Consensus recommendations of pharmacological treatment of co-occurring conditions and symptoms in children and adults with ASD.

	Children	Adults
Mood disorders	Decision on treatment needs to be made on a case by case basis. Follow the British Association for Psychopharmacology (BAP) guidelines for treating depression (strength of recommendation: S)	Decision on treatment needs to be made on a case by case basis. Follow the British Association for Psychopharmacology (BAP) guidelines for treating depression (strength of recommendation: S)
Anxiety disorders	Consider a cautious trial of an SSRIs followed by risperidone if poor response. Monitor for worsening of anxiety in some children. (strength of recommendation: B)	Decision on treatment needs to be made on a case by case basis. Follow the British Association for Psychopharmacology (BAP) guidelines for treating anxiety (strength of recommendation: S)
Sleep disorders	Melatonin, if possible, in combination with a behavioural intervention. (strength of recommendation: A) Prolonged use of benzodiazepines and related GABA agonists is not recommended. (strength of recommendation: S)	Melatonin, if possible, in combination with behavioural intervention (extrapolation from findings in children) (strength of recommendation: S) Prolonged use of benzodiazepines and related GABA agonists is not recommended (strength of recommendation: S)
Irritability	Risperidone or aripiprazole but only when behavioural or educational approaches have failed. (strength of recommendation: A)	Decision on treatment needs to be made on a case by case basis. Aripiprazole or risperidone or an SSRI should only be considered cautiously and after considering alternatives (strength of recommendation: S)
ADHD	First line: methylphenidate Second line: atomoxetine, or α2A receptor agonist. Children with ASD may experience more side-effects and show less response than non-ASD patients with ADHD (strength of recommendation: A)	Decision on treatment needs to be made on a case by case basis. Follow the British Association for Psychopharmacology (BAP) guidelines for treating ADHD (strength of recommendation: S)
Tic disorders and Tourette’s syndrome	Decision on treatment needs to be made on a case by case basis (strength of recommendation: S)	Decision on treatment needs to be made on a case by case basis (strength of recommendation: S)