Skip to main content

Advertising Disclaimer »

Main menu

  • Journals
    • Pediatrics
    • Hospital Pediatrics
    • Pediatrics in Review
    • NeoReviews
    • AAP Grand Rounds
    • AAP News
  • Authors/Reviewers
    • Submit Manuscript
    • Author Guidelines
    • Reviewer Guidelines
    • Open Access
    • Editorial Policies
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Online First
    • Archive
    • Blogs
    • Topic/Program Collections
    • AAP Meeting Abstracts
  • Pediatric Collections
    • COVID-19
    • Racism and Its Effects on Pediatric Health
    • More Collections...
  • AAP Policy
  • Supplements
  • Multimedia
    • Video Abstracts
    • Pediatrics On Call Podcast
  • Subscribe
  • Alerts
  • Careers
  • Other Publications
    • American Academy of Pediatrics

User menu

  • Log in

Search

  • Advanced search
American Academy of Pediatrics

AAP Gateway

Advanced Search

AAP Logo

  • Log in
  • Journals
    • Pediatrics
    • Hospital Pediatrics
    • Pediatrics in Review
    • NeoReviews
    • AAP Grand Rounds
    • AAP News
  • Authors/Reviewers
    • Submit Manuscript
    • Author Guidelines
    • Reviewer Guidelines
    • Open Access
    • Editorial Policies
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Online First
    • Archive
    • Blogs
    • Topic/Program Collections
    • AAP Meeting Abstracts
  • Pediatric Collections
    • COVID-19
    • Racism and Its Effects on Pediatric Health
    • More Collections...
  • AAP Policy
  • Supplements
  • Multimedia
    • Video Abstracts
    • Pediatrics On Call Podcast
  • Subscribe
  • Alerts
  • Careers

Discover Pediatric Collections on COVID-19 and Racism and Its Effects on Pediatric Health

American Academy of Pediatrics
Article

Behaviors Associated With Fever in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Laura K. Curran, Craig J. Newschaffer, Li-Ching Lee, Stephen O. Crawford, Michael V. Johnston and Andrew W. Zimmerman
Pediatrics December 2007, 120 (6) e1386-e1392; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2007-0360
Laura K. Curran
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Craig J. Newschaffer
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Li-Ching Lee
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Stephen O. Crawford
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Michael V. Johnston
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Andrew W. Zimmerman
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • Comments
Loading

This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.

Download PDF

Abstract

OBJECTIVE. Clinical case reports have suggested that the behaviors of children with autism spectrum disorders may improve with fever. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of illness on behaviors of children with autism spectrum disorders. Understanding the role of fever, if any, may be informative regarding causative mechanisms of and treatment opportunities for autism.

METHODS. We conducted a prospective study of 30 children (aged 2–18 years) with autism spectrum disorders during and after an episode of fever. Parent responses to the Aberrant Behavior Checklist were collected during fever (body temperature ≥ 38.0°C/100.4°F), when fever had abated and the child was asymptomatic, and when the child had been fever-free for 7 days. Data were compared with those collected from parents of 30 age-, gender-, and language skills–matched afebrile children with autism spectrum disorders during similar time intervals.

RESULTS. Fewer aberrant behaviors were recorded for febrile patients on the Aberrant Behavior Checklist subscales of irritability, hyperactivity, stereotypy, and inappropriate speech compared with control subjects. Per expectation, lethargy scores were greater during fevers, and all improvements were transient. Data from patients with fever were stratified on variables related to illness severity. In the majority of these subgroup comparisons, the data suggested that effects from fever persisted in the less sick patients as well as in those with more severe illness.

CONCLUSIONS. We documented behavior change among children with autism spectrum disorders during fever. The data suggest that these changes might not be solely the byproduct of general effects of sickness on behavior; however, more research is needed to prove conclusively fever-specific effects and elucidate their underlying biological mechanisms (possibly involving immunologic and neurobiological pathways, intracellular signaling, and synaptic plasticity).

  • autism spectrum disorders
  • autistic disorder
  • fever
  • behavior
  • children
  • Accepted May 21, 2007.
  • Copyright © 2007 by the American Academy of Pediatrics

Individual Login

Log in
You will be redirected to aap.org to login or to create your account.

Institutional Login

via Institution

You may be able to gain access using your login credentials for your institution. Contact your librarian or administrator if you do not have a username and password.

Log in through your institution

If your organization uses OpenAthens, you can log in using your OpenAthens username and password. To check if your institution is supported, please see this list. Contact your library for more details.

Pay Per Article - You may access this article (from the computer you are currently using) for 2 days for US$25.00

Regain Access - You can regain access to a recent Pay per Article purchase if your access period has not yet expired.

Offer Reprints

PreviousNext
Back to top

Advertising Disclaimer »

In this issue

Pediatrics
Vol. 120, Issue 6
December 2007
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author
View this article with LENS
PreviousNext
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on American Academy of Pediatrics.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Behaviors Associated With Fever in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders
(Your Name) has sent you a message from American Academy of Pediatrics
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the American Academy of Pediatrics web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Request Permissions
Article Alerts
Log in
You will be redirected to aap.org to login or to create your account.
Or Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Citation Tools
Behaviors Associated With Fever in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders
Laura K. Curran, Craig J. Newschaffer, Li-Ching Lee, Stephen O. Crawford, Michael V. Johnston, Andrew W. Zimmerman
Pediatrics Dec 2007, 120 (6) e1386-e1392; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2007-0360

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
Behaviors Associated With Fever in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders
Laura K. Curran, Craig J. Newschaffer, Li-Ching Lee, Stephen O. Crawford, Michael V. Johnston, Andrew W. Zimmerman
Pediatrics Dec 2007, 120 (6) e1386-e1392; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2007-0360
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
Print
Download PDF
Insight Alerts
  • Table of Contents

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • METHODS
    • RESULTS
    • DISCUSSION
    • CONCLUSIONS
    • Acknowledgments
    • Footnotes
    • REFERENCES
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • Comments

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • PubMed
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • Sulforaphane treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
  • Serum levels of P-selectin in men with high-functioning autism
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Nurse Home Visiting and Maternal Mental Health: 3-Year Follow-Up of a Randomized Trial
  • Neighborhood Child Opportunity Index and Adolescent Cardiometabolic Risk
  • Neonates Born to Mothers With COVID-19: Data From the Spanish Society of Neonatology Registry
Show more Articles

Similar Articles

Subjects

  • Infectious Disease
    • Infectious Disease
  • Developmental/Behavioral Pediatrics
    • Developmental/Behavioral Pediatrics
    • Autism/ASD
  • Journal Info
  • Editorial Board
  • Editorial Policies
  • Overview
  • Licensing Information
  • Authors/Reviewers
  • Author Guidelines
  • Submit My Manuscript
  • Open Access
  • Reviewer Guidelines
  • Librarians
  • Institutional Subscriptions
  • Usage Stats
  • Support
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Resources
  • Media Kit
  • About
  • International Access
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement
  • FAQ
  • AAP.org
  • shopAAP
  • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Instagram
  • Visit American Academy of Pediatrics on Facebook
  • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Twitter
  • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Youtube
  • RSS
American Academy of Pediatrics

© 2021 American Academy of Pediatrics