Parents Frequently Adopting Complementary, Alternative Methods To Treat Autism

One in every 88 children has been diagnosed with some form of autism in the United States, according to the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.  Parents are frequently adopting complementary and alternative methods in addition to the conventional treatments to treat the disorder, reveals a recent study.

 A recent study conducted by the researchers at UC Davis MIND Institute shows that more parents are trying out complementary and alternative treatments (CAM) to treat their autistic children and some of these methods can prove to be detrimental for the patients. Most of these parents belong to high income families or have a sound educational background.

The most commonly used alternative methods are meditation or prayer, homeopathic remedies, probiotics, alternative diets, vitamin B-12 injections, intravenous immunoglobulin or chelation therapy.

Children suffering from autism find it hard to connect socially, show a lack of response, repetitive behavior and delayed development.  These children also display other side effects closely associated with their neuro-developmental disorders like irritability, hyperactivity, gastrointestinal problems and sleep disorders.  Some parents combine conventional treatment with the CAM therapies to treat these symptoms.

The researchers surveyed more than 600 children aged between two and five suffering from autism and other developmental delays, who were a part of the Childhood Autism Risk from Genetics and the Environment study.

 In this study, 40 percent autistic children were found to be on CAM compared to 30 percent suffering from other developmental delays. Seven percent of the autistic participants were on the gluten-free/casein-free diet.

Around 4 percent parents in the study followed invasive methods like antifungal medications, chelation therapy and vitamin B-12 injections, which are not considered to be safe, according to the latest research published on the recent journal of Journal of Behavioral and Developmental Pediatrics.

According to the researchers, conventional methods like behavioral and educational interventions are safer and effective to treat autism but all the patients don't respond equally to the treatment due to the heterogeneity of the issue, reports healthline.

Initiative is required on the pediatrician's part suggesting low risk CAM to the parents explaining both their negative and positive effects.