Autism Spectrum Disorder .Tired of confusing information? Need accurate, reliable facts?
With about 58% of children who are diagnosed with Autism receiving some form of pharmaceutical treatment, antipsychotics are the highest prescribed medicinal treatment, as it is prescribed to about 66% of those taking medication to control Autism symptoms.
The most common atypical antipsychotic medication prescribed as an Autism medical treatment at present is risperidone, primarily because it is the only antipsychotic currently approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Nevertheless, the FDA only recommended it for children who were exhibiting severe behavioral issues, not for those who only showed signs of occasional mild aggression.
While Antipsychotics do not treat the central symptoms of Autism, such as social and developmental lags, it is unquestionably successful in treating the severe behavioral issues and aggression commonly associated with Autistic children.
Placebo controlled studies have shown that weight gain was the most noticeable side effect, however, it is well established that many patients discontinue antipsychotics as an Autism medical treatment because of the serious long term side effects including seizures and tardive dyskinesia. Tardive dyskinesia causes body parts to involuntarily spasm and is associated with irreparable central nerve damage. Basically, if one decides to augment other Autism treatments with medication, all other interventions should remain constant and unchanging so that any changes can easily be linked with the medication.
Additionally, because the nervous system of patients with Autism is extremely sensitive, it is important to gradually introduce the antipsychotics at the lowest possible dose at first. The timing of antipsychotic medications is also important for this particular treatment, and therefore, parents and/or caregivers must take care to administer the medication at the same time everyday. Furthermore, in order to gauge the efficacy of the antipsychotic medication, parents and/or caregivers should assess the child (or adult's) symptoms before beginning treatment and keep a log of symptoms before, during, and after use.
Parents and caregivers along with health professionals (who are preferably experienced in working with Autistic patients) must work together to be sure the antipsychotic medication's benefits are outweighing any side effects, and to decide if treatment should be continued and/or supplemented. Be sure to look into all possible side effects of both typical and atypical antipsychotics and ask your health professional whatever questions you may have before beginning this Autism medical treatment.
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
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