Aripiprazole treatment may help to decrease violence and increase physical activity in people with autism.
The authors of this paper define challenging behavior as "behavior of such intensity, frequency, or duration that the physical safety of the person or others is likely to be placed in serious jeopardy." The paper describes the effects of aripiprazole therapy on challenging behavior in five people, one of whom has autism. The patient with autism was a 38-year-old Afro-Caribbean man with severe intellectual disabilities. Before starting the study, he was given risperidone (3 mg twice daily) and chlorpromazine (100 mg three times a day) and had gained 150 pounds in 2 years. During the study he was given aripiprazole (15 mg/day) and gradually taken off of risperidone. He was less violent and more alert on aripiprazole, and he lost about 30 pounds in two years.
Twitter
Facebook
By Email
RSS Feed
Please comment on this autism topic.
Responding to movement therapy
Mar 15, 2011 by AnonymousPlease consider an outstanding movement exercise that works
the whole body which is riding a horse. My hope is that some
day Autism Movement Therapy(Music & Dance) well do a demonstration
at a therapeutic riding center where several movement rhythm therapies
can come "Together" for the benefit of the student.
Thanks, Phil Waigand "THE BEAT"(Heart Hoof Drum) Arlington, TX
Responding to rebound therapy
Jul 24, 2010 by AnonymousThe phrase "Rebound Therapy" was coined by the founder, Eddy Anderson MCSP, Cert Ed, in 1969 to describe the use of the moving surface (bed) of a trampoline in order to provide therapeutic exercise and recreation for people with a wide range of special needs.
Rebound Therapy is used to facilitate movement, to promote balance, to increase or decrease muscle tone, and to aid relaxation and sensory integration. It is also used to improve fitness and exercise tolerance and to improve communication skills.
It is popular in special needs schools and is becoming increasingly popular in mainstream schools with a special needs unit; partly because the trampoline is a piece of apparatus that virtually all people, regardless of their abilities, can access, benefit from and enjoy.
The UK body for Rebound Therapy is “Rebound Therapy dot org” who state that in addition to the benefits listed above, it is an ideal vehicle for cross curricular teaching activity; with the potential for teaching such things as numeracy, colour recognition, positioning (left, right, backwards, forwards, clockwise and anticlockwise), communication, social awareness and consideration of others.
They further state that the unique properties of the trampoline offer ample opportunities for everybody to enhance movement patterns.
The work is intrinsically motivating and enjoyable and returns high value in therapeutic terms for the time and the effort involved.
The fact that the activity is so enjoyable can enable it to be used as a motivational aid to learn. Many teachers also report increased concentration and willingness to learn in the classroom following a Rebound session.
“Rebound Therapy dot org” are responsible for the development and provision of certificated staff training courses for schools and centres throughout the UK.
The courses have received approved status from the Professional Development Board for Physical Education which is supported by afPE.
More information about Rebound Therapy and staff training courses can be found on their website: www.ReboundTherapy.org
Their email address is: info@ReboundTherapy.org and telephone no is 01342 870543
Come sail away...
May 29, 2008 by AnonymousWith Memorial Day behind us, the summer season has officially begun. You wouldn’t know it if you were here, though. The weather has been so cool that it feels more like early April than late May. We went up to the cottage for the weekend, though, where Thomas made memories of staunch boat-riding refusals a thing of the past.
We were in the garage on Saturday afternoon and Thomas noticed the peddle-boat that my mother-in-law bought last year. Thomas asked what it was, I told him, and he requested that it be brought down to the water so that he could ride in it! Same kid as last year, remember, who wouldn’t even go near the water except to point out that he didn’t like it and wanted nothing to do with it. Jonathan and his brother carried this little 4-person (well, 750 pound capacity, anyway – four grownups would probably capsize it) peddle boat down to the water. I figured that it would be great if Thomas would ride in it because it involves physical activity and it’s not all that much different from his peddle car. He got in, I got in, Hayley got in and even Sophie got in and we peddled around the little bay very merrily indeed. Thomas really loves it! I love it too because the boat is so small that I don’t need any help getting it away from the pier or getting the kids (and the dog) on the thing or off of it, and it’s great exercise. Thomas requested that a grown-up take him out in the peddle boat several more times during the weekend.
The real triumph came on Sunday. When a father has a son, he dreams of many things they’ll do together: play catch and t-ball, watch football on Sundays in the winter and, in Jonathan’s case, ride the waverunner together in the summer. We bought the thing about 16 months before Thomas was born, so it’s been in our family longer than he has. Ever since we found out that Thomas was a boy, Jonathan has been dreaming of sharing the joys of waverunnning together. This past weekend, he finally got his first chance. After we replaced batteries and sparkplugs, cried as we filled the watercraft up with gas (the BEST reason of all to use the peddle boat!) and launched the waverunner, Thomas announced that he wanted to ride with Daddy! And he did! He didn’t want to go very fast, but he did ride it around the bay slowly with Jonathan and he really liked it! We just can’t believe the complete turnaround from last year – who is this child? All of a sudden, Long John Silver found his sea legs and his grandfather would have been so proud!
The rest of the weekend was pretty good too, except for the big pine tree falling on everyone’s cars. There were severe storms in Madison on Sunday night and they blew what was apparently an unhealthy and also huge pine tree down right across the windshields of our cars and the garage doors at the cottage. This whole thing turned out to not be a big deal, but it disturbed Thomas a little bit. We had just walked back inside after getting home from a friend’s house for dinner and two minutes later, a neighbor knocked on our door an told us that a big tree fell on our cars. I think that Thomas didn’t understand what was going on but was reacting to the intensity of everyone’s voices. He was saying that he wanted the tree to fall on our “old truck so that we could get a new one.” He was getting upset and confused, so I took the kids out to see the tree which had broken off about six feet from the ground. The tree being so far out of place seemed to agitate Thomas even more, so I said that I didn’t think we should talk about it anymore until the next morning.
