Assessing the impact of psychotropic medication changes on challenging behavior of individuals with intellectual disabilities

Abstract

Objective: The use of psychotropic medication to address challenging behavior in individuals diagnosed with intellectual disabilities is common practice; however, very few studies have examined how multiple medication use (or combination treatment) impacts the behaviors these medications are prescribed to treat.

Method: The current study followed eight individuals over a two-year period as they experienced changes in their psychotropic medication regimens. During that time, data from functional analyses and indirect assessments of challenging behavior were collected.

Results: The results suggest that changes in psychotropic medication regimens can produce changes in functional assessment outcomes, suggesting a need for continued behavioral assessment to better inform medication practices and behavioral treatment. Of the eight participants in the study, five participants’ behaviors varied in rate of responding in functional analysis (FAs) across all medication changes. Additionally, three participants’ FAs produced changes in outcomes; however, those changes were not consistent across all medication changes, that is, not every medication change yielded different outcomes from previous assessments.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates how the outcome of an FA can be used to monitor the effects of psychotropic medication changes, specifically when medications are combined, on challenging behavior in individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Keywords:

• Psychotropic medication
• Challenging behavior
• Intellectual disability
• Functional analysis

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Danielle Mroz, Raizel Small, Ashley Fee, Jaimie Carpenter, Alyssa Wilkinson, Amy Nguyen, Jacob Hunstiger, Margaret Gifford, Annika Basham, Madelyn Troske, and Madison Cirks for their assistance in this project.