Expert opinions agree atypical antipsychotics should always be accompanied by behavior modification therapy when dealing with developing brains. However, in a study published this month in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, out of 5,100 children aged 2 to 17, results show that antipsychotic use increases with age and nearly 75 percent of subjects who were prescribed the drugs weren’t given any behavior modification therapy.
According to theNational Autism Association, autism is the fastest growing and most underfunded developmental disorder. It affects 1 in 68 children, with boys four times more likely than girls to be affected. An estimated 40 percent of children with autism are nonverbal. Between 25 percent and 30 percent of autistic children may have some verbal skills between the ages of one and one-and-a-half but eventually lose them. And some may eventually speak later in childhood. Autism does not affect any two people in the same way.
Commonly prescribed drugs for patients are risperidone and aripiprazole, marketed to the public as Risperdal and Abilify, respectively. Side effects are often debilitating, especially in regards to metabolic defects, leading to conditions such as chronic obesity as well as diabetes and fatigue, the study says. These drugs are not approved by the FDA for use in children under five, yet there were several cases in which doctors prescribed them anyway.
