Life will break you. Nobody can protect you from that, and living alone won`t either, for solitude will also break you with its yearning. You have to love. You have to feel. It is the reason you are here in the earth. You are here to risk your heart. You are here to be swallowed up. And when it happens that you are broken, or betrayed, or left, or hurt, or death brushes near, ;et yourself sit by an apple tree and listen to the apples falling all around you in heaps, wasting their sweetness. Tell yourself you tasted as many as you could.
Louise Erdrich
Are medications useful in treating the behavioral problems of autistic children?
No medication can cure autism. Some autistic children may require medication for a short time and others require life-long treatment to help with their behavior or other symptoms. Most autistic children require no medication at all. Many distressing symptoms and unusual behaviors can be improved without the medication.
Reducing these distressing symptoms enhances the individual’s ability to participate in educational and community programs, as well as reducing the stress experienced by the parents or caregivers.
Behavioral problems in autistic children can range from hyperactivity, motor and vocal tics, difficulty with transitioning from task to task, uncooperativeness, or defiance to aggression, uncontrollable tantrums, and self-abusive behavior, such as biting of the hands and arms. Although most behavioral problems are amenable to behavior modification techniques such as ABA, refractory, severe, or dangerous behaviors may require medication to treat them effectively.
When a child develops new behaviors-especially when the onset is abrupt or the behavior is violent, parents and caregivers should be vigilant for identifiable causes of the behavior, such as conflicts at school with teachers, therapists, or classmates; allergies; physical ailments or injuries; or more serious illnesses.
Even behavioral changes that occur slowly, that are sometimes dismissed as “typical autistic behavior,” can be caused by a reparable problem in the environment. Because communication is a problem with autistic children and adults, they may find it difficult to tell their caregivers that they are feeling sick or are in pain. This frustration may manifest itself as aggression or self-injury, especially if the person is pressured to continue with daily routine or work activities.
When a child exhibits a deterioration of behavior, although it may eventually be attributed to their underlying autism, parents should consider the following causes first:
Social conflict: Consult with teachers and therapists to see if there have been issues in your child’s school environment.
Infections: Physical ailments such as earaches, tooth abscesses, and influenza may be causing problems.
Unrecognized injury: Hyperactive children are prone to minor injuries and sometimes more serious injuries.
An inability to communicate or explain the injury can result in unrecognized injuries going unnoticed by parents. Dr. Quinn’s comment: Our child suffered a serious fracture of his upper arm that went unrecognized for 2 days, and whose only symptom was emotional withdrawal and decreased interest in his favorite meals.
Medication side effects: Many common medications, such as cold or allergy medication, can cause behavioral changes in autistic children. Paradoxically, medications used to improve behavior can sometimes worsen it.
Worsening of a chronic medical condition: Behavior changes may indicate a worsening of a chronic medical condition such migraine headache, stomach ulcers, hemorrhoids, rheumatoid arthritis, or Crohn’s disease.
Discussing new behaviors, as well as any other symptoms (such as fever, diarrhea, lethargy, or change in gait), with the child’s pediatrician is important. Every effort must be made in these cases to treat the underlying condition medically before treating the behaviors unnecessarily with sedatives, antidepressants, or tranquilizers.
No medication can cure autism.
