Schizophrenia in Autistic People with Intellectual Disabilities. Treatment and Interventions.
Trine Lise Bakken, Jane Margrete Askeland Hellerud, Arvid Nikolai Kildahl and 3 others
PMID 38393435WHAT IT FOUND
Twenty-six autistic adults with intellectual disabilities and schizophrenia received broad treatment including medication, adapted daily activities, and caregiver training.
Proxy-rated symptoms of psychosis, anxiety, and challenging behaviors dropped significantly by the end of treatment and stayed lower a year later. No comparison group means we cannot know if treatment caused this.
Key findings
01Psychopharmacological treatment was provided to 25 of 26 participants, with 22 receiving at least one antipsychotic agent.
02Significant reductions in psychotic symptoms and general adjustment problems occurred between baseline and end of treatment, and remained stable at one-year follow-up.
03All participants received supportive interventions including collaboration meetings and community staff supervision or training.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
There was no comparison group, so it is impossible to know if the symptom reductions were caused by the treatments, natural course of illness, or other factors. The sample size was very small (26 participants), limiting the generalizability of the findings. Interventions were only recorded as yes or no, without details on dosage, duration, or specific content, making it unclear what exactly was delivered. Side effects were not systematically monitored, which is a significant gap given the high use of antipsychotics in a population that may struggle to report them. The study took place in specialized Norwegian mental health services, which may not reflect care available in other settings or countries. Outcome measures were proxy-rated by clinicians or caregivers, not self-reported by the participants, who had intellectual disabilities and may have had limited communication abilities.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the symptom reductions as proof that any specific intervention caused them. The study had no control group and participants received a complex mix of medication, environmental adaptations, and caregiver training simultaneously, so the effect of any single component cannot be isolated.