Risperdal for Autism User Reviews

• BrittC
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 1, 2013

"My son is almost 4 he is autistic and his violent rage got completely out of control his pediatrician perscribed Risperidone for him about a week ago and so far the results have been mind blowing. He is on 1mL once daily he has had minimal side effects (tremors, fatigue) however the aggression, outbursts, meltdowns and violence has ceased completely. He is also non-verbal and I do not know if this medicine is a contributing factor but in the last week alone my son has started repeating words and even sang his ABC's out of no where. This has been a God send for us!"

• Joejoe
• August 23, 2014

"My son was on risperidone at 4 years old for aggression associated with Autism. This medication has changed his life. No more aggression and very happy. He is now 8 and doing great. We did attempt to take him off to see if he still needed the medication at age 7 and all his past behaviors, hitting, kicking, swearing, crying came back immediately. With my son we could not miss a dose and has to be given at the same time each day. He is now on 3x per day 0.5 given at school by nurse for afternoons. He has had no major side effects. He is very tall and very skinny. When he first got on the medication he became overweight, we changed his diet to more fruit and protein and the weight came off quickly. Highly recommend this medication."

• Anonymous
• June 29, 2011

"My son became aggressive when he hit puberty (age 11), so the psychiatrist put him on this. For the first 2 months I was happy with the results. But his aggression started increasing, and he became extremely aggressive over the next year. His psychiatrist attributed it to rising male hormones and kept increasing the dosage, until my son was on 8 mg/day. I finally had to have my son hospitalized, as he was a danger to me and others. I was fed up, so I changed psychiatrists. She prescribed Abilify, but it took weeks to wean my son off the Risperdal. However, once he was off it, he became the lovely boy he used to be. Every child is different, so keep that in mind!"

• orca
• October 26, 2019

"I was given this horrific drug risperdal at 14 years old because my anger was out of control. I had an eating disorder and gained over 20 pounds in 2 or 3 weeks despite starving myself. The weight kept piling on. I was very uncomfortable and couldn't get used to it. I makes me angry that mentally ill people are expected to just live with the uncontrollable weight gain for the sake of mental health. I felt like I was constantly in a fog. I could barely understand or react to anything anyone was saying, I had uncontrollable jerky tics. My night terrors got way worse. I fought my parents tooth and nail to get off this drug. They tried to hide it in my food and drinks but I seen pieces and grinds of it every time. After a few weeks I stopped taking it. I found out later the tics and movement problems can be permanent if you stay on these types of drugs for long. I'm not sure how long though. Doctors kept trying to push anti-psychotics on me and I flat-out refused."

• Dad
• September 26, 2013

"My 4 year old takes 0.5mg dissolvable tablets twice a day. It has helped a little with sleep, but more with aggression. The pharmacy changed it to a off name brand, he's aggression got 3 times worse. He's doctor switched it to name brand and he was back to normal. I was told that this is common with some off brands. We can't believe there's that big a difference."

• LRS
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 29, 2015

"I have recently started my 25 yo son with autism Risperdal. He has taken it when he was 13, but due to the combination of anti depressants and no improvement in his violent behaviour we stopped, but he did improve verbally. After he refused to take anti depressants after 9 months of treatment with improvement made, he deteriorated over the next 7 months, We insisted he try Risperdal, immediate improvement, 3 weeks in and he is more verbal and calmer with no more aggression. He is sweet and happier again."

• batch
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 17, 2017

"Honestly this medication was awful and the doctor who prescribed it failed to mention that it made it impossible to think. I think it's abusive to give this medication out for people who are not schizophrenic. It's just another way for people to take away autonomy and to force us autistic people into harmful therapies that deny us our humanity."

• Schmi...
• April 24, 2008

"This drug changed my life. It turned down my emotions just enough (I'm on .5mg) that I could actually function in normal society. Thanks to it, I am now in college (when I was diagnosed at 16 I was failing half my courses) and doing phenomenally well. I can't say this will work for everyone, but I must say it's exactly what I needed. Thank you Janssen Pharmaceutical, you have given me a future."

• Bobby...
• January 18, 2018

"I have grown breasts from this pill. I swear if they don't take me off this I'm gonna cry. I take a 10mg tablet and my chest size has grown and Im skinny. I'm only 18. Why can’t autism be more important researching for a cure then cancer."

• G-mans...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 8, 2016

"My son is high functioning autistic. His behavior specialist recommend risperdol .05mg daily for my son for aggression and violent out bursts. After being on it for a week we noticed that he is much calmer. We have noticed some side effects such as. Hyper attentiveness, nightmares, muscle spasms and itchiness."

• Anonymous
• March 5, 2010

"Helped with the behaviors, but the side effects were swollen throat, heavy feeling in limbs, facial tics, hearing voices. Be careful and monitor your child closely if your child is on this medication."

