We use melatonin (available over the counter in the US) for a sleep aide for our insomniac. Prozac has been in her cocktail for way too long, and getting off of it has proven to be damn near impossible. I wish we had never, ever started with it.

No disrespect intended but I have to disagree. SSRI's have the opposite reaction. They stimulate an already hyperactive/ aggitated ASD brain, which my daughter's psychiatrist at The Menninger Clinic said is "like throwing gasoline on a fire". Check out Yale University's Autism Center. Their research has suggested poor efficacy in the use of SSRIs in ASD children/people. If the main issue you have with your son is to help him be calm during the day and sleep through the night, you might ask his doc about starting him on Klonopin and Melatonin at bedtime.

Brain chemistry is very indvidual.

I would say that if you are unsure, get a second and/or third opinion, preferably from pediatric neuropsychologists.

@Teresa03 I have schizo-effective disorder which is schizophrenia with bi-polar symptoms. I see a Psychiatrist and would never imagine taking what I am on Lithium and other anti-depressants, mood stabilizers, but Please, I ask please do not make the mistake I just about did without using my reasoning mind. Why did I not think it was important to talk to a Psychiatrist when using a Medication that only should be prescribed by them, not Pediatricians. That is your first warning sign AND Mine :) I have special circumstances that requires a lot of sleep and until I read everyone's comments here and on another entry, I realized I needed to sleep for 5 hours solid and do THIS while everyone else IS asleep. My 2 older boys took care of Jordan and then tucked him in next to me at his bedtime and I gave him Melatonin and 30 minutes later like most of the time over the past year it worked great. We will see if we wakes up tonight. If so, it isn't the worse thing in the world, when they are up all night and day and are manic because they cannot shut the switch off, then ER would be necessary. Melatonin works awesome for most children & adults I know, that have some type of sleep issue. Start there first, I highly recommend it. You can use a pill cutter, crush it and put in oreo frosting, ice cream in pieces fed on a spoon. Your baby will sleep.

Jordan has developed some behavioral patterns that are needing some attention and now, thanks to @LisaRGreenValenzuela comments here and in more fully on another entry of mine, I have rethought the whole Prozac thing and am no way going to use it at this point in his life. Everyone I have read their children at least ended up with ticks from it and other prescribed psychiatric medications that may be from medication causing brain damage and irreversible. I have realized in a time of despair, you may want to take anything thinking it will stop the discomfort. Autism is neurological, brain, genetic, it is complex! We as parents, above all, have to remind ourselves this is specialized care for our child(ren). I vow to only consult a Psychiatrist for Psychiatric medications, A Neurologist for neurological diagnosis, etc. I love my son's pediatrician. He knows more about Autism than most Pediatricians because he served on the Board of Directors for St. David's Center for children with disabilities, mostly Down-Syndrome and Autism. I lost site of that because of "Who" he is and not what his practice is he specializes in.

Can you believe I have never mentioned that my daughter with Bi-Polar is working her way through College and hopes to get in to Med School next year, wait...here it comes... a Psychiatrist. Oh duh! I've known this since she started college at 17. In high school she started her Psychology courses. well, anyway, the point of saying that is, I knew better, but I was ready to skip all the steps to making a good decision just wanting to make it all stop and go away. Thanks for all of the support I received here, Thank you @Teresa03 I learned a lot today. God Bless!

@A MyAutismTeam Member, how much Risperdal were you taking? My 23 yr old daughter is being assessed for possible Schizo-effective disorder or some other mental health problem and they have her on 3mgs. I am scared out of my mind! They say she's tolerating it well, whatever that means. She is at a clinic in TX, so I can't see her for myself. When you say it makes you think "outwardly" rather than inwardly, what do you mean? It's an interesting comment, one that might explain our daughter's increased tendencey to be looking at outward circumstances to be explaining different ideas she's developing. Ex; "are people who don't wear make up smarter than people who do? Afterall, the smartest woman I know don't wear make up." or "does burning candles make you develop wrinkles? The people I know who burn candles have lots of wrinkles." ect...

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