Question-Does anyone know or heard about adderall and tics? I just got off of a few sites and almost everything I have read about this drugs and most psychostimiulants are responsible for tics. Has anyone found this to be the case?
I am considering putting my son on this medication and I would like to know more.
My ds had an occasional throat clearing tic before trying any medication.
When he tried stimulant medication it got noticably worse. When we took
him of the meds (for a different reason) it went away again.
If your ds has a predesposition to tics (and many asd kids have)
stimulants are likely to increase them. In most cases however they will
decrease to pre-med level after you stop the med. Most tics are fairly
minor.Payne developed a facial tic while on Adderall in the hospital last year.
NIH did a study about stimulants and tics. There seems to be a connection but only because tics tend to develop at an age when parents tend to give ADHD meds for the first time (at least that's one hypothesis). They could not find a causative connection. Not every child is capable of developing tics. There needs to be a genetic predisposition. However, there's no way of knowing (short of seeing it in your family). I know that my son developed SEVERE tics after nearly 3 years on Ritalin (Adderall is in the same class of drugs). He cannot take ANY stimulants as a result. But his case is extreme and I am still glad I used Ritalin with him. Without it, his focus issues would have made it difficult for him to learn to read.
You might be interested in the book Straight Talk about Psychiatric Medications for Kids (revised 2004) by Timothy E. Wilens, M.D. It was recommended by an autism specialist on www.autism.about.com. He said it will answer many questions and concerns that the child's own doctor didn't necessarily have the time to bring up.
Here's the Amazon link, but maybe your local library has it.
Nicholas started taking it about 4 month ago. He seems Ok but sometimes he starts to clear his throat a little much. My only concern is that he cries over the littlest things, not sure if its the meds or not. We are looking into it now.
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