Autism

Sign/Symptoms
Drugs
Treatments
Attributes
Incidence is approximately 1 in 67 people
Further Tests
Our Records are Incomplete for Further Tests

Autism

Autism is a disorder of neural development, typified by difficulties with social interaction, communication and restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour and interests. The outward signs of autism can vary greatly between individuals, but they all tend to appear during infancy or early childhood, and continue into adulthood.

While ethnicity, race, and socioeconomic status do not appear to affect the likelihood of autism in a child, boys have been found to be at considerably higher risk for autism than girls.

Efficacy of Alternative and Other Treatments According to GRADE* Ranking:

Vitamin D [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]

Please note, this management does not treat the condition itself. It may mildly help in preventing some symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present. Please note, this acts as a preventative treatment, and not necessarily symptomatic relief.

Recommendation: No recommendation. There is insufficient evidence to support claims that Vitamin D can help to prevent autism.

Grade of Evidence: Very low quality of evidence.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT)

Not recommended.

Recommendation: Strongly against. Available evidence shows that HBOT is not useful in treating autism and can have harmful effects.

Grade of Evidence: Moderate quality of evidence.

Music Therapy [11, 12, 13, 14]

Recommendation: Weakly in favor. Studies show that music therapy may be beneficial for people with autism, particularly children.

Grade of Evidence: Low level of evidence.

* www.gradeworkinggroup.org

Summary References

Treatments:

  1. American Cancer Society: Vitamin D
  2. Cochrane review: Vitamin D
  3. PubMed PMID: 10824056
  4. Wiley: Journal of Cellular Biochemistry abstract
  5. Vitamin D report
  6. Informa Healthcare article
  7. The Globe and Mail article
  8. PubMed PMID: 17556697
  9. PubMed PMID: 18065602
  10. MedlinePlus: Vitamin D
  11. Journal of Music Therapy article
  12. Autism Science Foundation: Music therapy may help children with autism
  13. Coast Music Therapy: Autism research
  14. Music therapy PDF

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