Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2005:66 Suppl 10:38-45.

Treatment planning for patients with autism spectrum disorders

Michael G Aman  1
Affiliations
  • PMID: 16401149
Review

Treatment planning for patients with autism spectrum disorders

Michael G Aman. J Clin Psychiatry. 2005.

Abstract

Patients with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) can present with extremely heterogeneous issues, and, therefore, their treatment can be very challenging. Most patients with ASDs will benefit from contact with a multitude of disciplines. In this article, treatment planning is structured in terms of the patient's life stages. Early on, assessment of developmental milestones, metabolic conditions, and hearing; making the diagnosis of ASD; and providing genetic counseling are salient. As the child grows, speech and language therapy, early intensive intervention, special education, parent training, and neurologic assessment become important. With greater age, behavior therapy, pharmacotherapy, occupational therapy, and sexuality issues are often in ascendancy. As the patient approaches and proceeds through adulthood, transition training, housing options, and guardianship issues may be priorities. Advocacy is relevant throughout the life span. Professionals have an obligation to familiarize parents with interventions likely to be fruitful or unhelpful. There is growing evidence that early intensive behavior intervention, though expensive, may produce lifelong gains in functioning. A variety of experimental and/or unproven treatments are identified; mental health professionals can help families with members who have ASDs by guiding them toward effective treatments and away from therapies of unknown value but with potential risks and/or costs.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources