Iridability can be a significant challenge for autistic individuals as well as their families.

While there are FDA approved medications for treating irritability in autistic children, such

as Risperidone and Arapyproprozole, they can come with some undesirable side effects, including

weight gain, neurotoxicity, which includes tardive dyskinesia, and

even worsening of catatonia.

In this podcast, Mara and I will delve into the topic of irritability in autistic children

and explore alternative approaches to minimizing the use of antipsychotic medications.

I'm Dr. Josh Fader, the editor-in-chief of the Carlatte Child Psychiatry Report, and co-author of the Child Medication Fact Book for Psychiatric Practice.

Second edition, the brand new book, just came out.

In America, government, a licensed clinical social worker in Southern California with a private

practice and an avid reader of the Carlott Reports.

So one of the first things we can do to tackle irritability in autistic children is to set

functional goals. Now you might be wondering what's the difference between functional goals

and behavioral goals? Well, with behavioral goals, the focus is on changing specific behaviors, kind of like what's done in applied behavioral analysis.

But functional goals are more about promoting meaningful interaction.

Think about it this way.

If we just tell an autistic person to stop screaming, we're not really getting

to the root of the problem. Maybe they're overwhelmed by a busy household or having trouble

processing requests from their parents. By setting functional goals, we can work together to

brainstorm ways to address those underlying factors, and that can actually help reduce the need

for medications.

Some examples of functional goals might include finding ways to sustain meaningful interactions,

...