Autism Spectrum Case Study

Common behaviors exhibited by individuals on the Autism Spectrum are labeled as disruptive and self injurious. Fortunately, these behaviors, that can be dangerous to the Autistic individual and others around them, can be managed with psychopharmacological treatment. Behaviors that often times fall under the category of common disruptive and self injurious behaviors, according to Ji, Capone and Kaufmann (2011), are irritability, impulsivity, having temper tantrums and yelling at inappropriate times. Physically aggressive behaviors, such as biting, scratching, kicking and hitting, are often times, more dangerous than some of the other behaviors exhibited. Physically aggressive behaviors are seen as more dangerous than other type of aggressive behaviors because they can harm someone, and in some instances cause fractures, sprains and in severe instances, can cause death. Bronsard, Botbol and Tordjman (2010) found after researching 74 Autistic children and Adolescence that the most prevalent aggressive behaviors are slapping, pinching, throwing objects, head butting, scratching, tearing, hair/scab/skin pulling, biting, kicking, poking and spitting. Along with physical aggression, individuals on the Autism Spectrum often times display self injurious behaviors. In the study, “Self-Injurious Behaviour in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability”, Richards, Oliver, Nelson and Moss (2012) studied 149 individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and found that the most common self injurious behaviors displayed are hitting ones-self with their own body, hitting themselves against objects/with objects, biting themselves, pulling/rubbing and scratching self and sodomizing themselves. Researches found that these behavi...

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...ake inhibitors like Fluoxetine (Prozac) and Clomipramine (Anafranil) delivery extremely positive results in decreasing the obsessive, ritualistic and repetitive behaviors and thoughts. Evidence shows that in two separate studies, children with Autism Spectrum Disorder with repetitive behaviors had a significant decrease in stereotypical behaviors. Another positive to the medication Fluoxetine (Prozac) is that it has no significant side effects according to Siegel and Beaulieu (2011). Clomipramine (Anafranil) exhibits side effects of insomnia, tremors, nausea and twitching. The studies all prove to show a decrease in repetitious behaviors when taking these medications. Following numerous experiments, research justifies the usage of Antipsychotic medications, Mood stabilizers and Serotonin reuptake inhibitors to manage repetitive and stereotypical Autistic behaviors.