Is a different type of medicine used to control any of the behaviors associated with ODD ie.,.controlling emotions, helping the child "shift gears" from one situation to the next without the "meltdown", being "chronically inflexable"
Thanks
Anita

dear Anita, hello my son has adhd and aspergers.he sounds like your child. hetakes more than one med.Sraterra for adhd .And symbyax a combo drug for helpwith the asperger simptoms.I don't think it helps he really seems worse.
be for he used risperdal forabout 2 years and that was for moods ,agitation, help to relax and let him sleep. Well we read a lot on that med and there are law suits over that drug so please reseach any drug yourself .i never just go on the doc. They seem to say try this and see if it helps. this is our childs brain we are talkindg about .hello does any one agree with me .Worried mom

Risperdal is one drug that is used in such cases - it's a "new style" mood stabalizer or "atypical anti-psychotic" that has far fewer side effects than the drugs used previously. In large doses it is used to treat schizophrenia and in moderate or small doses for bi-polar, ODD and such. I've heard of it used for children who are prone to rages, racing thoughts ... It's a dopamine antagonist meaning it makes less dopamine available - too much dopamine is as bad - or worse - than too little. I've heard it described as a drug to correct a brain that is racing faster than the body can keep up to. The lawsuits claim that the manufacturer underestimated the risks for some serious side effects, but I don't think the drug is particularly dangerous - but not one to be given without serious consideration either. You always have to weight potential risk vs the potential benefits to the child, his safety and his quality of life.
Zyprexa is another drug that's similar to Risperdal that's used too.
Anti-depressants and anti-anxiety drugs might help too? Is he taking anthing right now?
I think that ideally you should get a referal to an expert in this area to see your son - I imagine what they would recommend would depend very much on their observations of your child.
Good luck,
Greg

My 5 year-old son was diagnosed with ODD and ADHD. He recently tried Strattera for a month. We did not see any changes in behavior at home and his teachers said he was the same at school as well. We just met with his doctor yesterday and we are about to begin a trial of Risperdal this evening. The doctor said he could be on both Risperdal and Strattera at the same time but I talked the doctor into only using the Risperdal for now. I did not see a reason to use the Strattera if it was not showing any changes. I would rather use as little medication as possible. I hope this helps. I am nervous about using any medication but I am hopeful that it will make a difference. He seems to be pretty defiant and hits and kicks when he is angry so we are hoping to see a difference soon.

"LLZPA"
In all likelyhood you will need to add another drug to the Risperdal in order to treat the ADHD. Risperdal is a mood stabalizer, which will help with the ODD/anger aspects of his behavioral issues, but it won't do much for his ADHD characteristics - it won't help him focus.
It doesn't sound like Strattera was doing much good, so I don't think that you are loosing anything by stopping that medication. In some ways it's better that he's just going to be taking the Risperdal, as you will know how well that drug is working - alone - before you add anything else - if that's what you decide to do.
It's pretty common for people with "ADHD comorbid with ADD" to take both a mood stabalizer for the ODD and a stimulant - or strattera - for the ADHD. My gut feeling is that it is necessary to treat both conditions - if you are just treating the ODD, the frustrations caused by the ADHD symptoms might put you in a "two steps forward, one step back" type of situation.
Good luck with everything - I hope the Risperdal helps - let us know how it goes.
Regards,
Greg

My son is 12, has a diagnosis of adhd, ocd, mood disorder and learn disabilities in math and reading.

He takes several medications daily, "especially" on weekends and Holidays. The medication is not for the inability to focus at school. That is the least of my worries. It's for behavior, moodiness, lack of self esteem, etc...

Currently he is taking the following:

Respirdal 1 mg tablet/four times a day (for behavior/mood disorder)
Metadate cd 20 mg capsules/2 times a day (for adhd)
Zoloft 25 mg tablet/2 times a day (for ocd)
Clonidine 0.1 mg tablet/1 at night (for sleeping and behavior)

So far, this combination is working. We decided to keep him after a long 12 years. :)

We go to the doctor on Wednesday and will discuss his current meds. I am going to ask if he can try Adderall instead of Metadate. I started Adderall on March 18 for my adhd and love it so far. In the past, he was on Ritalin, then Dexatrine, then Ritalin again and now Metadate.

