Medication for Treating Aggression in Asperger's Children
“Are there any medications that can be used to treat aggression in a child with Asperger syndrome? Is it ever advisable to use medication for this purpose?” Aggression is seldom an isolated problem and is particularly complex in kids with Asperger’s (AS) and High-Functioning Autism (HFA). Aggressive behavior is not always associated with just one condition and can have highly varied sources. Many studies have been proposed to understand aggressive behavior in young people with AS and HFA. There are promising biologic models that suggest the behavior arises from alterations in dopaminergic reward mechanisms, and cognitive models suggesting that such acts are an outcome of conditioned learning. Tantrums and aggression are often responses to an array of circumstances and occur in the context of varied emotions. Circumstances preceding and following aggressive outbursts should be observed and documented before selecting a particular medication (e.g., when aggression is a respon