The Autism News | English


Children with autism may benefit from medications to treat children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other related disorders, but clearer guidelines are needed, a new study shows.

Researchers analyzed data from more than 1,000 U.S. teens enrolled in special education programs, to assess the use of psychiatric medications in those with autism, ADHD and both conditions.

Patients with both autism and ADHD had the highest rates of medicine use (about 58 percent), followed by those with ADHD only (around 49 percent) and those with autism only (about 34 percent), according to study author Paul Shattuck, an assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis, and colleagues.

Black teenagers with autism only or with autism and ADHD were less likely to receive medications than whites.

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