Abstract
Ever since the discovery of antipsychotic drugs in the 1950s, pharmacotherapy has been common in people with mental retardation. Surveys differ greatly in reported prevalences, but most of the recent drug surveys within institutions have reported psychotropic drug rates between 30 and 40% (Rinck, 1998). Studies of adults living in community settings often report rates between 25 and 35% (Rinck, 1998). Prevalence of psychotropic medicines among individuals with autism (across the life span) is currently around 45% (Aman, Lam, & Collier-Crespin, 2003; Langworthy- Lam, Aman, & Van Bourgondien, 2002). It is clear that drug therapy is common among people with mental retardation and developmental disabilities, and hence workers interested in this field cannot afford to be uninformed about pharmacotherapy.
Access provided by Autonomous University of Puebla. Download to read the full chapter text
Chapter PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Keywords
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Mental Retardation
- Personality Disorder
- Oppositional Defiant Disorder
- Intellectual Disability
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
REFERENCES
Aman, M. G. (1993). Efficacy of psychotropic drugs for reducing self injurious behavior in the developmental disabilities. Annals of Clinical Psychiatry, 5, 171–188.
Aman, M. G. (1996). Stimulant drugs in the developmental disabilities revisited. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 8, 347–365.
Aman, M. G., Arnold L. E., & Armstrong, S. C. (1999). Review of serotonergic agents and perseverative behavior in patients with developmental disabilities. Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 5, 279–289.
Aman, M. G., De Smedt, G., Derivan, A., Lyons, B., Findling, R. L., & The Risperidone Disruptive Behavior Study Group. (2002). Risperidone treatment of children with disruptive behavior disorders and subaverage IQ: A double-blind, placebo-controlled study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 159, 1337–1346.
Aman, M. G., Lam, K. L., & Collier-Crespin, A. (2003). Prevalence and patterns of psychoactive medicines among individuals with autism in the Autism Society of Ohio. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 33, 527–534.
Aman, M. G., & Lindsay, R. L. (2002, October). Psychotropic medicines and aggressive behavior. Part I: Psychostimulants. Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology News, 7(5), 1–6.
Aman, M. G., & Lindsay, R. L. (2003, March). Psychotropic medicines and aggressive behavior. Part II: Antipsychotics and mood stabilizers. Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology News, 8(2), 6–9, 12.
Aman, M. G., & Madrid, A. (1999). Atypical antipsychotics in persons with developmental disabilities. Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 5, 253–263.
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 4th edition, text revision (DSM-IV-TR). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.
Arnold, L. E., Aman, M. G., Cook, A., Witwer, A., Hall, K., Thompson, S., & Ramadan, Y. (in press). Atomoxetine for hyperactivity in autism spectrum disorders: Placebo-controlled crossover trial. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Columbus: Ohio State University: Manuscript submitted for publication.
Arnold, L. E., Gadow, K. D., Pearson, D. A., & Varley, C. K. (1998). Stimulants. In S. Reiss & M. G. Aman (Eds.), Psychotropic and developmental disabilities: The international consensus handbook. Columbus, OH: The Ohio State University Nisonger Center.
Baumeister, A. A., Sevin, J. A., & King, B. H. (1998). Neuroleptic medications. In S. Reiss & M. G. Aman (Eds.), Psychotropic medication and developmental disabilities: The international consensus handbook, (pp. 133–150). Columbus, OH: The Ohio State University Nisonger Center.
Benson, B. B., & Aman, M. G. (1999). Disruptive behavior disorders in children with mental retardation. In H. C. Quay & A. E. Hogan (Eds.), Handbook of disruptive behavior disorders (pp. 559–578). New York: Plenum Press.
Branford, D., Bhaumik, S., & Naik, B. (1998). Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors for the treatment of perseverative and maladaptive behaviours of people with intellectual disability. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 42, 301–306.
Craft, M. J., & Schiff, A. A. (1980). Psychiatric disturbance in mentally handicapped patients. British Journal of Psychiatry, 137, 250–255.
Fraser, W. I., Ruedrich, S., Kerr, M., & Levitas, A. (1998). Beta-adrenergic blockers. In S. Reiss & M. G. Aman (Eds). Psychotropic medications and developmental disabilities: The international consensus handbook (pp. 271–289.) Columbus, OH: The Ohio State University Nisonger Center.
