Rispedral. Ritalin and SPD

by Tina
(South Africa)

My son - now aged 11 has finally been diagnosed with SPD.




I am so angry at myself for not recognizing the symptoms....having now read up on it - I know without a shadow of a doubt - that he is living MY life....differently but the same.....

Rhys was always seen as a "passionately expressive" child as a toddler....this has slowly become more aggressive as he got older...very rarely does he "attack" or hurt other kids...but very often has a meltdown in class where he will bang his head against a table or wall and then run out of the classroom screaming that he is stupid and can't do the work.....He is very bright but faced with the pressure or fear of a test or performance he goes blank and has a "meltdown".....

his classmates will complete a page of work where Rhys will only have done a single line etc, etc.....

He struggles to maintain "focus"

He was put on Ritalin which worked wonders for a while - he completed work, his self esteem went up, eye contact easily made, lying and Stealing (which happened only at home as far as I am aware)...stopped.....I thought we had found a solution.....

a few weeks ago - he told me that the Ritalin wasn't working anymore....supported by the reports on his school work....

I - regrettably - doubled his dose of Ritalin - the day was an absolute disaster.....He was in such overload that he had a catastrophic meltdown....."the WORST day of my life" was his feedback.....

Anyway - we went to the doctor explained all of the above and were prescribed Rispedril alongside his current dose of Ritalin....I have read up on the drug and am a little anxious as the one possible side effect is very extreme and permanent.....

I HAVE seen an OT - but we live in the country and she is very far away - both my husband and I work full time and the to and fro is just not possible. I am desperate to support my son, give him the tools that will equip him to live his life and work around his condition.
Thank you for the tips and information on your site it is a Godsend.

I would sincerely appreciate any objective feedback on SPD and drug therapy
Warmest Regards
Tina



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Jun 23, 2019
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Sensory Processing Disorder
by: Larissa Viljoen

I get so angry at the doctors and teachers, they are so quick to prescribe Ritalen.

We were in the same position, but I refused to put my 4 year old boy on medication. He had the recommended sessions with his OT at school and is getting speech therapy as well. The school also asked me to take him to a play therapist, she had two sessions with him and referred me to a different OT, outside the school, where he was diagnosed with SPD. This after the head master, his Gr RR and GR R Teacher and the OT at school and the speech therapist were certain that he has got ADHD and wanted me to put him on Ritalen ASAP.

The school OT introduced me to the brushing technique. She was not qualified with brushing and gave me the wrong brush and the technique was wrong.

Our new OT recommended the brushing, and gave me the correct brush and techniques. The brushing has to be done every two waking hours for 3 weeks. I am on day two and my child is wearing socks!! For a non SPD child this is normal, but for my little boy it is such a milestone with his SPD.

I can strongly recommend the brushing, and you will HAVE to take him to the OT for optimal results. The SPD unlike ADHD is treatable with therapy and trains the brain to be comfortable in the situations they struggle with. An SPD child can be absolute normal again!!

You can do the brushing over a long holiday when you both are home. You need 3 weeks for it to work and you HAVE to brush your child every 2 hours. The brushing has to be done with the compression as well for it to work. It takes about 5 minutes... But all worth it so far.

Please read up on the brushing!! And make sure your OT is qualified to teach you the Wilbarger Therapressure Brushing Protocol. This is the only way it works, any other way can do more harm than good. And make sure you are committed to do the brushing EVERY two hours for 3 weeks.

Apr 29, 2017
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Ritalin Dose Increase
by: Rachel

Your son probably reacted that way because you increased his dose MUCH too quickly. I just started taking Ritalin for my sensory processing disorder and ADD. My psychiatrist told me I could take up to a total of 20mg per day (I'm an adult), but, I would have to start with the tiny dose of 2.5mg three times a day, increasing it slowly by 2.5mg a day as tolerated every 1-2 weeks to minimize the side effects.

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