Is putting a child on Risperdal for SPD common practice & does anyone have experience with this?


(Oregon)

My Daughter has many tantrums throughout the day and often hits her brother, we are never sure what is going to set her off, though we have identified some triggers.




Her doctor has suggested we start her on Risperdal to help her to be able to handle her emotions, I am greatly concerned about putting her on this type of medication or any medication that has the possibility of doing damage to her developing mind. (She is 5)

Does anyone have a SPD child on medication? Any input is welcomed.



Comments for Is putting a child on Risperdal for SPD common practice & does anyone have experience with this?

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Jan 24, 2017
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starstarstarstarstar 		Young minds
by: Anonymous

As a single mother of two, I am faced with the challenges of raising a child with learning disabilities and behavioral problems.

My daughter is ten and has over the past four years progressively displayed PSD symptoms, aggressive behavior in school and her irritability levels have heightened. Mind you, she also is entering puberty.

As a parent it's very difficult to be 100% sure that your doing the right thing when it comes to treatments. I have staved my child from medications for years now.

My daughter has been put in .5 mg of Rispedal. The goal being to stabilize her moods enough to fully evaluated her and once evaluated to take her off the medication.

As much as I hate this, I must remain vigilant with all involved with her treatment. I do my own research which helps me ask the right question or speak my concerns.

As parents we are our children's only advocates. Don't be bullied by doctors or therapist. Demand the best for your children. Get second opinions and research everything.

Good luck
Oct 18, 2014
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starstarstarstarstar 		Resperidal and Sensory Challenges
by: Anonymous

I am a victim of being overdosed with resperidal by a psychiatrist. I do not have Sensory Integration Disorder but experienced sensory challenges as a result of this medicine. A simple closing of a door sounded like a door slamming. Side effects were insomnia, increased nervousness, difficulty moving, and drooling. I hope that they can find a different medicine to help with sensory integration disorder because I feel like no individual or child should have to drool excessively. I see this in various patients that I work with and it is not fair for them.
Aug 15, 2012
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starstarstarstarstar 		Risperidone helped my spd child
by: Jen

My 6 uear old son has spd and the stresses of it caused him to hallucinate due to high anxiety. This medicine was a lifesaver for us as he was too scared to even go outside. The medicine helped his hallucinations go away, he stopped chewing his fingers, and he's not hurting his brothers on purpose anymore. He did gain an appetite and it made him sleepy, but those side effects worked in our favor because he was not eating or sleeping well before. He takes .4 mg twice a day. He started on .25 Mg twice a day and it didn't help until the dose was changed.
Apr 13, 2012
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starstarstarstarstar 		RISPERADONE DAMAGED MY SON FOR LIFE STAY AWAY FROM IT
by: Anonymous

my son has been permanently damaged by use of risperadone for severe adhd and bipolar disorder.
i was also against him being given this medication but was told its the only "safe" drug to give children and my son wasnt sleeping night or days and his father got it filled and made sure he got it.
it damaged his brain he developed tardive dyskenesia even at half the prescribed dose and now im trying to get him into the one specialist in my city to treat the damage this horrible medicine has caused to my formerly physically healthy child.

they have told me the damage is permanent and most likely lifelong but type in tardive dyskenesia child in you tube before u ever give your child this drug its not worth the damage to their bodys and i wish my husband wouldnt have decided to make a stand like that that has forever changed our sons life..

i know he just trusted our doctors but look at the cost to my sons life.wouldve been alot safer to have stayed away from the doctor and given him benedryl

he had enough problems before now he has spasms all over his arms neck shoulders and if this doesnt go away his life is now going to me limited in many ways...listen to your instincts this is a very bad medicine.
Feb 24, 2011
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starstarstarstarstar 		These are CHILDREN
by: Anonymous

First and foremost, DO NOT give your child ANY mind-altering drugs. I can tell you from personal experience that these drugs will turn your life into a living nightmare and strip away your humanity. They can also cause permanent brain damage, especially in the brains of young children who are still developing, so unless you want your child to grow up to be a lobotomized zombie, stay away from these psychiatric drugs. You wouldn't give your kid LSD or meth so why any other mind-altering drug; just because a "doctor" tells you to? Psychiatrists are nothing but grossly uninformed drug dealers paid by big pharmaceutical companies to force drugs on patients.

