Whats the best med for Autism?

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Antidepressants are usually a big help but i'd only recommend them AFTER puberty and every antidepressant works differently so finding the right one could be a while.

Sometimes Structure, routine, healthy eating, cognitive behavioural therapy. and excursive is all a person on the spectrum needs.

Edit: these treatments will not cure autism or even make symptoms go away, it just makes life for the autistic better and reduces stress, stomach issues, anxiety, depression, meltdowns, suicidal thoughts, shutdowns and much more. With autism its better to focus on a specific weakness and work on it while strengthening talents and interests.

For me Citalopram 20mg and a lot of exercise has worked really well, also I'm beginning to realise that I'm ok without friends and at least I can do exactly what I want, not what others want.

I can share my interests through the Internet so I'm not feeling lonely or depressed.

Just don't mix booze with anything

Physical exercise, nature, and healthy food. Identify and avoid stress sources when possible.

Seeking medicine for Autism is like seeking treatment for being black.

I can attest to the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and workout regime. But unless it's a passion of yours, it's difficult to sustain without structure and a support network.

When I attended group therapy on 10mg of Citalopram in conjunction with a clean diet and vigorous workout regime, I felt like nothing could defeat me. It's difficult for me to discern how much credit I can attribute to the SSRI during this period of happiness.

All in all, probably no medication at all.

I understand why some people need it, and I've seen the benefits of some medications.

But...if you can avoid medication, I'd make an effort not to take it.

Acceptence

Most medications come with side effects, Buspar is a non addictive drug that can help.

I have heard that beta blockers are good but I haven't tried them.

Heh, good question. If there was a single medication that could treat all cases, and all their varying symptoms, I'd be the first in line to buy it.

Autism is a weird thing though, because it varies so much from person to person, especially with all the different comorbids associated with it. If you wanted to make a miracle drug to treat autism, somehow you'd also have to figure out how to make that drug treat anxiety, depression, OCD, sensory processing disorder, ADHD, developmental disabilities, epilepsy...

In my case, I think something that would simultaneously treat my anxiety and ADHD would be freaking awesome. Unfortunately, it seems all the best drugs for treating ADHD are strong stimulants, which can exacerbate anxiety, and some of the best drugs for treating anxiety aren't readily given out due to their abuse potential.

I take amphetamine salts (Adderall) for attention problems and "brain fog," but I recently started to suspect that it might be helping with sensory issues to. (Alternatively, withdrawing from it makes sensory issues worse. Hard to tell which.) Alas, the sensory issues are still pretty bad, and I haven't noticed any effect on the other executive function problems. It's got some downsides and only fixes a tiny fraction of my problems, but it's definitely a net positive.

But your doctor probably won't let you pick a medication anyway. I remember reading about an antiviral drug (I forget the name, starts with an A, I can find it if anyone's interested) which boosts dopamine levels, and some fairly recent research suggests it's good for executive functioning problems. It's been studied a lot in the past as an antiviral (so its safety, side effects, etc are well known) but only some small recent studies for ADHD and Parkinson's, and I don't think any studies for ASD. I think it has zero abuse potential. Even though I'm diagnosed with ADHD and "normal" medications for ADHD are sub-adequate, my doctor wouldn't let me try it.

Psychiatric medication is definitely a pain in the butt. Normally, I'm pretty pro-med--it should be the first thing you try, not something you try as a last ditch effort after months of experimenting with weird proprietary supplements and beating yourself up for not exercising enough! But I'm not sure that approach is good for ASD. It's such an awkward grab-bag of interrelated symptoms.

I have a different developmental disorder that is considered possible to medicate away, plus a mood disorder, so you can bet I'm actually pretty gungho in favor of altering my neurochemistry with molecular compounds that do not exist in nature. They don't change who I am nor do they change the world around me. That's good; I didn't want or expect either of those.

(Actually, I also use a another molecular compound which DOES exist in nature, and I noticed that unlike the others, it does have a pretty big impact on my perception of the world around me. It doesn't seem to have fewer downsides, overall.)


Theoretically, if they found a way to cancel out the underlying cause, that should fix all of the problems, although things like talk therapy and coaching would probably be necessary for dealing with bad habits, lack of knowledge, trauma, etc that occurred as a side effect of the symptoms.

For example, serotonin-specific re-uptake inhibitors (antidepressant) aren't filled with multiple things that individually treat excessive sadness AND fatigue AND impaired concentration AND insomnia AND hypersomnia AND anhedonia AND restlessness AND anger problems AND substance abuse. It just gives you more serotonin. If it works, it pretty much knocks out all of the symptoms. Depression can really mess with your head though, so even after you treat the medical aspect, therapy may be needed to correct the messed up perspective from the time you spent depressed. (But if there was a neurochemical problem, therapy alone wouldn't fix it, any more than it could fix the flu, or cancer, or a broken leg.)



Hmm, according to Wikipedia...
Abilify: "Short-term data (8 weeks) shows reduced irritability, hyperactivity, and stereotypy."
Risperdal: "Compared to placebo, risperidone treatment reduces certain problematic behaviors in autistic children, including aggression toward others, self-injury, temper tantrums, and rapid mood changes."

Seems like it could be useful to some kids who have some pretty extreme problems, but probably not for most folks on here. I wonder if Abilify is generally better for hyperactivity (and stereotypy) than stimulants.