"Specialized inpatient psychiatry for serious behavioral disturbance in" by Matthew Siegel, Briana Milligan et al.
 

Specialized inpatient psychiatry for serious behavioral disturbance in autism and intellectual disability.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-1-2014

Institution/Department

MaineHealth, Psychiatry

Journal Title

Journal of autism and developmental disorders

MeSH Headings

Adolescent, Child, Child Development Disorders, Pervasive, Child, Preschool, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Hospitalization, Humans, Inpatients, Intellectual Disability, Male, Mental Disorders, Psychiatric Department, Hospital

Abstract

Psychiatric hospitalization of children with autism spectrum disorder and/or intellectual disability is common, however, the effectiveness of this intervention is largely unknown. Thirty-eight clinically-referred children 8-19 years old admitted to a specialized inpatient psychiatry unit were assessed by a consistent caregiver on the Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Irritability (ABC-I) subscale at admission, discharge and 2 months post discharge. There was a decrease in the mean ABC-I score from admission (27.3, SD 7.4) to discharge (11.9, SD 8.8), which was sustained at 2 months post discharge (14.8, SD 9.3) (p < 0.001). Seventy-eight percent of the subjects were rated as "Improved" on the clinician Clinical Global Impressions Improvement scale at discharge. The study is limited by lack of a control group, but offers preliminary evidence for specialized inpatient psychiatry as an intervention for serious behavioral disturbance in this population.

ISSN

1573-3432

First Page

3026

Last Page

3032

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