Everyone Healthy Library
Autism
Condition / disease reference page from the Everyone Healthy database.
Connected health information
Explore this condition in a clear order
Condition overview
Attributes
Incidenceis approximately 1 in 67 people
Linked signs and symptoms
6Each sign/symptom opens its own page and links back to related conditions.
Linked drugs / medications
5Medication information is educational only. A doctor or pharmacist should advise whether any medicine is appropriate.
Treatments, therapies and supportive options
13Grouped by treatment type. These are educational database links, not personal treatment recommendations. Evidence labels are shown only where stored in the EH database.
Lifestyle changes
1Behavioural changes
1Counselling and support
5Alternative and complementary therapies
3Vitamins and minerals
1Vitamins
1Linked diagnostic tests and investigations
0No linked diagnostic tests are listed yet.
Biological and test markers
0This visual map uses existing EH database links to show biological agents and lab markers reported as increased, decreased, or associated with this condition. These are educational relationships only; test results must be interpreted by a qualified clinician because ranges vary by lab, method, age, sex and clinical context.
No biological marker links are listed yet for this condition.
Introduction / full article
Autism
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 of the 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 RECOMENDED
Recommendation: Strongly against (available evidence shows that HBOT is in no way useful in treating Autism, and can have harmful effects. NOT RECOMENDED)
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 to those that have autism, particularly children)
Grade of Evidence: Low level of evidence
* www.gradeworkinggroup.org
Summary References
Treatments:
1. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/vitamin-d
2. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/o/cochrane/clsysrev/articles/CD006164/frame.html
3. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10824056
4. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jcb.10338/abstract
5. http://pain-topics.org/pdf/vitamind-report.pdf
6. http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1185/030079908X253519
7. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/article756975.ece
8. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17556697
9. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18065602
10. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/vitamind.html
11. http://jmt.oxfordjournals.org/content/41/2/90.short
12. https://autismsciencefoundation.wordpress.com/2013/08/30/music-therapy-may-help-children-with-autism/
13. http://www.coastmusictherapy.com/how-music-helps/autism-research/
14. http://www.ebp-slp.com/pdfs/music-therapy/EmotionalandMotivational-MT.pdf