Catatonia in Autism Spectrum Disorders

The study of catatonia in Autism Spectrum Disorders is a novel and controversial topic. Catatonia is a motor disorder characterized by stereotypy, rigidity, mutism, and posturing. These motor signs are also characteristic of autism. The interest in the relation between autism and catatonia stems from clinical observations that autistic and catatonic symptoms overlap, that some people with autism develop full-blown catatonia, and that anti-catatonic treatments bring relief in some of those patients.

Catatonia in Autism Spectrum Disorders explores the question of if the two syndromes have a common pathophysiology. It also examines whether the successful treatment of catatonia be applied to patients with both autism and catatonia. The book concludes with blueprints for the assessment, treatment, and future study of catatonia in Autism Spectrum Disorders. These blueprints aim to increase early recognition and treatment of catatonia in patients with autism, show the urgency of controlled treatment trials and increased collaborative and interdisciplinary research into the co-occurrence of these two enigmatic disorders.

Provides a historical perspective of the concepts of catatonia and autism, as described by old European masters like Bleuler and KalhbaumPresents clinical-epidemiological studies that apply systematic criteria of catatonia in populations with Autism Spectrum DisordersIncludes a review of the importance of psychomotor function for normal and abnormal development

Section I. Classification
Classification matters for Catatonia and Autism in children.
A systematic study of catatonia-like clinical pictures in autism spectrum disorders.
Catatonia in individuals with autism spectrum disorders in adolescence and early adulthood: A long-term prospective study.
Are autistic and catatonic regression related? A few working hypotheses involving GABA, Purkinje cell survival, neurogenesis, and ECT.
Section II. Assessment
Psychomotor development and psychopathology in childhood.
The importance of catatonia and stereotypies in autistic spectrum disorders.
Prader Willi Syndrome: Atypical psychoses and motor dysfunctions.
Towards a valid nosography and psychopathology of catatonia in children and adolescents.
Is there a common neuronal basis for autism and catatonia?
Shared susceptibility region on chromosome 15 between autism and catatonia.
Section III. Treatment
Current tends in behavioral interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders in the United States.
Case-reports with a child psychiatric exploration of catatonia, autism, and delirium.
ECT and the Youth - Catatonia in context.
Catatonia in autistic spectrum disorders: A medical treatment algorithm.
Non-medical approaches to chronic catatonia-like deterioration in autism spectrum disorders.
Section IV. Blueprints
Blueprints for the assessment, treatment, and future study of catatonia in autism spectrum disorders.