can a 2 mg abilify tablet be taken every other day for a 10 year old?

Hello Gaye,

I'm conflicted about any child taking any medication (especially Ritalin and those other ADD/ADHD pills).  Only if it's necessary to treat symptoms of an actual illness for which the kid is experiencing traumatic symptoms.

If your grandson has schizophrenia and needs to be on Abilify (or maybe he has bipolar), you need to talk to his doctor about the best dosage.

10 years old is young to be on medication, yet if it's necessary, by all means he should be on the meds.

Only in consult with his doctor will you know the best dose.

If your gut feeling is that you don't trust the doctor, get a second opinion.

It's imperative that you get a second opinion.

I recommend that if your grandson is 10 years old and on Abilify, you definitely get a second opinion from a qualified doctor you feel you can trust.

Respectfully,

Chris

To re-iterate the above answer to your question...get a second or even a THIRD opinion.  Schizophrenia usually effects highly intellegent and creative people.  Recent studies in neuroscience have shown that the brains of people with higher intellegence tend to develop for much longer periods (years) than those of average or low intellegence.  This being so, it should be a method of last resort to attempt using medication, even a thrid generation medication like abilify to treat symptoms.  The verdict is still out on whether antipsychotics (whether they are d1 dopamine specific like atypicals and older 1st generation meds, or d1 d2 specific like abilify) cause shrinking in the areas of the brain that are used in higher thinking.  Applying such a questionable remedy at an age where developement is most likely taking place drastically in the frontal cortex especially is not an area of research explored enough for you to want to use your child or grandchild as a gueni pig (in my humble opinion).  better, at such a young age, if symptoms of childhood schizophrenia are indicated, is to start the child on a rigourous schedule of therapy and life skills learning, a major advance in  antipsychotic medications will be out in the next three years which uses glutimate regulation to alleviate positive symptoms, and which even in its first generation has fewer side effects than any antipsychotics now available.

Ignore any responses you get from anyone other than the child's own pediatrician!!!!!!