Toward Better Psychopharmacological Management of Anxiety In ASD

Anxiety is an overdue target for drug intervention in ASD. The presence of language and cognitive delays make it difficult to measure internal anxiety symptoms in children with ASDs. Moreover, the manifestations of anxiety in children with ASDs may differ from typically developing children, potentially limiting the utility of cognitive-behavioral interventions for some children. To date, few medication studies have targeted anxiety in children with ASDs, though selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have demonstrated positive effects in typically developing children. This presentation will examine the evidence for SSRIs in typically developing children with moderate or greater anxiety symptoms and consider their use in children with ASDs. The presentation will also include a method of measuring anxiety in clinical trials for children with ASDs.