After reading these articles, you should be able to…

Welcome to the autism issue! We interviewed Dr. Serena Wieder on evidence-based developmental approaches for kids with ASD, ones that bring the humanity back into autism treatment by returning our focus to the nurturing relationships between parents and children, building on children’s ideas to improve communication and learning.

It’s a vexing question: At what point do you consider prescribing antipsychotics for aggressive children? The potential side effects—weight gain, sedation, possible movement side effects, and metabolic abnormalities—encourage us to think long and hard about this, and there are few good evidence-based guidelines.

When I think of a child with autism, I want to discover who he is—not just his diagnosis, but how he relates, feels, functions, and learns in the context of family, culture, environment, and education.

ACT seeks to teach us to mindfully observe our internal and external experiences and to increase our willingness to experience things, which may either be out of our control or otherwise necessary to honor our core values.

Disorders of lipid metabolism—specifically inefficient metabolism of lipids—have been implicated as part of the metabolic complexity in children with autism spectrum disorder. Research points to the neuroprotective effects of simvastatin over other statins, due to its greater ability to cross the blood-brain barrier. But does that neuroprotection translate to differences in behavior?

The post-test for this issue is available for one year after the publication date to subscribers. By successfully completing the test you will be awarded a certificate for 2 CME credits.

What do you do when your teen patient declines an offer of medication yet the parents insist on it? How about if the teen is coming to you for medication and the parents are opposed to the idea?

How do you approach using psychotropic medications for children and adolescents? Most parents do not want to start medications. I empathize with them, which then makes it possible to move together toward medications when indicated.