People with autism disorders face difficulty in communicating and interacting with the people around them. Though, no definite treatment of this disorder has been found till date, antidepressants have been prescribed to some individuals, but it is not recommended to children.

A research carried out by canvassers at Cochrane revealed that children with autism might experience severe side effects on taking antidepressants. It was observed that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) did not show any positive outcome on the autistic people.

Dr. Katrina Williams from the University of New South Wales in Australia fronted a team, which combined the findings of seven randomized medical experiments that measured the effects of antidepressants against placebos, in
271 individuals.

The researchers are of the view that the antidepressants are of no help, to adults or children for the matter. The drugs are not able to treat the basic cause that leads to this disease. It only aids in dealing with the behavioral patterns. SSRIs are recognized to lower symptoms such as irritability, depression, and belligerence.

In the five trials, Dr. Williams’ team reviewed the effect of fluoxetine, fenfluramine, fluvoxamine, and citalopram in children, and discovered that there wasn’t any noteworthy gain from these medications. The other two, wherein adults were involved, only slight improvement was noticed.