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How do you solve a problem like aggression?

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Irritability and aggression are dangerous behaviors that can lead to harm and injury and are overlooked in research. Unfortunately there are only two FDA medications approved to treat them in autism. The drugs have many side effects, and there are efforts to improve these treatments and minimize side effects by lowering the dose with adjunct therapies that enhance the efficacy of the drug. So far, there are a few promising leads, but nothing that is ready for the clinic. How do scientists make the move from an interesting discovery in a lab to testing the safety and efficacy of a drug? Through animal models or model systems that examine different phenotypes in an animal and test medications on outcomes like aggression. Mice are not people, but they are necessary to ensure safe and effective treatments are translated into practice.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38263251/

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How to predict severe and dangerous behavior

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On the first podcast of 2024, we describe a new paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association or JAMA which uses physiological measurements like heart rate and skin conductance to predict severe and dangerous behaviors, specifically aggression. If aggression can be predicted, it might be able to be prevented. It turns out aggression can be predicted up to 3 minutes before an episode occurs, in the future these measures can be used to possibly redirect aggression. In a separate study, the issue of stigma is addressed. There is an intense debate over “person first” vs. “identity first” language in autism, promoting recommendations of using one over the other because fear that person first language promotes stigma against autism. A new study shows that there is no added prejudice or fear using either person first or identity first language, but the stigma associated with schizophrenia is worse than it is for autism. What contributes to stigma? There is a wide range of experiences and perceptions of autism that need to be addressed. It’s not as simple as the language used.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38127348/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37965364/

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Breaking down aggression in autism

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You asked – our summer intern Priyanka Shah delivered!  This week’s podcast is one on a topic suggested by listeners.  She describes the risk factors and treatments for aggressive behaviors in autism.  Priyanka looked at research and listened to clinicians who have experience treating aggressive behaviors in autism.   In this podcast, description of Functional Behavioral Analysis plus pharmacological treatments are provided.

Here are some additional resources:

Aggression Study by Kanne & Mazurek (2011): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20960041
More information about behavior assessments: http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/discipl.fba.jordan.pdf
Simple FBA Chart Example:
fba