ECT and Autism
This is not a reference to the Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC), the school in Canton, Massachusetts, which uses electroshock to “address” its students’ challenging behaviors. (To see a letter to the American Psychological Association about the JRC’s use of “aversive stimulation,” go to Disabled SoapBox.)
I mentioned electroconvulsive therapy in the context of an event at the New York Academy of Sciences. It is entitled The History of Convulsive Therapy from Depression to Autism: Past Uses, Future Possibilities and here is some information:
This special event, co-sponsored by the New York Academy of Medicine’s Section on the History of Medicine and Public Health and the Academy’s Section on Psychiatry, celebrates the publication of Shock Therapy: The History of Electroconvulsive Treatment in Mental Illness (Rutgers University Press), by Edward Shorter and David Healy, the first full-length history of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).
A panel comprising historians, journalists, and clinicians, will address not only ECT’s history, but its future applications, especially as a treatment for autism.
Speakers include Dr. Healy, Hannah Professor of the History of Medicine, and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, and Lee Wachtel, MD, Medical Director and an attending child psychiatrist of the Neurobehavioral Unit at the Kennedy Krieger Institute, Johns Hopkins University.
Related Stories
POSTED IN: Neuroscience, Psychiatry, Treatment
12 opinions for ECT and Autism
Regan
Oct 24, 2007 at 7:11 am
Kristina,
If you go to this, I hope that you share the context and content of what they discuss about ECT, since it is controversial, and I have my own reservations based on the not-so-positive outcome for a college friend who went through the procedure.
I looked up Ann Bauer and her Salon articles, which describe her son’s development of autistic catatonia and treatment with ECT at 19, after misdiagnosis and psychotropic drugs
“The Body Electric”
http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2007/06/19/electroshock/
and the prelude
“Psych Meds drove my son crazy”
http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2007/05/18/autism_misdiagnosis/index.html
Regan
Oct 24, 2007 at 11:41 am
Doh!
My apologies–I googled autistic catatonia and found your old post from this blog on the Ann Bauer article about the topic and the psych meds
http://www.autismvox.com/autistic-catatonia/
Kristina Chew, PhD
Oct 24, 2007 at 3:59 pm
I’d really like to go—-we know someone who quite recently had ECT. In her situation, it did seem to help but there was minimal (and really no) follow-up. But I have to question (at the very least) the use of ECT for autism in particular. That Ann Bauer story really affected me and made me think about future concerns.
Patrick
Oct 24, 2007 at 4:28 pm
Well, like most other ‘treatments’ it needs to have properly sanctioned studies with verifiable positive results in order for me to accept it as anything other than torture, just like the cold wet blanket study that was supposed to be going on for a French ‘therapy.’
I’m not used to searching things up on NIH/NIMH/Medline as a regular practice, but it looks like im about to start.
Especially when I have previewed your later post today about the padded rooms, which I might also need to do some looking into about.
Patrick
Oct 24, 2007 at 4:40 pm
So far, it doesn’t look like much has been done, and I hope they don’t decide to pursue this…
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&Term=ECT%20autism%20study&itool=QuerySuggestion
Kristina Chew, PhD
Oct 24, 2007 at 4:54 pm
I concur completely—–
Amanda M
Oct 25, 2007 at 3:11 pm
i caught this on a news feed too…
very disturbing. from what i looked up (could not find much concerning ECT) except in severe depression, much seemed very anecdotal.
seems like they just want to try it out…just to see.
what concerns me most is Kennedy Krieger involvement - they would pursue it…
Regan
Oct 25, 2007 at 4:24 pm
From what I could find, the specific interest at Kennedy Krieger is in regards to catatonia,
“Dr. Wachtel is investigating the intriguing concomitance of autism and catatonia, a neurobiological condition characterized by motor, speech and behavioral abnormalities. Traditionally associated with mood and psychotic disorders, catatonic symptoms may occur in up to 17% of patients with autism, and necessitate rapid recognition and treatment. Dr. Wachtel is particularly interested in the role of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in the resolution of catatonia in autism.”
http://www.kennedykrieger.org/kki_staff.jsp?pid=6001
I share concerns about the extrapolation of this particular research area to a generalized treatment for autism. At least at Kennedy Krieger I might expect them to go through an IRB. As others note, there seem to be 10 or fewer citations on PubMed on the topic, mostly case studies, and a speculative article from Medical Hypotheses.
richard jacobson, m.d.
Jan 31, 2008 at 1:32 pm
There is now a discussion of this by Dr. Max Fink in the current issue of Psychiatric Times. I personally have been unaware of this issue even though I care for many people with Autism and currently have at least two who meet the approximate criteria for catatonia, so I am now interested in the idea.
However, I have extreme concerns about this idea as anyone should and I am glad to see these concerns expressed in this discussion.
I hope that any further work concerning this is done ONLY at the most experienced centers, and ONLY with the oversight and involvement of an appropriate scientific group which should include specialists in the area of patient rights, etc.
Thanks
RSJ
Kristina Chew, PhD
Jan 31, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Thank you for referencing Psychiatric Times—-I’m very interested in reading the article. Thank you again—-
jennifer
Mar 16, 2008 at 3:55 am
i came across this site looking to see if any studies have been done with higher functioning autisum and ect . i recieve ect treatment for servere depression , the ect emensly helps me with social and communication interaction with everyone from family and friends ,to interactions with people at the grocery store.ect for me makes the give and take in conversations easyer and makes it flow from my brain with out alot of thought .without ect i understand things but it is hard for me to explain to others. with that said my 7 yr old daughter was just dignosted with pdd and while b/c of memory loss issues i would not want ect for her now i was thinking b/c of the way ect helps me that it may help older people that have higher functioning autisum to communicate and socialize. does anyone know if any good studies have been done ?
Car Stories and an Arrest
Aug 30, 2008 at 8:11 pm
[…] that made him “crazy,” “slipped into full blown catatonia, and was treated with ECT. After living briefly at home and then at a crisis mental-health center, Andrew went to live in a […]
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: