What pharmacological management do you consider for self-injurious behavior in patients with autism spectrum disorder?  

This is a great question but requires a nuanced answer. It all depends. In short, what I think the clinician needs to know is whether the patient with ASD and self-injury has a treatable condition that is driving self-injury. Perhaps the most critical is whether the patient has a medical problem th...

Superb response by Dr. @Walkup! I would add that ASD treatment should never be on an island and that it is a team-based approach. I never started medication until I had a thorough evaluation from a behavioral analyst. All too often, self-injury gets reinforced. I remember a facility brought a patie...

Great helpful insights from everyone. The only thing I might add from an inpatient perspective, aside from the advantage of being able to do a medical workup in a quicker time frame, is the ability to monitor dietary intake and bowel movements. I would like to emphasize how many parents believe in t...

Terrific answers all. I often find that self-injurious (and aggressive) behavior in this population can represent frustration arising from a concurrent communication and/or processing disorder. In the workup of these kids, getting a full audiology and auditory processing evaluation and a more detai...