Comments on: ADHD Medication and Autism/Aspergers

By: Billy R. Young

Billy R. Young — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:23:49 +0000

I am help raising my great-nephew who has autism and is almost ten years now. In recent times my nephew has gotten to a point that his attention span at doing something has gotten extremely worse. He now goes through a daily routine of screaming and become physcially un-controllable because he seems to be bored. His doctor has recommended that we try some ADHD medication on him but unfortunately we been told that this type of medication only comes in pills. We cannot get him to swallow a pill. Is there any type of ADHD that comes in liquid form? If not, is there any recommendation of how we can get him to take the pill, such as grinding it up and mixing it with his favorite drink. Any help would really be appreciated.

By: Dr. Kenny Handelman

Dr. Kenny Handelman — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 22:06:22 +0000

Mellissa – it’s hard when that happens. Have you tried Abilify?
Also -outside of medication, I hope you’ve been able to get specific behavioural treatments.
Good luck.

By: Mellissa Lee

Mellissa Lee — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 17:52:33 +0000

Hi,My sn Jacob is 8 and has Autism and ADHD!! He is nonverbal and hyperactive and very agressive.We have tried a least 15 different meds,Risperdal,clonodine,ritalin,focalin,dextromethophine,aderall,kapvay,ativan,patches and many more…we still cant find the right one.Heeither falls asleep or is out of control or crying all day long and i am looking for input from anyone that can help or has been in this situation and has found something useful or helpful..

By: Dr. Kenny Handelman

Dr. Kenny Handelman — Thu, 05 May 2011 16:53:33 +0000

Laura,
Consider a non-stimulant like strattera, or a medication to help to lower the tics.

By: Laura

Laura — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 18:10:57 +0000

Dr. Kenny- My 12 yr. old son is diagnosed with AS and ADHD. He started Vyvans a month ago but is constantly clearing his throat now. His dosage was just increased and it got worse. He used to take concerta, but developed bad facial tics. Because of how socially awkward he is, I don’t want tics to make his middle school experience worse. He has become overweight so we hoped the stimulant would help that, but it also has an anxiety factor, which is hard for a kid with AS. He’s high functioning, but needs help focusing. I just don’t know what to do. Is there anything you can suggest?
-Laura

By: john

john — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 18:06:55 +0000

HI-
My 10 year old son has a diagnosis of Aspergers. He has difficulty with his executive functioning and also attention/ focus issue only in the area of reading and writing. These are the areas he struggles greatly with in school and needs frequent redirection when expected to complete a writing piece. Special Ed. teacher is insisting the only course to take with him is to medicate him because she is out of ideas. He has seen other professionals ( neurologist, psychologist) none of which are seeing the issue to the extreme she is saying it is. My question is, are there ways to help children refocus without medication? Are there techniques that could be used in the classroom to assist with this? Thank you-
John

By: rich

rich — Wed, 05 May 2010 18:08:23 +0000

My son is just now 21 years of age with a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome. He was approximately 7 or 8 years of age when diagnosed. approximately 7 months ago he had a meltdown of sorts after taking respiridol (sp.) for some months. He was given scripts for trazodone and zyprexa at alternating times at that time. Today he has been hospitalized for the last few days pending a psychiatric evaluation. Side effects which can occur from using trazodone, any one of which should be reported immediately to a doctor, include mood or behavior changes, anxiety, trouble sleeping, impulsive, irritable, agitated, hostile, aggressive, restless, and hyperactive—my son exhibits all of the signs. Trazodone related?

By: Mabel ann

Mabel ann — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 23:33:19 +0000

TYVM.

By: Dr. Kenny Handelman

Dr. Kenny Handelman — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 18:35:26 +0000

Mabel Ann – it is very rare that Concerta would do that, but I can’t reassure yoy with certainty – only your doctor can do that.

By: Mabel ann

Mabel ann — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 00:18:43 +0000

Hi,
My 25 year old son says that his 15 year old brother, who is diagnosed with asperger’s, used to smile normally and make eye contact better. He thinks concerta might be causing this side effect. Can you reassure me that this is the asperger’s, not the concerta?