Re: Risperdal for the treatmet of autistic symptoms

[Guest guest]

Do a lot of research on side effects, possible side effects, and talk to

other parents who tried to eventually wean their kids off it. You need to

make what ever decision you think is best for you and your child, just please

do some research before jumping into it. We've never used it but have

talked to many other parents who have. I've heard an equal split of good and

bad about it.

lots of info here

_http://www.risperdalautism.com/risperdalautism/index.html_

(http://www.risperdalautism.com/risperdalautism/index.html)

Kerrie

In a message dated 1/12/2010 5:48:38 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,

tanya.yarkoni@... writes:

Today i was told that a prominent pediatric neurologist took a look at my

soon to be 3 year old and thinks that Risperdal along with ABA might help

get her on track.Following directions from my DAN doc I currently have her

on antibiotics for 100% strep virus in her gut and Nystatin for yeast.

Still, her doctor feels that they might be able to get through to leia more

easily and actually get some kind of cognitive response if they introduced

Risperdal to reduce some of her self-stimulatory behavior. Does anyone have an

opinion about this?

Thanks

[Guest guest]

We've found it to be a very effective tool in helping our son. He was

extremely self-injurious and would have major meltdowns and moodswings.

Throwing things, hitting/kicking/headbutting/biting himself/others. It was

all pretty ugly. We finally made the decision to start him on a 'baby dose'

of Risperdal, and saw major improvement. I'm not saying the behavior is

perfect, but it provides him more clarity, a bit of a breather so he can

gain some self-control. He told us that he's more at peace and can think and

has more self-control. (He's very verbal, and has quite the vocabulary...and

when he's upset, that vocabulary is used to be mean towards others.) There's

also the bonus that he goes to sleep at a decent hour. (He was never a good

sleeper.) We've not tried to wean him off it -- we'll be trying that over

this year's summer break -- so I can't speak to that, but we've not had

side-effects, not even the weight gain they mention could be a problem.

Before that, we tried a litany of DAN protocols, with no or minimal

improvement. Meds have their place, but I do agree with really educating

yourself on them first.

On Tue, Jan 12, 2010 at 2:48 PM, Yarkoni <tanya.yarkoni@...>wrote:

>

>

> Today i was told that a prominent pediatric neurologist took a look at my

> soon to be 3 year old and thinks that Risperdal along with ABA might help

> get her on track.Following directions from my DAN doc I currently have her

> on antibiotics for 100% strep virus in her gut and Nystatin for yeast.

> Still, her doctor feels that they might be able to get through to leia more

> easily and actually get some kind of cognitive response if they introduced

> Risperdal to reduce some of her self-stimulatory behavior. Does anyone have

> an opinion about this?

> Thanks

>

>

[Guest guest]

Thank for the response. You see Leia doesn't have any of the self-injurious

characteristics you are describing. She also has minimal language and mainly

talks jibberish. Going to sleep a decent hour is a major bonus. I will read up

and learn more.

>

>

> Today i was told that a prominent pediatric neurologist took a look at my

> soon to be 3 year old and thinks that Risperdal along with ABA might help

> get her on track.Following directions from my DAN doc  I currently have her

> on antibiotics for 100% strep virus in her gut and Nystatin for yeast.

> Still, her doctor feels that they might be able to get through to leia more

> easily and actually get some kind of cognitive response if they introduced

> Risperdal to reduce some of her self-stimulatory behavior. Does anyone have

> an opinion about this?

> Thanks

>

>

[Guest guest]

We were at a point about eight months ago where our physician thought the only

option to stop my son's aggressive behavior was risperdal. We personally did not

want to do this, but each decision is personal and each med choice must be made

with that patient's best interests at heart.

We decided to try some other things, but I have to warn you...I spent hundreds

of hours researching my decision. Not everyone has the desire/time to dig into

it that much. We found that my son's issues were a result of severe pain, sulfur

detoxification issues, and a host of other things. He was feeling terrible, and

his behavior followed suit. Kids act out...and stim, when they don't know how to

handle what their little body is doing to them.

We have done just about everything, and tried just about everything. My son is

thankfully healed/recovered and now we're in more of a maintenance/tweaking

phase. Helping him heal was the hardest thing...and the most rewarding thing I

have ever done.

Our son had huge gut issues. Sounds like your daughter also struggles with that.

When we finally got his gut feeling better, I will never forget the day when he

sat down, looked at me with a surprised face, and said " Mom, my belly doesn't

hurt! " I asked him if every time he sat down previously, his belly hurt, and he

said yes. Sometimes kids don't even understand what it's like to live without

pain, what " normal " should feel like. How in the world can they focus on

anything else, or behave, when they hurt so much? My heart hurts for my son and

what he had to go through.

