Managing disruptive behaviour in autism-spectrum disorder with guanfacine
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This is a case of a 10-year-old boy with an autism-spectrum disorder (ASD), global developmental delay and chronic disruptive behaviour, including impulsivity, self-injurious behaviour (biting, hitting self with fist), and aggression toward others (kicking, punching, biting). He had chronic
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Evidence from case reports and clinical trials indicates guanfacine can be helpful in boosting top-down control to reduce oppositional, self-injurious and repetitive behaviors in children on the autism spectrum, including children with severe cognitive impairment.
“Evidence from case reports and clinical trials indicate that guanfacine can be helpful in boosting top down control to reduce oppositional, self-injurious and repetitive behaviors in children on the autism spectrum, including children with severe (e.g. nonverbal) cognitive impairment”
From Guanfacine’s mechanism of action in treating prefrontal cortical disorders: Successful translation across species (2020) · cites this paper as Propper, 2018
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Cites
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“…indicate that guanfacine can be helpful in boosting top down control to reduce oppositional, self-injurious and repetitive behaviors in children on the autism spectrum, including children with severe (e.g. nonverbal) cognitive impairment (Coleman, Adams, Anderson, & Frye, 2019; Propper, 2018).”
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- Authors
- Propper, L.
- Affiliations
- From the IWK Health Centre, Department of Psychiatry and Dalhousie University, Department of Psychiatry, Halifax, NS, Canada
- Venue
- Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
- Publisher
- Canadian Science Publishing
- Published
- 2018-09
- Volume
- 43
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 359-360
- ISSN
- 1180-4882 (ISSN-L)
- 1488-2434
- PMC
- PMC6158025
- OpenAlex
- W2890940231
- Cited by
- 12
- References
- 15
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 1 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 0.74
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Behavioral and Psychological Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Keywords
- autism spectrum disorder, guanfacine, disruptive behavior, self-harm, aggression, impulsivity, global developmental delay, alpha-2 adrenergic agonists
- MeSH terms
- Problem Behavior, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Aggression, Child, Delayed-Action Preparations, Humans, Impulsive Behavior, Male, Guanfacine, Self-Injurious Behavior, Treatment Outcome, Adrenergic alpha-2 Receptor Agonists
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