Ghanizadeh Ahmad
Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Hafez Hospital, Shiraz, Iran.
Psychopharmacol Bull. 2009;42(1):108-10.
Many of children with autism have hyperacusia, an increased sensation to sound. It can lead to their avoidance from some sounds or they may cover their ears. There was not found any published report about possible effect of any medication for improving hyperacusia in children with autism.
The patient is a 5 and half year old girl with autism and hyperacusia. According to her mother's report, severity of hyperacusia was improved after taking risperidone.
Hyperacusia was improved after initiation of risperidone and disappeared after discontinuation of risperidone. It re-happened in the re-challenge test. This supports the possible role of risperidone. To the author's knowledge, this is the first report of possible risperidone effect on hyperacusia in the literature.