EASING AUTISTIC AGGRESSION
April is national autism awareness month. The most recent numbers show as many as one in five hundred people have autism – a lifelong disorder marked by a deficiency in social interaction and communication. Aggression and behavioral disturbances are often seen in children with the disorder, but a new treatment may have just made life a little easier.
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Not long ago, this fun-loving family was consumed by fear.
Emily Himmelfarb
"It's been tough. It's been really tough."
Michael has autism. He doesn't talk and until recently, his aggressive, and sometimes violent, behavior posed a threat to him, his sister and his parents.
Andrew Himmelfarb
"He would bite. He would scratch. He would run away."
Emily Himmelfarb
Michael's mother
"It would be basically like hitting and pulling hair."
That aggressive behavior isn't uncommon in children with autism, and successfully treating it hasn't been easy, but doctor elaine tierney offered the himmelfarb's a drug that seems to work.
Elaine Tierney, M.D.
Pediatric Psychiatrist
Kennedy Krieger Institute
Baltimore, MD
"We were treating children who had autism and who had either self-injury, aggression, or tantrums and a lot of irritability."
In a recent study, children were given the anti-psychotic drug risperidone or a placebo. Nearly seventy percent were much orvery much improved after eight weeks compared to just twelve percent in the placebo group.
Elaine Tierney, M.D.
"It was highly significant."
It worked for Michael.
Andrew Himmelfarb
Michael's father
"When he started the stuff, it was a big difference, tremendous difference."
He's no longer biting or scratching and it's eased his aggression. Today, no words are needed to describe the love this family has for one another.
Andrew Himmelfarb
"I will not give up. I never will give up. How can I? He's my child. You just don't give up on your child."
The drug is FDA approved for other disorders so it can be prescribed by any doctor as an off-label use. There are side effects which include weight gain, drooling and fatigue. In many children, those side effects will decrease over time.
BACKGROUND: The most recent numbers show as many as 1 in 500 people have autism. It is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and affects the functioning of the brain. Autism is four times more prevalent in boys than girls and knows no racial, ethnic, or social boundaries. Family income, lifestyle, and educational levels do not affect the chance of autism's occurrence. Based on statistics from the United States Department of Education and other governmental agencies, autism is growing at a rate of 10 percent to 17 percent each year. At these rates, the Autism Society of America estimates the prevalence of autism could reach 4 million Americans in the next decade.
CHARACTERISTICS: Autism is a spectrum disorder. The symptoms and characteristics can present themselves in a wide variety of combinations, from mild to severe. Although autism is defined by a certain set of behaviors, children and adults can exhibit any combination of the behaviors in any degree of severity. Behaviors may include:
- Insistence on sameness; resistance to change
- Difficulty in expressing needs; uses gestures or pointing instead of words
- Repeating words or phrases in place of normal, responsive language
- Laughing, crying, showing distress for reasons not apparent to others
- Prefers to be alone; aloof manner
- Tantrums
- Difficulty in mixing with others
- Little or no eye contact
- Inappropriate attachments to objects
- Apparent over-sensitivity or under-sensitivity to pain
- No real fears of danger
- Noticeable physical over-activity or extreme under-activity
In some cases, aggressive and/or self-injurious behavior may be present.
TREATING AGGRESSION: Researchers at Kennedy Krieger Institute/Johns Hopkins Hospital have found that one of the newer class of anti-psychotic medications is successful and well-tolerated for the treatment of serious behavioral disturbances associated with autism in children ages 5 to 17 years. The drug risperidone helps children with aggression and self-injury. Researchers randomly assigned 101 children either risperidone or a placebo for eight weeks. Using a strict definition of improvement, researchers found nearly 70 percent of children on risperidone were much, or very much improved at the end of the study. Only 12 percent of those in the placebo group experienced the same effect. Researchers say this is the largest positive effect of a medication ever observed in a study of children with autism. The drug was well-tolerated with few neurological side effects. Those side effects included weight gain, fatigue and drooling.
Kennedy Krieger Institute
707 North Broadway
Baltimore, MD 21205
(888) 554-2080
www.kennedykrieger.org
Copyright © 2003 Ivanhoe Broadcast News, Inc.
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