title: Specialized inpatient psychiatry for serious behavioral disturbance in autism and intellectual disability.
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.
authors.affiliation: Developmental Disorders Program, Spring Harbor Hospital, 123 Andover Road, Westbrook, ME, 04092, USA, siegem@springharbor.org.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Siegel
authors.forename: Briana
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Milligan
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chemelski
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Payne
authors.forename: Beth
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ellsworth
authors.forename: Jamie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Harmon
authors.forename: Olivia
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Teer
authors.forename: Kahsi A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000523:psychology; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D011567:Psychiatric Department, Hospital / Q000639:trends