Time for me to add some more detail on our experiences with using Atomoxetine (marketed as Strattera) as a drug therapy for children with ADHD and Autism (trying to make this as easy to find as possible for other parents in the same boat).

We started Alex on a daily 10mg dose of Strattera just after Christmas this year. We were expecting it to take a little while to kick - as I understand it, Strattera is a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor or SSRI (and therefore related to Prozac). This means that it would take 4 weeks plus to get into his system.

We started him taking it in the evening, because there was a possibility it would make him drowsy. We didn't want this affecting him in school, and we hoped it might allow us to take him off his nightly dose of melatonin to get him to sleep. This didn't work at all, he was no drowsier than normal. We therefore switched to giving him the capsule in the morning.

The capsule itself was easy enough for him to take. Alex is used to taking EyeQ Omega 3, and Strattera is a little smaller. So no problems there.

OK, onto what happened. The information sheet mentioned that there may be side effects - including mood swings and irritability. We began to notice a change in Alex's behaviour within probably about a week of starting him on the new medication. Over the course of the following weeks he became more and more touchy. The slightest thing out of place would make him shout and stamp his feet - much more so than previously. When this happened his whole body would tense - you could see the muscles in his neck straining, his face going red.

In school, his one to one support, teachers, and classmates noticed that he had a very short temper. There were a couple of occasions when he hit other pupils, which he's never done before. They commented that he hadn't been this angry and unsettled since Reception 2 years earlier.

Needless to say, after about 4 or 5 weeks on this medication we stopped using it. We ascribe the changes in Alex's behaviour to the side effects of Strattera. At our last meeting with his school, his one to one commented that within a couple of weeks he began to return to normal.

So the outcome of our experiences with Strattera? It didn't work for us. In fact it made things worse. That's not to say it might not work for you, but watch for those side effects and be aware it will take 2-3 months to get through if it goes wrong.