Psychopharmacology of Aggression in Children and Adolescents with Autism: A Critical Review of Efficacy and Tolerability

Layperson Summary:

Five drugs have been shown to help with aggression in children with autism: tianeptine, methylphenidate, risperidone, clonidine, and naltrexone.

This review article describes studies on the use of drug therapy used to treat aggression in children with autism. The best research supports the use of risperidone and methylphenidate to treat symptoms of aggression in children with autism. The authors believe that future research should look to see if a class of drugs known as serotonin reuptake inhibitors can also help treat aggression. In all cases the authors suggest that studies start with a low dosage of drug and slowly increase the amount of drug. The authors also suggest that all future studies of autism look to see if the drug is able to help with aggression.

Scientific Abstract