Stimulants As An Autism Medical Treatment

It is notable that Autism affects each patient differently than the next, and therefore, each patient is approached differently concerning their treatments and therapies. Besides the non-medical interventions, such as music, listening, speech, language, and vision training, medications are also prescribed in certain cases to lesson certain Autism symptoms which are not lessened through the non-medicinal trainings or special diet changes.

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One type of medication that is frequently used to control the Autism symptoms of aggressive and violent behaviors, as well as epilepsy, is stimulants, such as the commonly prescribed Ritalin and Adderall.

Out of the approximately 58% of Autistic patients prescribed a pharmaceutical treatment, only around 17% are prescribed stimulants. This low percentage is mainly due to the efficacy of antipsychotics and antidepressants, which also cause less dependability.

The way that stimulants help to control symptoms of Autism Disorder is by increasing focus and decreasing hyperactivity and impulsivity, however, this is not without potential side effects. Prolonged use of stimulants may lead to drug dependence, and therefore should be used only if there is a noticeable improvement in the patient's behavior or intermittently with other therapies.

Other side effects include insomnia, loss of appetite, high blood pressure, and abdominal pain. If a parent or caregiver notices any of these side effects, the health provider should be notified immediately. Other treatments may be prescribed by the health provider instead in order to avoid any invasive symptoms that are affecting the patient's daily life functioning more than necessary.

There are many more resources and information about autism signs, symptoms, treatments, and cutting edge medical research in, Autism: Everything Parents And Caregivers Should Know About The Disorder