Autism and medication

[33andunder]

We have been dealing with sensory issues, but are now not sure. (Was awaiting diagnosis, but now a lot of the symptoms are not being observed!). DD takes probiotics, melatonin if she cant sleep, DHA and EFA.

DD is also on a gluten free, dairy free diet. We attempt to supplement with vegan protein, but it is seriously hard!

[jenn5388]

Miranda is 8 and on Risperidone. It's done wonders for her. She only eats a select few things and can't/won't take ant kind of pills/vitamins so the liquid that I can just squirt into whatever she's eating was the easiest way to go. She's been diagnosed with Aspergers anxiety and odd.

[Almacham]

My son has AS and sensory + anxiety issues. I have him in behavioral therapy but refuse meds. He can function without them, and I want to see how far he can go using the tools the therapist gives him before I ever consider meds. If the anxiety were to grow worse or impede his functioning in any way, of course he'd get meds. But we're not there yet and I hope to God we never will be. For his sensory issues he will soon be attending an age appropriate group therapy session called the Picky Eaters Group. Can you ask your pedi or child's therapist if there is anything like that out there for your child?

[Almacham]

Oh we are also moving him over to a GF diet. He won't eat dairy anyway.

[cody82414]

no medications at all for my son with autism.

[Silver)O(Moon]

DS1 currently takes Limictal (mood stabilizer) and Zoloft (SSRI antidepressant). He's slowly coming down off the zoloft since his doctor said the SSRIs can increase mood swings in certain kids. He was taking Concerta for ADHD but it can increase aggression which he struggles with so we are looking at adding Strattera, a non-stimulant ADHD med. His dx is Aspergers, Mood Disorder NOS, ADHD and Anxiety. Previously he had taken Risperdal but it made him gain a ton of weight that he had never been able to lose. He has also been on other SSRIs and was on Abilify for a year. Seemed to help for a while and then lost effectiveness. When they increased it, he had a seizure.

DS2 no meds. He is super obnoxious to live with, he talks constantly and bumps into you all day, but is thankfully free of the many issues ASD kiddos have. He's not anxious and doesn't throw tantrums or anything like that. His diagnosis is PDD-NOS. He is also gifted and just overall quirky.

DS3 no meds. He's been on them previously but they either didn't work or the side effects were intolerable.

Autism itself cannot be medicated, but certain symptoms can be treated with meds, such as anxiety, depression, attention issues, etc. Just keep in mind that ASD kids have a weak blood brain barrier and are very susceptible to side effects. Start low and slow when it comes to meds.

[mommyto3sweeties]

My son has autism and is not on medication. I'm considering a GF diet.

[AVDesigns]

My son was diagnosed with Asperger's, ADHD and some oppositional tendencies when he was 4. He started on Vyvanse but we quickly learned that it caused him to be violent. He then switched for Concerta which did great. He stayed on that until the end of last school year when our insurance quit covering it and we tries Adderral. Same effect as vyvanse though and after 4 months we put him back on Concerta (ins. went back to covering it thankfully).
We've just lowered the dose a little though because he got a bad eye tick. He stims a lot and always has even before the meds...but I'm open to natural options to help him so he doesn't have to deal with the ticks. He just turned 7.

[iris0110]

My oldest is PDD NOS, SPD, and Anxiety NOS. He has never been on medication for these diagnosis though he takes a multivitamin and acidophiles. In the past he took magnesium and b12 injections. I did notice a difference with the B12 injections, he went from non-verbal to on target in around 6months with the use of injections but the other supplements never seemed to have any kind of effect (the acidophiles does help with stomach complaints so we all take it). He will take melatonin when he has trouble sleeping. He also has a diagnosis of growth hormone deficiency (pituitary dwarfism) so he takes growth hormone injections for that but those are unrelated to his ASD diagnosis. In March we will be speaking to a developmental behavioral specialist for the first time about medication and really only because of the anxiety.