Risperdal Okayed for "Treating" Autistic Children

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I was put on Risperidal when I was 16 for 3 years. it was toted as able to reduce stimming and meltdowns which it did. They also said that it would "bring me forward" Aspie tend to go through 3 times where they go thro large leaps of "growing up" in a very short time one pre tens one late tens and one early 20ts. i did

The second day on it I remember sitting on the stares thinking that i was chocking i was crying like I had done before but this time i could not control it. Shaking, shuddering, lump in my throat. Before that day i had not actually felt feelings I just copied them.

I also stopped repeating commercials and talking with my mouth full irrupting conversation not being to control my voice volume ect

But 3 years later I am not sure it was a good thing the sudden influx of emotion and the sudden want to commutate with people coming almost over night messed me up real good. And I have lost a large chunk of my creativity and math type skills (Risperidal can cause central cohesion disturbance)

By the way for all you parents that think making ur children more normal.
At the start of the year I was put on it year 11 I was in advanced math’s, chem., doing mostly A and B despite the problems I was having with teachers and other students. The drugs made me want friends so my parents constant be normal command seemed like the way to go but I did not want them to like me so I tried to do what was “in”. By the end of the year I was falling by the end of term 1 year 12 I had dropped out. I hade heaps of friends tho and they gave me lots of drugs and good advice like jetty jumping is heaps safe and shop lifting is a good way to cure bordom.

I've been on and off risperdal, it makes me gain weight and really sleepy. I find effexor which is an atypical antidepresiant to be just as effective in controlling stims, meltdowns, etc as well as depression.

I was on Risperdal, and I am back on it again. The only thing I am worried about right now is the weight gain issue I had when I was on it. I am a child, and I have heard it was good for treating Autistic children.

Huh? What about this article: http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/con ... /163/3/551

That's a great letter, thanks for the link. Of course, just preaching to the choir imo. I'm already convinced that such a drug doesn't address autism itself. Though, unlike the statement in the letter, I don't think there was a claim that it did. The claim was to address accompanying symptoms that occur in autistics.
Using such a drug ignores the root of irritability and "aggressiveness"-which are communication deficits and sensory issues. Risperdal can completely stall development in those areas, especially in children under 10 if they are being shut down. We can't develop social skills trainings at home and school, unless we have seen my son "triggered". We have to know how and why he is "acting out" to be able to help him.
Sometimes the problems are specifically with him, that is, a particular sensory issue that he just can't cope with yet or not wanting to listen to instructions he can't understand. Sometimes the problems are with others and we need to accomodate Pop around those issues.
I also agree with one of the last statements that behavior plans are the most proven "treatments" with autistic people. Most of the training I do for my son is actually training the school staff to be more accomodating.

I took Risperdal for a while. It helped me a bit with phobias, but overall it didn't do much. Don't really know what to say about this; I haven't been on the medication for 4 years.

OMG - we were on that path before I just dug in my heels and decided my son didn't need speed to get him going and then another dope to bring him back down. We brought him home, we learned, we work together.

OMG - why do docs need to dope our kids?

yeah, yeah, I know why, it's called return visit fees and pays their mortgage but OMG. Our life isn't easy, but at least it's drug-free.

OMG - uppers AND downers and these are just kids! I guess anything to keep from actually _knowing_ our kids and putting in a bit of effort to be better parents.

I was on Risperdal. Then I refused to take it because I could feel myself losing intelligence. I was in 8th grade. The parents finally took the hint that psychotropics and anti-depressants were causing me more trouble, that even though I may have ACTED more normal in public I still was just ACTING, and so they said no more drugs. I still haven't lost half the weight those drugs caused me to gain, and I lost seven IQ points from 7th grade (before the antipsychotic) and 9th grade (end of all drugs.) AND I still feel as if part of my creativity is missing; I used to be able to draw and draw and draw--and now I can draw only if I trace something first. I lost the ability to see. It sucks. Of course, now I spend most of my time analysing data to find patters, which does require an ability to "see," but it isn't as much of an emotional release as drawing was.

I do not understand why these doctors felt I was so whacked that I needed to be doped, and I don't understand why my parents listened to them (although a doctor recommended that I be institutionalized IN FOURTH GRADE for behavior problems and they refused, so kudos for that.)

Just because there is a drug out that that can help mask certain unwanted, unusual behaviors doesn't mean that it should be used to make a parent feel more comfortable taking their kid out to the playground. And what is it about people that they require physical contact to feel loved? If I don't hug you, I don't hate you, I just don't want to hug you and I'll find some other way to show you I care. But geez, Risperdal for kids...

I got off of risperal a few months ago for various reasons including it made me gain alot of weight.

I found from the autistic network that antispycotics will cause your brain stem to swell. it will immediatly stop your developement and cause frontal lobe shrinkage

and frontal lobe shrinkage helps social skills how????

Risperdal, Zoloft, Seroxat, Prozac, whatever. I'm through with all SSRIs, SNRIs and other s**t like that. I take a Valium when I need to calm down and that's it. Period.