By Richard Hooper Face the Facts, BBC Radio 4

Children with autism are "falling prey to untested approaches" to the disorder, a leading charity has said.

The National Autistic Society said therapies with no supporting evidence were being sold to parents.

The warning comes after a BBC investigation found the use of dietary supplements and biomedical therapies being widely touted as a treatment.

There is no cure for autism and current best practice involves the use of behavioural and educational therapies.

BBC Radio 4's Face the Facts programme found that treatments, for which medicines regulator NICE says there is no clinical evidence, are readily available in the UK including:

Total cost of treatment, care and support is more then heart disease, cancer and strokes combined

• London School of Economics and Political Science revealed high costs
• An estimated 600,000 children and adults in the UK are said to be affected
• Quarter of sufferers unable to talk, and 85 per cent do not work full time

By JENNY HOPE

Monique Blakemore from Manchester UK has Asperger’s Syndrome and is an autism advocate for others on the autistic spectrum and for families supporting autistic individuals. She has two young sons who are both on the autistic spectrum.

Monique is an active campaigner, advocate and coach. Earlier this year she facilitated Autism Bubble Day of which more information can be read here and which was endorsed by The World Autism Organisation.

Monique is also Mentor and Specialist Advocate for autistic parents in care proceedings that are trying to obtain correct educational provision for their children.

Monique was employed as Employment Development Consultant covering Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire for a charity that provided employment coaching to adults with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC).

The first of two Autism and the Criminal Justice System (CJS) Project conferences was held on 19 September 2013 at Greater Manchester Police Training Centre, Sedgley Park.

Those attending included members of the judiciary, barristers, solicitors, senior police officers, intermediaries, social care commissioners, victim support advisors, psychiatrists, psychologists, representatives from the Department of Health and the Ministry of Justice and representatives from autism charities.

TrackingCentral Pty. Ltd, a Brisbane based company supplies a miniature GPS Personal Location device called CareTracker which is used by carers or family members to locate a loved one in the event they wander off or become lost.

The CareTracker is the size of a match box and can be carried in a pocket or backpack or else securely attached to the wrist / ankle or clothing. The CareTracker has a battery life of up to 20 days.

Scientists are testing the theory that intelligent parents are fuelling the rise in the number of autistic children.

A team of researchers at Cambridge University is exploring the link between high-achieving parents, such as engineers, scientists and computer programmers, and the development of their children.

Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, director of the Autism Research Centre at the university, said there were signs that adults who work in science and maths-based jobs were more likely to have autistic children.

A test that’s correct nine times out of ten is 90 per cent accurate, right? Sometimes not, says Professor Ian Stewart.

By Ian Stewart, Published: 14 Oct 2010

report from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2007

Summary