system
Should an autistic child, undergoing speech therapy taper off risperidone, because it causes constipation?
human
My son is 8.5 years old. He is autistic.He has been taking risperidon 1 mg (half tab) daily for 3.5 years. He is 24 kg now. He is undergoing OT, speech therapy and is attending school.His Psychologist and OT terapist are advicing to taper and stop the medicine. Recently he is suffering from constipation. Please advice.
gpt
Greetings !Well yes he may be tapered off risperidone if this drug is causing constipation on a regular basis and after stopping risperidone he needs to be assessed in terms of his temperament and mood and if there is no apparent problem with him despite the absence of risperidone then he shall be kept free from the use of risperdone. However if after withdrawal of risperidone he develops previously seen symptoms like aggression , bad temperament, irritability, etc then he shall be placed on a new anti psychotic agent such as aripiprazole at dose of 2.5-5 mg/ day  instead of reusing risperidone , this new drug shall bypass the side effects caused by risperidone as it is the safest drug among it's class plus it is effective too in controlling symptoms among autistic children.I hope this makes sense.Regards