Research on only one treatment is rigorous enough to earn an A grade

Image: Photograph by Joi, courtesy Flickr

By Nancy Shute October 7, 2010

Parents who research treatments for autism are confronted with a bewildering array of options, almost all of which have never been tested for safety and effectiveness. Organizations like The Cochrane Collaboration, which reviews the quality of evidence for medical treatments, are putting more effort into evaluating popular alternative treatments.

So far, the most comprehensive review of alternative autism treatments comes from two pediatricians: Susan Hyman of the University of Rochester School of Medicine Golisano Children's Hospital at Strong and Susan Levy, a clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Their 2008 analysis gave each treatment a letter grade for the quality of the research conducted up to that point; the mark, however, is not a ranking of the treatment's safety or effectiveness.

When girls with symptoms of autism or ADHD seek professional medical help, their problems are often played down or misinterpreted, and there is a real risk that they will not get the help or support they need. As such, more training is needed in this area, particularly in the public sector, reveals a thesis from the University of Gothenburg.

Maureen S. Durkin, et. al.

Abstract

Background

This study was designed to evaluate the hypothesis that the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among children in the United States is positively associated with socioeconomic status (SES).

Methods

The presentation below was given at APAC'09 in Sydney. Among other things, it shows the growing number of children whose family get's Carer Allowance (that is, children who have been formally diagnosed with Autistic or Asperger's Disorders and also registered to receive Carer Allowance).

Previously, a paper on autism prevalence in Australia was published in the peer reviewed proceedings of the 2004 Biennial Australian Autism conference (see http://a4.org.au/sites/default/files/buckley_submit2.pdf).

CHICAGO — Leo Lytel was diagnosed with autism as a toddler. But by age 9 he had overcome the disorder.

His progress is part of a growing body of research that suggests at least 10 percent of children with autism can "recover" from it — most of them after undergoing years of intensive behavioral therapy.

Skeptics question the phenomenon, but University of Connecticut psychology professor Deborah Fein is among those convinced it's real.

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