Treatment Options For Asperger’s
Medicinally, there is no medication that directly treats Asperger’s as a whole. Most of the medications used are for comorbid, or coinciding, conditions and behaviors. Olanzapine and Risperidone have been prescribed to teenage children with Asperger’s as a means of controlling the obsessive and repetitive behaviors, as well as aggression, often experienced by the children and their families. Because these two medicines are atypical antipsychotics, pediatricians and other doctors are extremely cautious about prescribing them to teenagers and it is highly unlikely they would prescribe them to any child under the age of twelve.
SSRIs are commonly prescribed to adults who have depression and/ or anxiety. In teenagers and some children with Asperger’s, they may be prescribed to treat some more of the repetitive behaviors so commonly seen with the disorder. Again, this is not a common practice because the side effects of medication on children are more severe than on adults.
Overall, the most common approach to treatment for children with Asperger’s is behavior modification. While this may be more difficult than having your child swallow some pills, it has a much longer lasting effect on the child who goes through it. Because children with Asperger’s have notoriously excellent memories and recent things verbatim, they can take what the therapist says to heart but then parents and other supporting adults have to help them practice it in action as well as word. Social therapy is a major component in this approach, as many Asperger’s children experience most of their difficulties in this particular department. Other therapies often used, but not limited to, are physical therapy, occupational therapy, and social communication intervention when signs of extreme aggression have occurred because of misunderstandings between the child with Asperger’s and his or her peers.
Check out Asperger’s Disorder/Syndrome Diagnostics.