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A Longitudinal Investigation of Psychotropic and Non-Psychotropic Medication Use Among Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders

2009; Springer Science+Business Media; Volume: 39; Issue: 9 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1007/s10803-009-0750-3

1573-3432

Anna J. Esbensen, Jan S. Greenberg, Marsha Mailick Seltzer, Michael G. Aman,

Family and Disability Support Research

Medication use was examined in 286 adolescents and adults with ASD over a 4.5 year period. A total of 70% were taking a psychotropic or non-psychotropic medication at the beginning of the study. Both the number of psychotropic and non-psychotropic medications taken, and the proportion of individuals taking these medications, increased significantly over the study period, with 81% taking at least one medication 4.5 years later. Our findings suggested a high likelihood of staying medicated over time. Thus, adolescents and adults with ASD are a highly and increasingly medicated population.