Self Harming teenage autistic son - Autism Spectrum Message Board

rmalone370 · 06-07-2009, 03:32 AM

My son is displaying very agressive behaviour towards himself. He is ripping into various parts of his body until he gets blood. He is not responsible for his behaviour when he is engaged in one of these'explosions'. My son does not have the gift of speech so cannot explain these 'explosions' to us. It is heartbreaking ro watch your own son mutilating himself. I am at my wits end as I cannot seem to get the help he needs. My son has been prescribed risperadone, olanzapine and epilim at different times and different doses, not all together, but nothing has worked. I have even tried secretin injections to no avail. I asked the consultant to give my son a brain scan or even a blood test to identify any hidden 'problems' but he keeps refusing stating they would not help.Can anyone tell me of any new treatments or drugs available that might help my big son , Or even if anyone else is experiencing this sort of problem i'd love to hear from you.

Mira11 · 06-07-2009, 05:19 AM

This must be heartbreaking. Please see a neurologist or psychiatrist that specializes in children with ASD. I have heard that there is treatment for these self abusive behaviors. Call a hospital in your area that you feel comfortable with and ask for a referral for a Dr. who could treat these kinds of behaviors.

Is there anything that usually precedes these kinds of outbursts, or any particular food that he eats before? Look for things that may be happening before the outbursts.

I hope you can find a good referral asap. LEt us know what is happening.

rmalone370 · 06-07-2009, 09:48 AM

No there are no triggers he just randomly starts to shout and become disruptive and then explodes into a fully blown incident , thank you very much for your reply i'm really in need of help, i will contact the hospital.

visha · 06-10-2009, 06:35 PM

Hello all.i have a 9 year old son with a diagnosis of autism, Adhd and learning difficuties who self harms and others.The problem we now face is the intensity and frequency of his explosions have increased dramatically in the past few months.He is currently o 3.5mg resperidal daily[1.5 morning & 2mg evening] which is no longer effective.we,ve tried other meds with the resperidone[concerta then clonidine] but they only made things worse.He is now going to be fully assesed by specialists over a 3 months period in hospital,so they can investigate and figure out the most appropriate medicine to prescribe.The situation has become unberable

Mira11 · 06-11-2009, 12:39 AM

visha - sorry you're going thru this rough time. for my son it also took time and assessment to get the meds right. sometimes they do stop being effective. risperdal never helped - actually made behaviors worse. zyprexa and depakote are good for him now; he's doing mostly good now. when will the hospital assessment start? you'e doing the right thing.