Pharmacological Treatment Options for Autism Spectrum... : Harvard Review of Psychiatry (original) (raw)

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Pharmacological Treatment Options for Autism Spectrum Disorders in Children and Adolescents

1_Department of Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine_

2_University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH_

Correspondence: Brieana M. Rowles, Case Western Reserve University—Psychiatry, 11400 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, Ohio, 44106. Email:[email protected]

Original manuscript received 6 April 2007, accepted for publication subject to revision 3 October 2007; revised manuscript received 21 November 2007.

Abstract

Autism and other pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs) are frequently associated with dysfunctional behaviors and are characterized by deficits in socialization, communication, and behavioral rigidity. Despite the absence of a pharmacological cure for PDDs, many of the dysfunctional, coinciding behaviors may be treated pharmacologically. This article reviews what is known about the efficacy and tolerability of pharmacological interventions for the treatment of children and adolescents suffering from autistic spectrum disorders.