The researchers from the MIND Institute at the University Of California in Davis, CA, discovered large number of parents whose children have been diagnosed with autism and developmental delays use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treat their children.
The researchers’ surveyed 450 autistic kids aged 2 to 5 and 125 kids with developmental delays in California. The study showed that autistic kids used CAM at 40% and kids with delays used such therapies at 30%.
Although CAM is considered a new field of medicine, the therapies and medicines have been used for many years. Most commonly used products are dietary supplements, probiotics, and gluten and casein- free products. Studies showed that families regularly used acupuncture, meditation and mind-body therapies to help their children. A few families experimented with chelation therapy and Vitamin B12 injections.
While these families used the alternative medicines and therapies, they still used traditional medicines for treatment. The study was published in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics in January of this year.