Secondly, we are dealing with CHILDREN here. For the love of humanity, at least give them a chance to learn and mature before deciding that they are mentally ill or have some sort of disorder. We ALL had some behavioral problems as kids but that's part of being a kid, not a mental illness! There are also natural ways to address behavioral problems without any of the brain-damaging side-effects of drugs so there is no reason to resort to drugs as a first-line treatment unless you're just too lazy to do real parenting and don't mind chemically lobotomizing your child to make him/her more submissive.
Jun 05, 2010
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starstarstarstarstar 		SPD and Risperdal
by: Anonymous

My grandson's doctor wants to put him on Risperdal for SPD. Has anyone else used this and how safe is it, and effective?
Oct 24, 2008
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starstarstarstarstar 		Sleeping at night
by: Anonymous

Melatonin has worked wonders for us, also Calms Forte by Hyland works well. My son, 5, was very aggressive when he started pre-k due to SPD, since we have been giving him stuff to help him sleep he is a different child and smiley faces every day for the last month.
Oct 08, 2008
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starstarstarstarstar 		NOT GOOD
by: Anonymous

YOU NEED TO STAY A WAY FROM THIS DRUG
Aug 07, 2008
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starstarstarstarstar 		Read these books first
by: Anonymous

I recently read "Should I Medicate My Child? Sane Solutions for Troubled Kids with--and without--Psychiatric Drugs". It was written by a Psychiatrist in SF who dislikes all the meds being shoved on society.

I'm also reading "Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies". I read a case study of a child put on this Drug only for it to kill the child at 14 because of damage to the heart.

These books shed a lot of light on the subject and there may be another better alternative medication or treatment to try first.
Jul 28, 2008
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starstarstarstarstar 		sleep-agression connection
by: Anonymous

You may want to try liquid melatonin--we get ours at the Vitamin Shoppe. This is the only thing that got our SPD kid sleeping through the night. Once he started getting good sleep, the aggression reduced by about 95 percent.

Jul 16, 2008
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starstarstarstarstar 		meds
by: Joseph Krok

My now 6 year old son is diagnosed with SPD from an OT/SI and ADHD from his neurologist. The Neurologist wants to delay meds until he sees our son after the second month of first grade and we are fine with that,the neurologist has always put meds off until our son gets older, not sure what he has in mind as far as med of choice, but I always felt that my son needs to learn how to be in control, not the meds guiding him. My wife feels meds may be needed in the future as do I, but we are hoping with maturity and patience from all that are involved in his development will pay off better than the use of meds.
Jul 15, 2008
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starstarstarstarstar 		Risperdal for SPD
by: Anonymous

Lindsey, thank you for the info. I am have done research on the drug and have not found much positive. Though I do understand the desperation for help. Allison like your son has a big heart but when she pops her top she is gone, and at times becomes aggressive. She has a difficult time sleeping and many nights will sit and play in her room until 4 or 5 in the morning, I have used Zrytec and Benadryl but it has stopped working, my husband and I are convinced that if we get her sleeping in line her behavior will improve. Does Guanfaeine help in this area? Thank you again for your response! Suzie
Jul 15, 2008
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starstarstarstarstar 		Risperdal = Disaster
by: LindseyRN

My experience with Risperdal on my 7 yr old son was horrible. He, also was put on this for the same sort of things you are describing with your daughter. Of course, Landon hadn't been properly diagnosed at the time and was being treated for ADD.....he had SPD all along. Nevertheless, Risperdal made my son very agitated and aggressive. He is normally a very loving little guy with a heart the size of Texas, but let me tell you.......that all changed when he started Risperdal.

In fact, he even had a couple of episodes of brief psychotic behavior and would hit me with his fists. These episodes only lasted for about 10 seconds, but it was totally out of character for him........he would've never hit me. Also, after the episodes were over, he had no recollection of what had just happened. He would just look around gazing into space and then start playing with his hot wheels or whatever, as if it hadn't even occurred. Horrible stuff.

I would suggest you research it. My son has taken EVERY ADD drug on the market, and then some. He is presently taking guanfacine 0.5mg three times daily. It as been a blessing. He is a new child. His mood swings are far less often and severe and he is concentrating so well. It is actually a Blood Pressure med., but has been found to be very effective in kids that are troubled with inattentiveness, lack of concentration, and abrupt, inappropriate behavior. Hope this helps you some. Sorry I couldn't say anything good, though

~LindseyRN

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