Despite the safety concerns, Laughren and other FDA officials acknowledged the need for additional drugs to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in teenagers and older children. Currently only two drugs are cleared for those uses: Johnson & Johnson's Risperdal and Bristol-Myers Squibb's Abilify....
Some FDA-approved drugs can help control autism symptoms. For example, antipsychotics such as risperidone (Risperdal) and aripiprazole (Abilify) are prescribed to children to treat irritability associated with autism. But, there has been a long history of failed autism treatments and fads. These inc...