They want to switch him to Trileptal from Dilantin? Overall, I would say to do your research and if you don't see any big issues, to give it a try.

Trileptal is a newer med with fewer side-effects, althogh it can make you very very tired. It can also help with moodiness, which can effect a lot of Auties (I have an Autie son).

I have been on both medications. I had to come off of both. I would have stayed on Trileptal, but I got the very rare blood sodium problem.

Dilantin however, gave me joint pain and liver damage. It is a very old med and can have some pretty horrible side effects.

They may have himon both for awhile while they titrate one up and he other one down (neither med shoudl be started or stopped abruptly). This is nomal. Just keep a close eye on your son during the transition and if he is verbal, tell him to let you know if he feels pain, sick or faint.

I hope this helps and good luck.

-Paula

Have you asked your doctor to do any genetics testing? There is a specific type of autism that is related to tubular sclerosis. These genetic tests can tell if this is the type your child has. If it is then the autism is caused by benign tumors in the brain and it requires an entire different type of treatment. If I were you I would look up autism.org websites and read about the symptoms and tell your doctor about any family that may have had these symptoms. Its important to find out what is causing the problem so it is dealt with correctly.