Methylphenidate and Autism Ranking:

Aims and Claims

Aims

The aim of using a stimulant medication, such as methylphenidate, on autistic individuals is to reduce behaviours such as hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention.

According to NICE (2000)

“Methylphenidate is a CNS stimulant. It is licensed as part of a comprehensive treatment programme for ADHD, under specialist supervision, where remedial measures alone prove insufficient.”

Methylphenidate is believed to work by increasing the amount of dopamine, a natural chemical, found in the brain. Increasing the amount of dopamine is believed to improve self-control, attention and concentration.

Methylphenidate is commonly used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), although it is also sometimes used to treat narcolepsy.

Some people believe that methylphenidate can be used with some autistic individuals to reduce problem behaviours, such as hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention.

Claims 

There have been a number of claims for the benefits of methylphenidate in autistic individuals. For example,

Reichow, Volkmar and Bloch (2013) carried out a systematic review of the use of medications to treat ADHD in autistic children and reported that “methylphenidate was effective in treating hyperactivity in children with PDDs”. They also reported that “methylphenidate was shown to have moderate, albeit not statistically significant, effects in treating irritability and stereotypies in children with PDDs”.

Updated

17 Jun 2022

Last Review

01 Dec 2018

Next Review

01 Sep 2024