Mood Drugs Often Prescribed for Autistic Children

More than half of school-age children with autism in the U.S. take mood-altering drugs as doctors increasingly target the broad range of psychiatric symptoms tied to the ailment, a report found.

The survey, the first of its kind by the National Institute of Mental Health, found that 56 percent of those age 6 to 17 with autism, were on one or more drugs normally given for disorders such as anxiety, depression, psychosis or hyperactivity.