Use and Perceived Effectiveness of Complementary and Alternative Medicine to Treat and Manage the Symptoms of Autism in Children: A Survey of Parents in a Community Population

Abstract

Objective: Parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) often try a variety of treatments for their children, including complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The objective of this study was to improve understanding of the frequency of CAM use by parents for their children with autism and to quantify the parents' perceived effectiveness of various CAM therapies in mitigating the health and functioning problems associated with autism. Methods: Parents in southeastern Virginia were recruited for study participation from local autism organizations and a clinical practice where a large proportion of the patients are children with autism. Parents completed an online survey and answered questions about CAM use for their children with autism, and they rated the perceived effectiveness of each therapy. Results: Of 194 parents surveyed, 80.9% reported that they had tried some form of CAM for their child with autism. Among CAM users, the most frequently used therapies were multivitamins (58.6%), the gluten-free casein-free diet (54.8%), and methyl B-12 injections (54.1%). The CAM therapies that received the highest average rating of effectiveness were sensory integration therapy, melatonin, and off-label use of prescription antifungal medications. Conclusion: CAM therapies were frequently used in this population, and many were perceived to be effective in helping to ease some of the health challenges associated with autism. CAM therapies for the autism population should be further studied in well-controlled clinical research settings to provide safety and efficacy data on treatments, as well as validated treatment options for those with ASD.

Systematic review and meta‐analysis of reported adverse events of long‐term intranasal oxytocin treatment for autism spectrum disorder

“…In total, the search process yielded 80 unique studies. Based on the titles and abstracts, 68 studies were rejected . Based on full text review of the remaining 12 studies, five were rejected for being short‐term studies (less than a month), while one was rejected for not being a randomized controlled trial .…”

Parents’ Use of Complementary Health Approaches for Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…This study is novel in that it is one of the first to show what and how different ecological factors at the child, family, and health system levels may influence parents’ use of CHA among young children with ASD. Past research on this topic has generally relied on quantitative methodology, primarily cross-sectional surveys of nonprobability parent samples (Christon, Mackintosh, & Myers, 2010; Hall & Riccio, 2012; Hanson et al, 2007; Harrington, Rosen, & Garnecho, 2006; Hopf et al, 2016; Huang, Seshadri, Matthews, & Ostfield, 2013; Owen-Smith et al, 2015; Perrin et al, 2012; Valicenti-McDermott et al, 2013; H. Wong & Smith, 2006).…”

“…Our qualitative findings further illuminate that parents may believe they can reduce ASD’s impact on their child’s life by using CHA, and relatedly, that they view CHA as being effective and conventional healthcare as being ineffective for treating ASD. Past research shows that parents commonly view CHA as efficacious for treating ASD (Christon et al, 2010; Hopf et al, 2016; Huang et al, 2013; H. Wong & Smith, 2006).…”

“…ASD symptomatology (Hall & Riccio, 2012; Hopf, Madren, & Santianni, 2016; Perrin et al, 2012; Salomone et al, 2015; Valicenti-McDermott et al, 2013), greater parent education (Akins et al, 2014; Hall & Riccio, 2012; Hanson et al, 2007; Owen-Smith et al, 2015; Salomone et al, 2015; H. Wong & Smith, 2006), and use of multiple health services (Akins et al, 2014; Owen-Smith et al, 2015; Salomone et al, 2015) are associated with an increased likelihood of parental CHA use for children with ASD.…”

“…Wong & Smith, 2006), and use of multiple health services (Akins et al, 2014; Owen-Smith et al, 2015; Salomone et al, 2015) are associated with an increased likelihood of parental CHA use for children with ASD. Discrepant findings have, however, emerged about the relationship of age, sex, and race/ethnicity with parental use of CHA for children with ASD (Akins et al, 2014; Hall & Riccio, 2012; Hanson et al, 2007; Hopf et al, 2016; Levy, Mandell, Merhar, Ittenbach, & Pinto-Martin, 2003; Owen-Smith et al, 2015; Perrin et al, 2012; Salomone et al, 2015; Valicenti-McDermott et al, 2013; H. Wong & Smith, 2006; Zuckerman, Lindly, Sinche, et al, 2015).…”