Risky Alternative Treatments for Autism
The LA Times has an article about autism that is worth discussing here. Studies show that up to three-quarters of families with autistic children try alternative therapies to treat the condition. A recent investigation by the Chicago Tribune found that many of these treatments have not been proven successful and, more alarmingly, could actually harm the child.
The therapies often go beyond harmless New Age folly, the investigation found. Many are unproven and risky, based on flawed, preliminary or misconstrued scientific research.
Lab tests used to justify therapies are often misleading and misinterpreted. And though some parents fervently believe their children have benefited, the investigation found a trail of disappointing results from the few clinical trials conducted to evaluate the treatments objectively.
It is easy to understand the eagerness with which parents of afflicted children desire a cure. With one in one hundred U.S. children diagnosed on the autism spectrum by the age of 8, there are a lot of people searching for answers. As we’ve discussed on this site, the heartbreaking reality is that there are no answers at this point. No one knows what causes autism or what can best treat (or possibly reverse) the condition. This means there is rampant speculation and anecdotal evidence being spread amongst parents and others in the medical field, which can lead to a child participating in unproven and possibly dangerous treatments.
The article gives a few examples of the risky treatments being performed:
The investigation found children undergoing day-long infusions of a blood product that carries the risk of kidney failure and anaphylactic shock. Researchers in the field emphatically warn that the therapy should not be used to treat autism.
Children are repeatedly encased in pressurized oxygen chambers normally used after scuba diving accidents. This unproven therapy is meant to reduce inflammation that experts say is little understood and may even be beneficial.
Children undergo rounds of chelation therapy to leach heavy metals from the body, though most toxicologists say the test commonly used to measure the metals is meaningless and the treatment potentially harmful.
It is worrisome that there are vulnerable children being subjected to these sorts of alternative procedures without scientific evidence of their benefit. At best, some of these methods would do nothing; at worst, there could be serious health consequences. There is an example cited in the article of a 5-year old autistic child who died in 2005 while undergoing a chelation treatment in a doctor’s office.
Obviously, more scientific research is needed, quickly, to help stop the misinformation. Parents need treatment options that are backed by solid evidence and hold up in clinical trials. Only then can we be sure we’re not doing more harm than good.
Risky Alternative Treatments for Autism | My Autism Site | All About Autism Said,
December 8, 2009 @ 9:57 pm
[...] Link: Risky Alternative Treatments for Autism [...]
alexandra Said,
December 14, 2009 @ 8:58 pm
If Jenny McCarthy was truthful about her son’s diagnosis, then why has she totally ignored the fact he has a seizure disorder and instead hijacked the autism label? Has anyone else noticed she NEVER talks about his seizures, though they are the PRIMARY problem? Why then is she obsessed with talking about autism and NOT epilepsy? Well, it’s not difficult folks…it’s because she saw her moment of opportunity to make a big name for herself by infiltrating the autism community….even though her son isn’t truly autistic…..she has since taken all the stories of other mums with autistic children and speaks as if she’s with them…..though she only had a two year experience with seizures that somehow became autism….I think it’s really interesting that she never speaks about epilepsy nor advocates for epilepsy education,but is hyperfocused on stories about autism healing….hmmmmmmm must be a better platform for her to push her ester hicks laws of attraction and power of now thinking and belief system…
Chris Said,
December 16, 2009 @ 9:28 pm
To pile on the Jenny McCarthy seizure story: she blames the seizures on the MMR vaccine. Yet his seizures started when he was well over two years old, a full year after he had the vaccine in question.
I believe she does not do any epilepsy advocacy because she is in denial. First the child was an Indigo or Crystal kid, now he is autistic.
Unfortunately, the reality is that many seizures occur for no known reason.
My son’s seizures occured when he was just a couple of days old. Even with a CAT-scan, several EEGs, and being looked at by a couple neurologists, no reason was ever found for his seizures. There was a reason when he became ill as a toddler with a now vaccine preventable disease.
Jennifer Said,
January 5, 2010 @ 1:39 pm
A little late to this thread, but Jenny also rarely mentions that her son was oxygen deprived at birth and suffered from brain damaged. “Indigo” child indeed.