• LLano
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 6, 2020

"My daughter, 9, HF Autism level 1.5, severe ADHD & sensory disorder. She was medicated with Ritalin which did not help her concentration, but did help her sit longer in a chair. Her negative behavior did not change. She was given 0.3 mg Risperdol drops and we were able to redirect her violent episodes easier. But still was not helpful enough. With .25 Risperdol drops in the morning and again .25 at 4 or 5 in the evening changed her violence to tears (big improvement). She is now able to cry from her frustration. We are then able to redirect her thinking to a happier place. Thankful, she has had absolutely no side effects. Since taking Risperdol, she is functioning better in school and is able to listen to directions better. She is also more verbal on this dose. She has begun to ask for it when she enters the negative moods which happens morning and evening before her scheduled dose."

• Smurp...
• September 20, 2011

"My daughter has been on this for several years (started at 0.25mg, worked up to 0.5mg 2x a day) to help with mood/emotion, and to help her move past things when she gets emotionally "stuck" and there were times when I thought it wasn't really doing much. Then I couldn't get it refilled for a couple days, so she didn't have any before school. They noticed something was different. They called me to ask if there had been a medicine change. Sometimes, you think it isn't working, but at home, things are different than at school. No weight issues: 5', 98lbs."

• Steph
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• February 8, 2020

"I have such a love hate relationship with risperdal. It helped us during a time when my son was in crisis (has OCD) but the thing is, it loses its effectiveness and we are constantly having to increase or keep him where he is even though it’s not working because weaning off the med is so awful. Honestly, I don’t think the side effects and nightmare of trying to get off this med is worth it, in my opinion."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 23, 2017

"My son is autistic he is 10 years old, my son's Dr recommend risperdal for him because of his aggressive behaviors. After 3 months on the medication he has been more agitated and he put on 15 pounds. So the Dr wants to increase the medicine. I will not be doing this increased"

• Lookst
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 1, 2019

"At 0.5mg it made my mood swings and overall irritability a lot less chaotic and more manageable. It made me able to think about what I'm feeling and why. It's not perfect but it's a huge aid. For me it had certain drawbacks, like slight weight gain and oversleeping which made me look for other options."

• Anonymous
• July 19, 2009

"My son has high functioning autism and the doctor prescribed this medication for outburst and agitation. It did the exact opposite. He became more aggressive and physically abusive to the point he could no longer go to school and learn anything else. It took time to gradually take him off the medication and once we did he was so much better. An ADHD medication worked much better."

• Anonymous
• November 11, 2009

"My high functioning autistic son was placed on this medication to help control his anger and aggression. Instead it has made him worse. The only positive effect of this medication is that it helps him sleep past 5am. His anger and aggression and impulsiveness are just out of control. He was then put on Vyvanse to help with ADHD and there are no changes worth noting."

• 1tire...
• April 4, 2011

"This medication was given to my son by a ARNP who swears by it. My son cries for no reason, does not help him sleep but makes him eat like a bear, and he is argumentative about everything whenever he takes this. He needs help sleeping but there has got to be something else more effective for him with less side effects."

• Adaddy
• January 6, 2010

"My son took this drug for a few years and I was told he would have "mild" weight gain. 40 pounds later we had to take him off of it because the weight gain was compromising his overall health. I can't really say I noticed a big difference while on it anyway."

• Anonymous
• June 21, 2010

"My son was put on 0.25mg when he was just 4 years old. It has helped him but he is weighing 72lbs (now 7 years old) and his sugar is up. Now we are on the hunt for a replacement. At least it helped us for 3 years. My son has PDD."

• Anonymous
• September 27, 2012

"My son was put on Risperidone when he was three and half years old. It has helped him some, but he was is still extremely aggressive and would take off running out into road and parking lots. So, his psychiatrist said he had to put in psych. ward to try new medicine. They upped his risperidone to 0.50mg twice a day and added Depakene 205mg. twice a day. He's still very aggressive and out of control and moody. He's only 5 and in 12 more inches he's going to be as tall as me."

• Anonymous
• October 23, 2009

"I found out a yr ago, that my high functioning autism son had Asperger. He was put on Ripserdal. After about 10 months I found out the doctor should have been doing blood work to test his porlactin level. His levels should have been between 2.8 and 5.8. His was 55.9. His doctor told me this was okay and not to worry till it got up to 1000 or higher. We tried other medications but nothing seem to help like the Risperdal. So he is back on the Risperdal. It does not have the same effect in girls that it does boys. "

• Ragrat
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 26, 2020

"Awful. Took it for 4 months. Doctor justified giving me this drug after I had a mere hx of “instructive thoughts”. It made me throw up when it hit my system. It made me shake. It took away my motivation for several years. It made me gain 50 lbs that I struggle to lose. Made me have mood swings and my first ever psychotic episode. When it “ran out” it unlocked a whole new level of anxiety I never experienced before. Drove me to insomnia and I struggle to sleep without an anti-psychotic since. Had to drink several red bulls and smoke cigarettes just to function. Since I’ve been off the meds, I don’t need cigs or Red Bulls. Have been nicotine 3 for three years! Screw this horrible drug. Made me hyperventilate when walking. Caused me to have circulatory problems, breast-like growths and gout. All improved when I got off this medicine."

• Anonymous
• December 19, 2008

"My son was recently perscribed this medicine. It has had a positive effect on his behavioural problems. It seems to have given him clarity."