Development of an animal-assisted activity program on a pediatric behavioral health unit.

Animal-assisted activities (AAA), a form of animal-assisted interaction, have the potential to improve positive coping for youth with significant psychiatric symptoms admitted to acute behavioral health units. However, little is known regarding the appropriateness of an AAA program in short-term mental health hospital settings. The goal of this investigation is to describe and report on the feasibility and acceptability of embedding a canine-AAA program within the therapeutic programming of a pediatric behavioral health unit.

Preliminary investigation of lithium for mood disorder symptoms in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder.

Objective: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have higher rates of comorbid psychiatric disorders, including mood disorders, than the general child population. Although children with ASD may experience irritability (aggression, self-injury, and tantrums), a portion also experience symptoms that are typical of a mood disorder, such as euphoria/elevated mood, mania, hypersexuality, paranoia, or decreased need for sleep. Despite lithium's established efficacy in controlling mood disorder symptoms in the neurotypical population, lithium has been rarely studied in children with ASD.