Injury treatment among children with autism or pervasive developmental disorder.

Scherf et al. (2008) looked at Medicaid records. They wanted to know how often kids with autism or PDD get treated for injuries.

They compared these kids to typically developing kids on the same insurance. They counted all injury visits and the types of injuries.

Kids with autism had 20% more injury treatments overall. The big jump was in poisoning and self-inflicted injuries. These were seven times higher than in other kids.

Poisoning often came from medicines. Self-inflicted injuries included head-banging or biting.

Farley et al. (2022) zoomed in on poison-only ER visits. They found autistic kids aged 5-9 on several meds were 60% more likely to land in the ER. This backs up the seven-fold jump Suzanne saw.

Cidav et al. (2013) used the same Medicaid group. They showed injury costs keep rising as the kids get older. This adds a time lens to the 2008 snapshot.

Nakao et al. (2015) looked at ER visits for dental pain instead of injuries. Kids with autism had the same visit rate as other kids. Together these papers map where autism does—and does not—drive ER use.

If you serve Medicaid kids with autism, expect more bumps, bites, and medicine scares. Lock up meds and vitamins today. Add poison hotline and self-injury safety steps to care plans. Review these plans each birthday, because costs and risks rise as the child grows.