

This is not my child, and I'm curious about several things. What doctor would prescribe risperdal to a 4 yr old (or younger) in such doses that serious side effects like tardive dyskensia would develop. Wouldn't behavioral intervention be first course, not meds? Something smells fishy to me and I'm curious as to what others think. Thanks.

Answer 1

Nowadays everybody scorns old-fashioned psychotherapy.  Mental illness is seen as a chemical imbalance or a neurological disorder.  It never even occurs to modern reductionist neurological researchers that there might be some *meaning* behind a child's fractious behavior.  It's dehumanizing.  

Try "Floor Time."  It's a modern refinement of a technique developed over the decades from Anna Freud's play therapy. It has a solid track record. It was written up in Time Magazine as an effective form of therapy for autistic children:

Answer 2

Your son is on a lot of very heavy medications.

I took Risperdal for a few days after being dxed with depression.

I sat on the sofa and drooled !

Everyone reacts differently to medication .

I suggest a meeting with the doctor and you and he needs to explain what other options there are.

Also call your local school district and ask for a work up for special needs.They may need a doctors note  but they must provide it even before school age.

I wish you the best.

Answer 3

The answer to this question can be found in the nearly 500 million dollar lawsuit that Medicaid had on the pharmaceutical companies that make such drugs.  Apparently they were charged with over-charging and for paying the physicians to peddle their drugs.  Apparently some psychiatrists get staggering amounts of money from these pharmaceutical companies.  They apparently settled out of court for nealy 500 million dollars.  Hmmm, makes you wonder.  This is old news to me since I research a lot, but here it is for you to check out:

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/s...



here's another good answer to your question:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/...

Parents don't know any better.  They are doing what they are suppose to do, go to doctors and do what doctors say.  Know that you can choose another doctor.  There are doctors who know how to rid autism.  Its rid by ridding pathogens and toxins.  My children no longer have autism.  Thus, go to Yahoo Groups, and ask on the autism forums that deal with biomedical and infections and toxins, and they will tell you how, which doctors know, etc.

Answer 4

As a parent with a child that is 12 and diagnosed during the past year as being on the "Autism Spectrum" I would encourage you to get a 2nd or 3rd opinion if you haven't already.  The more I read about all of this the more I wonder who to trust.

My son has been through a complete Neuro-psych eval. & I am still not confident that I have the answers to help him.  Now we are trying our 2nd med for the ADHD component of his behavior issues.

Best wishes with your boy.  Hang in there, every day is an adventure!