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Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci
; 28(4): 365-368, 2019 Aug.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-30353794
ABSTRACT
Children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are likely to receive high-risk prescribing practices, such as polypharmacy, long-term use of psychotropic medications, and overuse of antipsychotics. Behavioural interventions, such as applied behavioural analysis, are evidence-based practices for children with IDD and should be the first-line treatment. Short-term use of psychotropic medications may be helpful in reducing the severity and frequency of challenging behaviours while evidence-based behavioural interventions are pursued. In this essay, we offer practical guidelines for better care.