We're quick to use them - but what are their risks?
Whenever we hear the words “you have a condition”, we often hope for it to be followed by “but we can treat it with medication.” One of the often used methods to treat Autism is medication. After all, it is usually the cheaper and more convenient alternative to other available treatment methods.
With any medication, it’s important to make yourself aware of side effects. Many parents consider any side effects to be minor as compared to the symptoms their children are currently facing. Some professionals have the opinion that medications don’t “cure” anything. They merely conceal and minimize symptoms. Even so, many look to medications as a temporary relief from troublesome side effects including self-injurious behavior.
The medications that are used to treat autism are Neuroleptics or “major tranquilizers”. These should not be confused with “minor tranquilizers” such as Valium and Xanax which are often prescribed to treat anxiety. Unlike minor tranqulizers, neuroleptics regulate the use of dopamine in the brain and often helps with autistic symptoms such as self-injury and obsessive, repetitive behaviors. When these symptoms are controlled, this can make children more attentive and able to learn and keep up with curriculum.
The most common side effect with Neuroleptics is sleepiness or heavy sedation. If a child suffers from this side effect, it is very possible that they may not be able to attend their treatments or study sessions and keep up with their treatments. Other side effects include affects to liver function, effects to blood cells, behavioral changes including aggitation, and skin effects. True allergic reactions may also take place.
Another thing to keep in mind are the after effects of being on a Neuroleptic medication. Stopping the medication after extended use can often lead to unusual body movements in the head, neck and shoulders. A condition known as Tardive Dyskinesia can also occur. Tardive Dyskinesia is a condition that causes involuntary movements, especially of the lower face. Tardive itself means “delayed” and Dyskinesia means “abnormal movement.” The condition is caused by neurons uncontrollably “misfiring” and is characterized by involuntary movements of the lips, tongue, face, and even arms and hands.
While it isn’t completely necessary to put your child on Neuroleptics for autism treatment, some doctors and physicians claim to get the best releif from symptoms this way. There are other medications being tested and prescribed for Autism treatments including anti-depressants including Lithium. In itself, being prescribed Lithium will require frequent blood work to regulate kidney and heart function. If Lithium is used in conjunction with a Neuroleptic, side effects must be watched very closely as other conditions can arise such as Encephalopathic Syndrome, which is a condition that is characterized headache, confusion, seizures, and visual loss.
While medications often offer the quickest and cheapest solution to controlling autism symptoms, it is very important that you make yourself very aware of the benefits and risks of taking the medication. Ask as many questions you can of your doctor and do your research. Some medications end up causing more damaging conditions, some irreversible, that will just require another medication to control. And there goes the cycle of medication.
Make yourself aware.
12 Comments
It is really true doctor, with my experience in treating my son who is mild -moderate autistic,most of the medicines work negatively,if one side improves,the other goes worse.Therapies really do a lot help.
hi hope you are fine and in good health.your essays are very informative and i appreciate your work for the cause of autism. please let me know the role of toys in the developement of autistic child.my own child is autistic and she does not take interest in playing with the toys.please help me to enhance her capabilities of speaking with the help of toys.
thanks and regards
aamir aziz
hello
i m mother of a 5 year old autistic son , he z unable to speak yet , he shows behavioral probs , he remains very depressed these days , how can we help him ? does ayurveda or homeopathy help really ? i m from abudhabi , uae . i would be interested to contact other parents of the same prob .. please help . lubna5691@hotmail.com / silence_kills95@yahoo.com
who can help my twins girls from autistic world becouse i dont want them to be wasted in de nederlands.they are my joy and reason i am a mother so lovely kids.i need helppppp.
j.tucker5@yahoo.com
Hi, The best therapy once can find for autism is in USA. I have contacts there if someone wants.
In Dubai Child Early Intervention Centre is really good for therapies. For further contacts i can help too.
Regards.
hello i am mother of 22years old autistic girl i have experience with her now she follow the diet without gluten and caseine her behavior change every day her capacite to understand me very good she rett syndrome she can say only mama and her name she like musique and swiming i love her too much and i am ready to make for her every think she is my life
Dear Hamida, thank you for your efforts. Rett Syndrome is a more difficult condition of autism to take care of but you must try to learn as much about it and make the most out of any treatments. Although she has the genetic to it you can improve her environment so the genes would not express out. I mean try to improve her diet, enhances her health through supplementation to assist in deficiencies or toxicities, decreases environmental toxins and improves her communication or behaviour via therapies.
Hi Joyce, have you considered contacting us for help? Call us or email us as our contact info is on this website!
Hi Lubna, to properly assesses the situation of your son, you have to find the underlying medical reasons of his condition. The best way is to do the necessary biomedical evaluations and we have access to all of them if you need help. Call or email us.
Hi Sreeja, you have to treat the underlying biomedical causes once you found them and also, you got to do the therapies to re-establish the child communication and interaction social skills. I agreed.
Hi, My almost 7 year old son was diagnosed with autism at age 4. Due to severe behavioral issues in the last year, his doctor decided to put him on medication. He started taking Abilify at 5mg per day. After a week he had tremors and unusual jaw stiffness and weird movement, but he seemed calmer and happier. Still I was concerned about the physical effects so We went back to see the doctor and he lowered the dosage to 2mg. This did help with the tremors and jaw stiffnes. But then the behavioral issues came back. I decided to take him off the Abilify completely. We are going back to see the dr. again on tuesday. In the meantime i have been attempting to research different meds for my son. Is there one that you know of that has minimal side effects but also works well with behavior? Thank you in advance for your help.
Hi Cynthia, Your question is a broad question and most common knowledge tells you all pharmaceutical drugs have side effects, and we use them by weighing the pros and cons. We hope to achieve a balance in favor of more pros. The drug Abilify is a neuro/psychotic drug that acts as a tranquilizer and the hormones/neurotransmitter affected are: dopamine, serotonin, norepineprine, epinephrine and histamine. From experience, we found most kids with aggresive behaviour to have a stress-out adrenal gland. You might want to do a saliva hormone test to fix this and possibly check the gut for clues. In my office, we have used glandular support for the adrenal gland, some neurotransmitter and fix what we found through evaluations. It is IMPORTANT to TEST,TEST, and TEST.