Alternative Treatments for Autism Patients Common

For parents whose children may be suffering from an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), some may choose alternative treatments to help with this health issue-including probiotics, certain dietary choices, homeopathic medicine, vitamin B-12 injections or chelation therapy. However, researchers from the University of California-Davis Health System note that some of the choices, especially more invasive options, can be particularly risky.

"In our Northern California study population, it does not appear that families use complementary and alternative treatments due to the lack of availability of conventional services, as has been suggested by other research," Robin Hansen, director of the Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities at the MIND Institute and chief of the Division of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics in the UC Davis School of Medicine, via a press release.  "Rather, they use the treatments in addition to conventional approaches."

Researchers examined 600 patients between the ages of two and five years that struggled with autism and developmental delay. Out of the participants, 453 had been diagnosed with autism while 125 had been diagnosed with developmental delay.

The researchers found CAM was employed in 40 percent of those who had been diagnosed with autism and 30 percent who had suffered from other developmental disorders. They also found that close to seven percent of children with autism were on gluten-free diets.

"We were pleased to find that most families utilizing CAM therapies were choosing ones that were low risk," Kathleen Angkustsiri, assistant professor of developmental and behavioral pediatrics and a study co-author said, via the release.

About four percent of the study subjects were using "risky" methods of treatment such as "antifungal medications, chelation therapy and vitamin B-12 injections," notes a press release.

"Our study suggests that pediatricians and other providers need to ask about CAM use in the context of providing care for children with autism and other developmental disorders, and take a more active role in helping families make decisions about treatment options based on available information related to potential benefits and risks," Roger Scott Akins, lead author and a former postdoctoral fellow at the MIND Institute, who now is chairman of the Division of Neurodevelopmental Pediatrics at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Va. said.

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More information regarding the study can be found via the Journal of Behavioral and Developmental Pediatrics.