Langworthy-Lam, K. L., Aman, M. G., & Van Bourgondien, M. E. (2002). Prevalence and patterns of use of psychoactive medicines in individuals with autism in the Autism Society of North Carolina. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, 12, 311–321.
McNally, R. J., & Shin, L. M. (1995). Association of intelligence with severity of posttraumatic stress disorder in Vietnam combat veterans (1995). American Journal of Psychiatry, 152, 936–938.
Menolascino, F. J., Ruedrich, S. L., Golden, C J., & Wilson, J. E. (1985). Diagnosis and pharmacotherapy of schizophrenia in the retarded. Psychopharmacology Bulletin, 21, 316–322.
Poindexter, A. R., Cain, N., Clarke, D. J., Cook, E. H., Corbett, J. A., & Levitas, A. (1998). Mood stabilizers. In S. Reiss & M. G. Aman (Eds.), Psychotropic and developmental disabilities: The international consensus handbook (pp. 215–228). Columbus, OH: The Ohio State University Nisonger Center.
Reiss, S (1994). Handbook of challenging behavior: Mental health aspects of mental retardation. Worthington, OH: IDS Publishing Corporation.
Reiss, S., & Aman, M. G. (1998). Psychotropic medications and developmental disabilities: The international consensus handbook. Columbus, OH: The Ohio State University Nisonger Center.
Rinck, C. (1998). Epidemiology and psychoactive medication. In S. Reiss & M. G. Aman (Eds.), Psychotropic and developmental disabilities: The international consensus handbook (pp. 31–44). Columbus, OH: The Ohio State University Nisonger Center.
Rush, A. J., & Frances, A. (Eds.) (2000). Special Issue: the expert consensus guideline series. Treatment of psychiatric and behavioral problems in mental retardation, American Journal on Mental Retardation, 105, 159–228.
Sandman, C. A., Thompson, T., Barrett, R. P., Verhoeven, W. M. A., McCubbin, J. A., Schroeder, S. R., et al. (1998). Opiate blockers. In S. Reiss & M. G. Aman (Eds.), Psychotropic and developmental disabilities: The international consensus handbook. Columbus, OH: The Ohio State University Nisonger Center.
Sajatovic, M., Ramirez, L. F., Kenny, J. T., & Meltzer, H. Y. (1994). The use of clozapine in borderline-intellectual-functioning and mentally retarded schizophrenic patients. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 35, 29–33.
Snyder, R., Turgay, A., Aman, M. G., Binder, C., Fisman, S., Carroll, A., et al. (2002). Effects of risperidone on conduct and disruptive behavior disorders in children with subaverage IQs. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 41, 1026–1036.
Sovner, R., Pary, R., Dosen, A. Gedye, A., Barrera, F., Cantwell, D., et al. (1998). Antidepressant drugs. In S. Reiss & M. G. Aman (Eds.), Psychopharmacology and developmental disabilities: The international consensus handbook (pp. 179–200). Columbus, OH: The Ohio State University Nisonger Center.
Sprague, R. L. & Werry, J. S. (1971). Methodology of psychopharmacological studies with the retarded. In N. R. Ellis (Ed.), International review of research in mental retardation (Vol. 5, pp. 147–210). New York: Academic Press.
Szymanski, L. S., King, B., Goldberg, B., Reid, A., Tonge, B., & Cain, N. (1998). Diagnosis of mental disorders in people with mental retardation. Psychopharmacology and developmental disabilities: The international consensus handbook (pp. 3–17). Columbus, OH: The Ohio State University Nisonger Center.
Werry, J. S. (1998). Anxiolytics and sedatives. In S. Reiss & M. G. Aman (Eds.), Psychopharmacology and developmental disabilities: The international consensus handbook (pp. 201–214). Columbus, OH: The Ohio State University Nisonger Center.
World Health Organization. (1992). International statistical classification of diseases and related health problems (10th ed.) (ICD-10). Geneva, SW: Author.
Zigler, E. & Burack, J. A. (1989). Personality development and the dually diagnosed person. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 10, 225–240.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2007 Springer
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Aman, M.G., Ramadan, Y. (2007). Pharmacotherapy. In: Jacobson, J.W., Mulick, J.A., Rojahn, J. (eds) Handbook of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Issues on Clinical Child Psychology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-32931-5_33
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-32931-5_33
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-32930-7
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-32931-4
eBook Packages: Behavioral ScienceBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)