I don't know your daughter's lab results/medical situation, so I can't say

whether or not to use Risperdal, but...I will say that a turning point for us

was when we started giving my son massages. We'd do it for sometimes 90 minutes

to 2.5 hours a day, along with joint compressions. His body was so tensed up

from the constant pain that the meds we were doing couldn't work. He needed to

relax so he could heal. We also did a significant amount of focused prayer for

him, which I believe helped our reaction to his behavior, as well as led us to

the right research so we could make medication decisions.

Whatever you decide, I think you're going a great route getting her gut healthy.

Have you done enzymes? We are Houston Enzyme fans. They were AWESOME for

us...life-changing in fact (and got us on a normal diet again!). We mix up the

yeast protocol a lot too. Sometimes Nystatin works for awhile, then we try other

stuff. If you delve deeper into biomed, great...it's so rewarding. If you try

risperdal, then that's great too, because it was the decision you felt was best

for your little girl.

All the best....Sara

>

> In a message dated 1/12/2010 5:48:38 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,

> tanya.yarkoni@... writes:

>

> Today i was told that a prominent pediatric neurologist took a look at my

> soon to be 3 year old and thinks that Risperdal along with ABA might help

> get her on track.Following directions from my DAN doc I currently have her

> on antibiotics for 100% strep virus in her gut and Nystatin for yeast.

> Still, her doctor feels that they might be able to get through to leia more

> easily and actually get some kind of cognitive response if they introduced

> Risperdal to reduce some of her self-stimulatory behavior. Does anyone have

an

> opinion about this?

> Thanks

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

>>leia more easily and actually get some kind of cognitive response if they

introduced Risperdal to reduce some of her self-stimulatory behavior.

What are the stims?

Dana

[Guest guest]

,

This reminds me of the long ago story about[?who], an autistic middle schooler

who as a grown person recalled that she used to spend hours looking at her

hands/shaking them etc and wondering if they were connected to her body. My own

daughter 25y now, used to have enough peripheral neuropathy[numbness in

hands/arms; feet/legs] that she could not at times tell where to put her feet to

walk. This was one of the first things to disappear w chelation. Are you/do you

intend to chelate? We used the Cutler 'low and slow' method. The visuals - have

you read any of Dr Megson materials and/or tried vit A? She's convinced that our

children have a very limited 'tunnel' for accurate vision;only a few degrees

where rods and cones actually function as what we think of as 'normal' Hence,

side vision to bring things into alignment as best they can. Otherwise, things

are a blur, without shape and maybe without color. Dr. Megson had a great

presentation about this at one of the first DAN conferences. It may still be on

the ARI web site. Sounds to me like your little one is truly trying to find

what is going on 'out there' - smart girl! http://www.megson.com/

> >>leia more easily and actually get some kind of cognitive response if they

introduced Risperdal to reduce some of her self-stimulatory behavior.

>

> What are the stims?

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> Dana

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[Guest guest]

Dana will probably answer, but I believe some of these visual stims can be due

to lack of vitamin A. Fish oil might help.

> >>leia more easily and actually get some kind of cognitive response if they

introduced Risperdal to reduce some of her self-stimulatory behavior.

>

> What are the stims?

>

> Dana

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[Guest guest]

> she sits and moves her body and head from side to side

> she puts her finger in front of her eyes

> and she stares at her hands

> she will also put her head to one side and just stare

At my house, these were eliminated with anti-fungals, anti-virals, and B

vitamins, especially B12.

It is quickest and easiest to start a yeast protocol, so I would start there.

Dana

[Guest guest]

> right now i have leia on antibiotics for strep

> and nystatin for yeast

> then we will move onto probiotics and more vits

> how long does it take to start seeing results

Depends on the reason for the problem. If it is yeast, and you don't see

results within a week, you need to increase the yeast protocol.

Nystatin is not effective against all strains of yeast, so you might need to add

biotin, GSE, OoO, or something else.

Dana

[Guest guest]

Does she have reflux?This could be yeast.Does she have food allergys rashes

constant stuffy nose,ear infections.Been on toooo many antibiotics without

probiotics.Has she had an endoscopy?Get a good ped-gastro doc. My daughter

sufferd too many years with visual yeast in her belly.We cleared it up and shes

70 % better over the last 6 years! We are going to be 11 in may. Dont feel bad

just keep seeing docs till you find the best ones for her!!

Deb K

> > >>leia more easily and actually get some kind of cognitive response if they

introduced Risperdal to reduce some of her self-stimulatory behavior.

> >

> > What are the stims?

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> > Dana

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[Guest guest]

> very poor motor skills

Try giving carnitine and increasing the yeast protocol.

http://www.danasview.net/yeast.htm

Dana