Whats With These Really Odd Autism “treatments” ?
Question by : whats with these really odd autism “treatments” ?
i know that parents want hope for their autistic children , and i know there really isnt any real treatments. however i do not understand where people come up with these very weird autism “treatments” or “cures”.
here is a list of some really odd treatments i have read:
gluten free diet
non-fungal diet (diet without yeast)
probiotics
Lupron (depletes testosterone, it is a chemical castration drug)
milk free diet
anti-fungal medication
naltrexone (opioid receptor blocker)
chelation therapy (dangerous, people have died)
infrared sauna
i know why these are used: parents want hope. however where do people get these ideas? it cant all be blamed on marketing because half of the things on this list were never marketed for autistic people.
Best answer:
Answer by Shidash
Many autism organizations such as Defeat Autism Now (DAN) advocate the use of these things to treat autism. These organizations are able to take advantage of the desperation of parents. Unfortunately, there is no scientific evidence that any of this actually helps those with autism. Most of these have actually been shown to be very dangerous at worst or completely ineffective at best.
As for where they come from, my best idea is people trying to make money as well as some possible success in people with other conditions. For example, people on a GFCF (gluten free, milk free) diet may have an improvement in behavior after going on it because they are actually lactose intolerant or have Celiac’s Disease. Another possibility is parents thinking that something about their child has changed when it has remained the same, sort of like a perceived placebo effect. This then can lead to parents suggesting it to other parents and doctors marketing it as a cure to desperate parents. There are actually doctors affiliated with DAN who promote these sorts of treatments. It gets them more money and makes their patients happy.
Oral anti-fungal drug can treat skin cancer in patients, study shows
Decades of research and millions of dollars go into developing new cancer drugs from scratch. But what if the next cure is a pill that's already tucked away in a bottle at the local pharmacy? One such drug, a common anti-fungal treatment called …
Read more on Scope (blog)
Mundelein boy 'denied access' to life saving drug treatment
The following is a press release from The Isaac Foundation with details regarding a Mundelein child's illness and his family's efforts to persuade a pharmaceutical company to provide potentially life saving drug treatment. Read on for details …
Read more on Mundelein Review