Your views on drugs for treating children with autism

[Hieveryone18]

Hi, my daughter is under 2 ( with suspected ASD) so this is not something I will be doing anytime soon but believe I should gain more knowledge on the subject. She is basically non verbal at the moment with very poor motor skills. She also has a terrible temper (head banging) which is a big concern of mine. Please share your experiences on when you started using drugs and if this has helped your child. Thank you

What does your paediatrician say? Those symptoms could be ASD but also could be something else or nothing. It's quite hard to tell with a 1 year old and often they will go with a 'wait and see' approach.
There aren't any drugs for autism but there are some for associated behaviour e.g. sleep problems, hyperactivity etc. Have never used any ourselves. What we're you thinking of specifically?

Autism is not an illness.

Why would you think there is a drug option for treatment?

You need to educate yourself, this is a good site to start
www.autism.org.uk/about/what-is.aspx
What is autism?
Autism is a lifelong, developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with and relates to other people, and how they experience the world around them

I would be amazed if ANY paediatrician would prescribe a drug in a child under two with an ASC unless there were other medical issues. There is no drug to treat an ASC although in older children drugs can be used to alleviate the mental health problems or anxiety that is often associated with an ASC.

Temple Grandin had a good take on drugs. She said weigh up the potential benefits to the SPECIFIC issue with using ... compared to the harms of not using, and only give the minimum dose necessary. Try all other strategies first. The younger the child, the more potential harm so I would be highly cautious at this age.

As others have said, no drug is going to ‘treat’ autism. However, head banging does potentially harm, but I would be getting as much help, support and advice to reduce this without drugs. And get expert help, not quacks. See if there is a good behavioral psychologist, OT, SLT.

You need to first find out

• what is causing the head banging? Is it frustration, sensory issues, or being overloaded?

Sometimes frustration is because the child is being subjected to too many demands and cannot cope. Buy the Hanen speech book and reduce your speech. Use pecs. Make your child’s world easier and simpler.

Drugs for autism?!?!

Do you mean co-morbid conditions like sleep problems, adhd, ocd, anxiety?

Asd brains are wired differently - there's no magic fix