LAUSR

OBJECTIVE Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) may benefit from medication to treat a diverse array of behaviors and health conditions common in this population including co-occurring conditions associated with ASD, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and anxiety. However, prescribing guidelines are lacking and research providing national estimates of medication use in youth with ASD is scant. We examined a nationally representative sample of children and youth ages 6-17 with a current diagnosis of ASD to estimate the prevalence and correlates of psychotropic medication. METHODS This study used data from the 2016 and 2017 National Survey of Children's Health. We estimated unadjusted prevalence rates and used multivariable logistic regression to estimate the odds of medication use in children and youth across three groups: those with ASD-only, those with ASD and ADHD, and those with ADHD-only. RESULTS Two-thirds of children ages 6-11 and three-quarters of youth ages 12-17 with ASD and ADHD were taking medication, similar to children (73%) and youth with ADHD-only (70%) and more than children (13%) and youth with ASD-only (22%). There were no correlates of medication use that were consistent across group and medication type. Youth with ASD and ADHD were more likely to be taking medication for emotion, concentration, or behavior than youth with ADHD-only, and nearly half took ASD-specific medication. CONCLUSION This study adds to the literature on medication use in children and youth with ASD, presenting recent, nationally-representative estimates of high prevalence of psychotropic drug use among children with ASD and ADHD.