Clinic Notes: Risperdal, ABA, and Autism

A recent government study by the HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality found problems associated with off-label uses of Atypical Antipsychotic medications. Atypical Antipsychotic medications were developed to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorders, but are now being prescribed for the elderly with dementia as well as children with autism. One atypical antipsychotic medication, Risperdal is approved for treatment of agitation and irritability in children ages 5-16 diagnosed with autism. Prescribing medications to children should be a last resort, only undertaken after all other therapies have been tried. But I can tell you that in many children with autism Risperdal is a necessary drug