I am elated to welcome Dr. Michael Murray to the podcast. Dr. Murray is the first medical doctor I have had the privilege of interviewing and hopefully he is the first of many to come. He is a child and adolescent psychiatrist and the Director of Autism Services in the Department of Psychiatry, as well as the Medical Director for the Autism and Developmental Disorders Clinic, for Penn State Health in Centra PA. Dr. Murray’s research interests include co-occurring mental health conditions in adolescents and adults with autism and interventions aimed at improving social cognition for adults and adolescents with ASD. Today we’re talking about autism medication with Dr. Murray.
Personally, I’ve known Dr. Murray for nearly a decade, but it wasn’t until five years ago that he began treating my son, Lucas. He prescribed medicine to my son and it was a real game changer for my family. Lucas was having problem behaviors, aggression and self-injurious behavior related to being startled. I was worried that he would eventually hurt himself or someone else, so I jumped onto Dr. Murray’s waiting list. That turned out to be one of the best decisions I could have made for Lucas.
I’m also excited for you to hear about a metabolic pharmacological test that Dr. Murray highly recommends. It’s generally known as pharmacogenomic testing, which is basically taking a look at someone’s individual DNA to predict how they may react to the medication and how they may metabolize medications. It helps eliminate a lot of wasted time from trial and error medications and gives you an idea of what medications will work best with your child.
Dr. Murray is a big proponent of a multidisciplinary team approach and a great doctor for our kids and adults with autism. I believe the information he shares will help both you and your child or clients lead your healthiest, happiest lives.
I would like to add a quick word on the metabolic pharmacological test recommended by Dr. Murray and other tips about autism and medication. What is a pharmacological test?
The body has thousands of genes inherited from parents that determine several characteristics such as blood type and eye color. Some genes are responsible for the way that the body processes medications and this is a big help for individuals with autism on meds. It is because pharmacogenomic tests look for variants of the genes that will determine whether a specific medication would be effective and whether there will be any side effects.
Further, pharmacogenomics studies how DNA affects the way a person responds to drugs. For example, if you are looking for an autism and medication list, pharmacogenomics can inform you ahead of time whether a prescribed drug is likely to benefit you and whether it is safe to take.
If you enjoyed this episode, I encourage you to check out the episode on autism medication and indicating pain too!
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