The next day, everything was a little less serious since the storms had moved on and the sun was shining. Thomas wasn’t nearly as upset about it anymore, and the tree helped keep the kids out of the driveway and away from the cars. The latest official report said that the tree will be gone tomorrow, and all will be right with the world.
Tomorrow, I plan to call Thomas’ new kindergarten teacher for next year and see if we can come and visit one day next week. We’re having a tough time at home since school ended. The change in routine for Thomas is difficult for him to digest, but once he gets used to it, things should improve. This seems to happen every year at the beginning, end and during Winter break. Thomas has just been very energetic at home and he has a difficult time following instructions and staying calm. He plays too rough with Hayley (but she doesn’t mind) and is very loud. I’m hoping that vacation on June 7 will help take the wind out of his sails, so to speak, and we can settle into some kind of summer routine.
Tennis, anyone?
Apr 15, 2008 by AnonymousFinally, the weather is improving! We’ve been spending a lot more time outside playing in the yard and walking to the park. Last year, it seemed like no matter how old Thomas got, I’d still be strapping him into a stroller or making him sit in the wagon to take him to the park. It’s really amazing how much things can change in what seems like no time at all.
Thomas loves to ride his little pedal car to the park. The only problem is that riding the pedal car is all he wants to do when we get there. Hayley wants to play on the slides or the swings but Thomas wants to keep on truckin’. So we go on to the next park and the next (there are three nearby that are all connected by paths) and by then Hayley has seen a flying bug and it’s all over; we have to go home immediately. We saw a very sluggish and sleepy bee on the ground at the park yesterday and Hayley flipped out. (I was rather surprised to see a live bee this time of year too, as a matter of fact.) She is suddenly quite imprisoned by her intense and irrational fear of bugs and it’s worrying me for the coming summer. I’ve tried explaining to her that bugs are important to trees and plants and that bugs live outside and we have to get along with them when we’re outside too. Not much of that is sinking in. I hope she can get over it before summer really gets going. Our family vacation will be one very long week if she doesn’t.
So Thomas pedals to the park, being careful not to get too far away from me – and I can trust him to not run away! (Or pedal away, as the case may be.) Tomorrow it’s supposed to be even warmer and I suggested tonight during baths that we go to a different park. I’ve seen some other neat-looking parks on my jogs and I hope we can try some of them. Thomas is ill-disposed, however. He said that we shouldn’t go to different playgrounds; “that wouldn’t be too much fun.”
Tomorrow is Spring Picture Day at school and I can’t wait to see the kind of picture Thomas brings home. He’s been very into having his picture taken lately. I’ve been selling a lot of old clothes on eBay as I lose weight, and every time I get the camera out to take snaps of these items, Thomas insists that I take a picture of him and then show it to him. It hit me that Thomas and Hayley will never know a time before digital cameras! They’ll never fool around with film and flashcubes (I’m only just barely old enough to remember flash cubes, I swear!) and waiting four days for film to be developed only to find out that Aunt Maude had her eyes closed in every single picture of her at Uncle Joe’s retirement party.
Which brings me to another aspect of life that our children will never remember in its original form: We located and purchased a Nintendo Wii this weekend. Jonathan and I really wanted one (Happy Mother’s Day to me; Happy Father’s day to him) not just for us but for the whole family. I like it better than the average game system because most of the time, you’re standing up making wild, gesticulating motions as you pretend to punch with fists, poke with an epee, display a blazing backhand or perfect a breaststroke. We were playing yesterday and I remember wondering what an alien would think if they were to watch us through our windows as we had what looked like severe seizures in front of the TV. Anyway, the point is that there is more physical activity and coordination required to play this Wii system. You would not believe how much my biceps hurt yesterday from that tennis game! I think those are biceps…anyway, Thomas loves it, too! He is actually really good at the tennis game and Hayley likes to play golf. Thomas laughs so hard when his little character waves the tennis racquet and admittedly, he’s only really able to volley the ball because he’s always moving and therefore his character is always swinging, but he likes it and that’s what’s important. There’s a little “Mii” section of this system where you can create the characters you play with, from the height and body type to face shape, hair color and pretty much every aspect of someone’s appearance. So we made characters for our whole family, plus the kids’ aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. I showed Thomas and Hayley and now they like to see who’s in the stands for tennis, who’s watching at the bowling alley and who’s on their baseball team. It’s very cute! I’m hoping that as they grow, they’ll get better-coordinated with the Wii. We bought a couple games we thought the kids would be better at, but even those were too advanced. I’m going to try to find some games that are rated “EC” for “early childhood.” Those would almost certainly be more appropriate, educational, and easy-to-play. One thing’s for sure: They’ll never remember Atari cartridges and joysticks.
Thursday or Friday, I have to go to kindergarten orientation and I feel rather unprepared. I’m not sure if they’re going to have childcare available – and I don’t know if our home school is even the one Thomas will be attending next year. If our grade school doesn’t offer an MLP class, he’s going to be bussed somewhere else. I’m going to have to call his school or our elementary school tomorrow to find out what I’m supposed to do. We’re not going to decide on Thomas’ placement until May 6, and even then we could change our minds over the summer.
We’re going to the cottage this weekend to put the pier in the water. After we were there two weeks ago, I really don’t dread it. The kids are so good up there now that this is finally the year that things get better! We’ve been waiting for it and now it’s here. Undoubtedly, God will jar me out of my reverie somehow – like I’ll get pregnant or something. (I’m not pregnant, mom. That was a joke.)