How to Make Effective Evaluation of Psychotropic Drug Effects in People with Developmental Disabilities and Self-Injurious Behavior

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to give clinicians, especially behavior analysts, guidelines for evaluating the literature and making effective clinical decisions about the use of psychotropic medication for treatment of people with developmental disabilities (DD) who also have serious self-injurious behavior (SIB). We review only the literature relevant to the topic at hand. There are several conflicting reviews of the broader literature on psychotropic drugs and intellectual disabilities, from different countries, that are of varying quality and exhaustiveness. Different countries may not have the same practice guidelines for their use. We will restrict our discussion mostly to use in the USA, where the prevalence of behavioral intervention is common in the treatment of SIB and where most states already have guidelines for behavioral and pharmacological intervention in DD and a history of laws governing their use. Much of our discussion may also be applicable to other settings in other countries as well. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)