Brief Report: Self-Reported Medication Use in Individuals Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Adulthood: A U.S. Clinic Sample from 2012 to 2022.
Half of adults walk into their first autism evaluation already on psychiatric meds—check the list before you start treatment.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Cummings et al. (2024) looked back at charts from one U.S. autism clinic. They picked adults who got their first ASD diagnosis between 2012 and 2022. Then they counted who was already taking psychiatric drugs and what kind.
What they found
Half of these newly-diagnosed adults were already on at least one psychiatric med. Antidepressants and stimulants topped the list. Most people had never been told they were autistic, yet they had prescriptions written.
How this fits with other research
Ellingsen et al. (2014) saw almost the same rate ten years earlier: 59% of autistic adults in their clinic used psychotropics. The numbers line up, showing the trend is steady.
Li et al. (2025) looks like the opposite story. They found 97% of autistic kids in a Chinese hospital were medicated. The gap is huge, but it makes sense: hospital kids are usually more severe, and inpatient care leans on meds faster.
McQuaid et al. (2024) adds a new worry. They followed autistic adults aged 40-83 and linked heavy anticholinergic drug use to memory complaints. Together with Cummings et al. (2024), the picture is clear: many autistic people enter care already on drugs, and some of those drugs may dull thinking over time.
Why it matters
If you assess adults for autism, always ask for a medication list. Half arrive with psychiatric scripts you did not write. Check for duplicate antidepressants, high anticholinergic load, or risky combos. A quick med review can cut side effects and boost the success of your behavior plan.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
PURPOSE: As the understanding of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) across the lifespan has increased, so has the number of individuals being identified with ASD for the first time in adulthood. Understanding co-occurring psychiatric conditions in this subset of the ASD population is a growing focus of research; however, little is known about the rate at which psychiatric medications are prescribed to adults with a first-time diagnosis of ASD. The purpose of this study was to examine self-reported medication use in persons diagnosed with ASD in adulthood in a clinic sample (2012-2022) in the United States. METHODS: The present study was a retrospective record review. Participants (n = 281) were drawn from an outpatient clinic specializing in the diagnosis of ASD in adults. Participants self-reported previous and current psychiatric medication prescription using a medication checklist. RESULTS: Approximately 50% of participants self-reported being prescribed at least one psychiatric medication at the time of their initial evaluation appointment. The most commonly prescribed psychiatric medications were antidepressants (23.8%), followed by stimulants (16.7%). CONCLUSION: Similar to individuals diagnosed with ASD in childhood, those identified with ASD for the first time in adulthood are prescribed psychiatric medication at a much higher rate than their same-age non-autistic peers. These results can inform future research and practice for improving outcomes for autistic adults, particularly those who were undiagnosed for much of their lives.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2024 · doi:10.15620/cdc:110593