I am in desperate need of some insight regarding medication for Autism and ADHD. My son is 7 years old. He started out on Risperdal when he was 4 but we quickly took him off because he quickly ballooned by 15 lbs. in 1 month. We eventually ended up on Abilify and Tenex (Guanfacine) and he's been taking that combination for about 3 years. Now we are at the point where those two meds were not working at all and we were already at the approved dosage limits. Our Pediatrician is wonderful and we're trying to find something that works for my son (we live in North Idaho and the nearest Psychiatrist is an hour and 30 minutes away). We took him off of the cocktail he was on and he is now taking 36mg Concerta and a small dose of Clonidine at bed time to help him sleep.
Concerta doesn't seem to be working for him. We have him on medicine for aggression, better concentration, melt downs and ADHD. This poor kiddo literally has no control over his limbs off of medication. His IEP goal accuracy goes down tremendously off of meds.
I'm needing your insight on finding the right meds to pursue. I feel like we've tried everything that Parents typically use for children with Autism. My Pediatrician seems to be going off of what I research and my knowledge. I've been thinking of asking for a Risperdal dose to be added in during the day but I just don't know. I don't want him to be a zombie I just want something that can slow him down and take that edge off and curb the melt downs.
Please help me if you can =)