Aspergers medication

[kitakat]

Hi, my 11 year old was diagnosed with adhd and has some autistic traits about 3 months ago and given medication which is helping a bit. She seems more alert now - usually very dreamy and cannot concentrate but gets wound up more easily now and lashes out sometimes gets very physical. Pysciatrist is doing further assessments in a couple of weeks for aspergers and has suggested using a low dose of the anti physcotic risperidone, not sure whether to give it a go or not, GP says its worth trying but wanted some feedback from other mums/dads who have children on this and what they think. I do think it is probably worth trying especially as summer hols are upon us and I will be able to monitor her but my partner's not so sure as she is already on equasym and melatonin. Any info would be great.

My DS (15 with AS) is on Risperidone. Some people have reservations about it because there don't seem to have been many trials on children.
My DS became very aggressive at puberty. He was excluded from school numerous times and became very angry and violent at home. Risperidone was a last resort,but it has worked well. He started on one tablet in the morning and one at night, which was then reduced to one in the morning and half at night. We are trying to reduce still further, which works at home (holidays) but not at school. For us it was a Godsend. We just could not cope with his behaviour and no one seemed to be able to help us.
It has not made him a zombie. I think it has enabled us to see his true personality again.
Hope this helps.

Thanks, think I will give it a trial, we get the anger and behaviour issues at home but school dont see any of this she is the complete opposite there - quiet and withdrawn dreams alot so she doesn't get noticed. Going to high school in September and the teachers there seem to be a lot more promising for helping her than the primary school.
Its good to get another parents point of view and how much of a difference it can make.

The difference between home and school behaviour seems quite commom with girls which might be why fewer of them get diagnosed.
We have had much better experience with Secondary than Junior School. The Secondary have experience of much larger numbers of students and tend to have a lot more in place to help them. Hope this will be the case for your DD.

Its reassuring to know that about how symptoms can differ between girls and boys because we have been trying for 3 years for a diagnosis but felt we have not been believed by most because of the very different school/home behaviour. Finally getting some results with a good GP who referred us to a pysciatrist who has been great and also a school suport worker who has arranged counselling.
Thanks for your info sometimes I've felt like no one believes me and maybe I'm a mad hypocondriac mother where my dd is concerned.