Aberrant Behavior Checklist

Aberrant Behavior Checklist Slosson Educational Publications, P.O. Box 280, East Aurora, NY 14052 (716-652-0930). 

Aman, M.G., Singh, N.N., Stewart, A.W., and Field, C.J. (1985) The Aberrant Behavior Checklist a behavior rating scale for the assessment of treatment effects. Am Ment Defic 89 485 91. 

If one accepts the position that the structure of mental illness may differ for young people with MR, then it is also reasonable to choose assessment instruments that are appropriate to that population. There are several tools that have been developed for parent and teacher ratings of patients with MR. Examples are the Aberrant Behavior Checklist, the Developmental Behaviour Checklist, the Nisonger Child Behavior Rating Form, and the Diagnostic Assessment of the Severely Handicapped (see Hurley et ah, 1998 Chapter 32, this volume). 

A 9-year-old boy with autism and overactivity was unresponsive to several drugs. Risperidone 0.5 mg bd was effective, reducing his Aberrant Behavior Checklist score from 103 to 57 by the end of the first week. Four weeks later his weight had risen from 34.6 to 37 kg. This rate of weight gain (0.6 kg/week) continued over the next 12 weeks. His weight was then contained by the use of the Zone diet, with an emphasis on slowly absorbed carbohydrates (examples include apples,... 

A double-blind crossover trial in which clomipramine was directly compared to haloperidol and placebo in 36 autistic adolescents and adults failed to demonstrate any advantages of clomipramine over haloperidol with respect to Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC) measures of hyperactivity and irritability. Although no serious adverse effects were reported, tolerability of clomipramine was significantly worse than haloperidol, with over half of the subjects being unable to complete the clomipramine phase of the study due to adverse effects and/or lack of efficacy. An open-label sfudy also reporfed a high frequency of adverse effects (Sanchez et al.. 

In a prospective open trial in 40 boys with autism (mean age 12 years) who took olanzapine (mean dose 7.5, range 5-10 mg/ day) for 13 weeks, there were significant improvements in scores on the Aberrant Behavior Checklist scale [84 ]. Extrapyrami-dal symptoms and dyskinetic symptoms did not change from baseline to end-point. There were no significant increases in hepatic enzymes or any serum chemistry. There were transient mUd adverse reactions such as drowsiness and sedation, when treatment was begun (13% of patients). Mean body weight was 52.5 kg before treatment and 52.8 kg after treatment. 

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