(I'm going to x-post this in the mental health forum as well.)
My sister asked me to ask around and see if I could find some alternatives for her son.
Some background: He's 14-years-old and severely autistic. He is non-verbal (though he can communicate through typing or pointing out letters on a board) and has sensitivities to egg, dairy, and gluten. He eats pretty poorly (mostly meat) and will sneak foods he can't tolerate whenever he gets the chance.
Recently he has been struggling. He's a big kid (tall and very strong) and has a terribly explosive temper. He throws and breaks things constantly, screams, scratches and hits himself, tears up rooms, etc. He has also been known to pee on things when he's angry. He could very easily hurt someone when he gets angry. As a result of the violent outbursts his doctor ha been trying some different medications to try to stop the behavior or at least make the outbursts more manageable. His behavior is markedly worse when his 5-year-old sister is present. He does NOT like to share the attention of their mother and gets angry when his sister even talks quietly. So far the meds they have tried either didn't work or made him worse. The doctors have now mentioned Resperdol and Ablilify, but my sister is very concerned about side effects and would like some alternative suggestions.
I'm honestly not too sure where to even start looking...so if anyone has any ideas, suggestions, or experiences to share that would be great! Thanks in advance.
My sister asked me to ask around and see if I could find some alternatives for her son.
Some background: He's 14-years-old and severely autistic. He is non-verbal (though he can communicate through typing or pointing out letters on a board) and has sensitivities to egg, dairy, and gluten. He eats pretty poorly (mostly meat) and will sneak foods he can't tolerate whenever he gets the chance.
Recently he has been struggling. He's a big kid (tall and very strong) and has a terribly explosive temper. He throws and breaks things constantly, screams, scratches and hits himself, tears up rooms, etc. He has also been known to pee on things when he's angry. He could very easily hurt someone when he gets angry. As a result of the violent outbursts his doctor ha been trying some different medications to try to stop the behavior or at least make the outbursts more manageable. His behavior is markedly worse when his 5-year-old sister is present. He does NOT like to share the attention of their mother and gets angry when his sister even talks quietly. So far the meds they have tried either didn't work or made him worse. The doctors have now mentioned Resperdol and Ablilify, but my sister is very concerned about side effects and would like some alternative suggestions.
I'm honestly not too sure where to even start looking...so if anyone has any ideas, suggestions, or experiences to share that would be great! Thanks in advance.
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