Summary of 3 CAM Articles for Children With Autism

1. Wong, H.H.L., & Smith, R.G. (2006). Patterns of Complementary and Alternative Medical Therapy Use in Children Diagnosed with ASD. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36, 901-909.
The researchers investigated patterns of CAM therapy used in children with ASD. Two groups of 50 children were involved, with one group of children diagnosed with ASD, and the control group of children with no diagnosis. Parents were questioned regarding the use of CAM's with their children with the following results:
52% (26/50) of the parents of ASD children used at least 1 CAM
28% (14/50) of the parents of the control group of children used at least 1 CAM
70% of the therapies used in ASD group were biologically based therapies, ie special diets, supplemnets, herbal.
Parents felt that 75% of the therapies used with their children were beneficial.
The parents of children with ASD used CAM's with these goals in mind:
1. treat symptoms of autism
2. concentration and attention
3. relaxation
4. GI problems
5. Sleep disorders
6. communication/speech
7. tactile sensitivity
8. mild seizures
9. maintain general health
In conclusion, children with ASD are more likely to have used CAM's compared to those children with no developmental disorders, and they have reported beneficial results.

2. Hanson, E., Kalish, L.A., Bunce, E., Curtis, C., McDaniels, s., Ware, J., & Petry, J. (2007). Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Among Children Diagnosed with ASD. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorder, 37, 628-636.
This study looked at the prevalence of the use of CAM's by children diagnosed with ASD. The researchers sent out 325 surveys, with 112 families responding, who were seen at the Children's Hospital in Boston's Developmental Medicine Center. Based on the survey's, parents of children with ASD reported:
74% are using CAM's with most reporting approval and that they are helpful.
54% of parents used biologically based therapies
30% of parents used mind-body intervention
25% of parents used manipulation or body-based therapies
8% of parents used energy therapies
1% of parents used alternate medical systems
Several reasons for seeking out CAM's were identified and included:
a.) although there are many treatments, no single intervention has been proven effective in alleviating core symptoms of ASD
b.) looking for more emtional support and feel like they get it from CAM professionals
c.) simpler and less invasive
d.) natural remedy
Children who have had an ASD diagnosis for a longer time had higher rates of CAM use.
Possibly as children continue to have severe difficulty, even after years of more mainstream treatments, parents turn to other treatments in the hopes of finding symptom relief. It may also be that parents begin to learn more about the disorder and treatments that are available and are more likely to have heard of less well known interventions.

3. Levy, S., Mandell, D., Merhar, S., Ittenbach, R., & Pinto-Martin, J. (2003). Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Among Children Recently Diagnosed with ASD. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 24(6), 418-423.
This study looked at the prevalence in the use of CAM's among children recently diagnosed with autism, by reviewing 284 charts of children seen at the Regional Autism Center of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The CAM's were divided into 4 categories of treatment approaches:
a) Unproven benign biological treatments that are common with no basis in theory - vitamin supplements, GI medications, antifungal agents.
b)Unproven benign biological treatment with some basis in theory - GFCF diet, vitamin C, and secretin.
c) Unproven potentially harmful biological treatment - chelation, immunoglobin, large doses of vitamin A, antibiotics, antiviral agent, alkaline salts and withholding immunizations.
Of the charts reviewed, 30% are using CAM, and 9% are using harmful CAM.