Hi, A nonverbal child can be challenging in terms of treating for headaches but you should start by doing your best to identify that it is actually their head that is hurting. Being this is your son it is likely that you know exactly when his head is hurting and when it s hurting bad...so that much is easy for you. Now, did you know that Oxtellar causes a headache as one of its major side effects? In 16-20% of users headaches of both a major and minor intensity were experienced so please discuss with your doctor any suspicion that could link the drug to the headaches. If it comes to treating the headaches and it s been clearly determined that he is definitely not dehydrated, not hypoglycemic, not overly fatigued or exhausted (all of these states place him at risk for headaches) then, see if you can pinpoint the time to when he started having these headaches. Was it just about the time he started taking the medication...or perhaps after the dosage was increased since usually most youngsters start around 600-1200mg. daily. If he s up to 2400 mg./daily then, there could be a thought to lowering the total daily dose to see if that makes a difference. If that s not the answer then, decide on the use of something like Ibuprofen or Advil/Motrin. This medication is actually considered a better choice in children than Tylenol or acetaminophen. Don t use Ibuprofen more than 3x/day depending upon the severity you detect of the headache and not more than two days per week at the most otherwise, he may fall into a phenomenon called medication overuse syndrome. Also, careful about using aspirin or aspirin containing compounds if your son is under the age of 15. This will increase the risk to develop Reyes syndrome. Also, encourage drinking lots of fluids (especially sports drinks or something with water that contains some sugar content. This will reduce swelling of the blood vessel circulation to the brain and its sensitive areas. Try to get the child to take a nap after taking the medication. If that doesn t work or if your son still has a headache upon awakening then, look at things that may distract him mentally from thinking or focusing on the pain such as books, toys, and games. If none of these measures seems to work then, seek out a headache specialist and preferably for children since there are quite a few of important and distinct differences between how headaches are generically treated in adults (or at least big kids! compared to how they are treated in children. If headaches are more frequent than once weekly then, you ll want your doctor to consider giving him some type of prophylactic (preventative) therapy or approach. You do not want to choose things which come under the heading of electrolytes since these can be tricky in terms of dosage. Too much could trip off unwanted electrical stimulation and excessive discharges in the brain whereas too little will not quell any of the pain and the child will remain in pain. I would not give him magnesium unless your child is known to be magnesium deficient and even then, I would follow your doctor s advice to the letter. Electrolytes such as magnesium can cause heart rhythm problems as well as interfere with both voluntary as well as involuntary muscle control such as in the GI tract, sphincter controls. Do not give electrolytes except under a doctor s direct supervision. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. Regards, Dr. Dariush Saghafi, Neurologist