Age-related trends in treatment use for children with autism spectrum disorder

Numerous and increasing treatment options face parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study sought to elucidate age-related trends in treatment use among children with ASD from the Simons Simplex Collection (SSC; n = 2758). Our goals were to: (a) explore frequencies of use for various treatment types between preschool and adolescence, and (b) statistically compare rates of treatment-type use by children of different ages. Results indicated high reliance on school-based treatments (e.g., speech and occupational therapies), though use of these types of treatments decreased with age. Use of most treatment types peaked during the preschool years and decreased with age, except psychotropic medication, which was used more by older children. A stable proportion of the sample across ages endorsed biomedical treatments (i.e., complementary alternative medicine; CAM). Percentages of treatment-type use at three different ages (representing early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence) via Pearson chi-square analyses indicated significant associations (α < .006) between age and use of these treatment types: private and school-based speech, private and school-based occupational therapy, intensive behavioral treatment, and psychotropic medication. Results are considered within an ecological-behavioral framework to offer potential explanations for age-related differences in treatment use (e.g., family factors, special education legislation).