Resperidone only showed efficacy for reducing irritability in ASD and it is approved for that by the FDA. A safer alternative that also showed efficacy for irritability in double blind studies is NAC. It is a nutraceutical supplement and brand is PharmaNAC which easily mixes in water to make a fizzy drink. It has minimal side effects unlike meds.

I agree with the above. It has been a few years since I researched this, but about 7 years ago, my son's traditionally-trained MD recommended risperidone. I know each of our kids have unique needs, but we decided to do more of a metabolic, biomedical approach for our son. We found out that his aggressive behaviors we saw back then were likely caused by bowel issues. Our son had an ammonia level that was sky high (likely caused by his bowel and other metabolic issues). With time (it took a while to see results with supplements/diet as guided by our son's biomedical MD), our son's situation was straightened out, and we have not seen aggression from him in years.
That having been said, I have friends for whom risperidone really helped to cut down on their kids' dangerous, aggressive behavior. Those same people reported weight gain and some issues with toilet training that they felt was secondary to the medication.
Best of luck with your decision for your kid. Hopefully, someone with direct use of this med in their kid will let us know what benefits and side effects they directly experienced.

The Dr. Said it was approved by the FDA for use in children with ASD.

Here is another possible side effect, not widely disclosed - J&J loses first Risperdal jury trial.

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20150225_...

I also agree that meds are needed for some kids. No doubt. Also, I would encourage consideration of a biomedical investigation (looking into your kid's particular biomedical profile with an integrative doc). IMO, I do think that any kid can have his/her functioning maximized by an individualized program of supplements and nutrition. For some kids, that is enough. For other kids, a combo of meds and supplements will likely always be needed. The more I read and learn, so much of our kids' issues can be linked to their abnormal neurotransmitters associated with their unique biochemistry.