My add husband goes to the doctor on Thursday (we had an appt for last week but had to reschedule). He will hopefully start on Adderall also. He tried mine last weekend and was so fricking pleasant to be around. He realized it too. What a difference on the first dose.

The only side effect that we have seen with the Respirdal in my son is a little weight gain. He is by no means fat but he thinks he is. He has a little pudginess in his stomach. Respirdal has been a life saver for us being around him. No doubt.

Two summers ago, we tried to wean him off the Respirdal and tried Seroquil and then tried Geodon. Neither compared at all to the Respirdal as far as his behavior. Like night and day. He did loose a few pounds once off Respirdal but he was horrible to be around. A major chip on his shoulder 24 by 7. He was on Geodon when he went back to school for 5th grade and they all said that he was nothing like the wonderful pleasant child that left for summer vacation. They asked what had happened. It was that we had taken him off of Respirdal due to weight gain. We started him back on Respirdal.

We took him from 4 Respirdals per day down to 3 a day a month or two ago. We went down to 2 a day last Thursday when he got out of school. On Thursday and Friday he was not nearly as pleasant as when he is on 3. Plus we noticed that he started making some of the annoying throat noises that he used to. (a tic of sorts). Constant throat clearing, major sniffing, etc

We could live with the tics, but his behavior was not so good. We started him on 3 again Saturday.

His doctor said that he doesn't want to keep him on Respirdal forever and wants to wean him off but unless we can find something that works as well, no way.

Hope this helps...

Here is some websites to help you learn ore about ADHD.
http://www.adhdnews.com/
http://www.add-adhd-help-center.com/
I know the flashing things will be annoying.
http://members.aol.com/ADDisorder/4help/
http://www.mental-health-matters.co...e.php?artID=435
http://addadhdadvances.com/cyl.html
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...055361?v=glance
ODD (OCD I couldn't find anything on ODD) Help
http://infoscouts.com/health/ocd.htm
http://www.psychiatry24x7.com/bgdis...fbackanx011&s=4
http://www.beatyourocd.com/?hop=fcolours
http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A509654
Treatment.
http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/adhd..._guidelines.htm
http://www.adhdhelp.org/
http://www.nativeremedies.com/focus...tment&ovtac=PPC
http://www.adhdnews.com/adhd-treatment.htm
http://www.newideas.net/attend.htm
ODD(OCD) help
http://www.healthyplace.com/Communi...a/treatment.htm
http://www.diseases-explained.com/OCD/ocdtreatment.html
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/ocd/treatment.html
http://www.anxietypanic.com/ocdtreatment.html
http://www.ocdhotline.com/_wsn/page2.html
I hope this is alot of help.


Ichpuchtli

Here are some ODD sites thanks to lmnapl and her search suggestion.
http://www.mentalhealth.com/dis/p20-ch05.html
http://www.aacap.org/publications/factsfam/72.htm
http://www.mentalhealth.com/dis1/p21-ch05.html
http://www.conductdisorders.com/
http://www.klis.com/chandler/pamphl...dcdpamphlet.htm
This is a search that i did with good hits.
http://www.questia.com/Index.jsp?CR...efiant_disorder
http://www.teenswithproblems.com/conduct_disorder.html
http://addadhdadvances.com/improvebehavior.html
http://www.ptsd-free.com/
http://www.mental-health-matters.co...ls.php?disID=67
http://www.emedicine.com/PED/topic2791.htm
http://ericec.org/faq/odd.html
http://www.psychnet-uk.com/dsm_iv/o...nt_disorder.htm
http://home.earthlink.net/~bountys/
http://psychcentral.com/disorders/sx73.htm
http://www.healthatoz.com/healthato...nt_disorder.jsp
http://www.chclibrary.org/micromed/00058960.html
http://www.directiveparenting.com/i...&OVMTC=standard
http://www.aspeneducationgroup.com/oddo.html
this should be helpful when your kids grow older
http://www.teenhelponline.com/

Hope these are of alot of help.