Autism Spectrum Disorder: When There is no Cure, There are Countless of Treatments

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Saral D., Olçay S., Öztürk H.

JOURNAL OF AUTISM AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS, vol.53, pp.4901-4916, 2023 (SSCI)

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 53
  • Publication Date: 2023
  • Doi Number: 10.1007/s10803-022-05745-2
  • Journal Name: JOURNAL OF AUTISM AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, ASSIA, PASCAL, BIOSIS, Child Development & Adolescent Studies, CINAHL, EBSCO Education Source, Education Abstracts, Educational research abstracts (ERA), ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Linguistics & Language Behavior Abstracts, Psycinfo, Public Affairs Index
  • Page Numbers: pp.4901-4916
  • Hacettepe University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

We investigated parent reports of use of special education and support services, use of evidence-based practices (EBPs), use of past and current complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments, non-use of CAM treatments, willingness, and unwillingness to use CAM treatments, reasons for use and non-use of CAM treatments, and perceptions of EBPs and CAM treatments in their children’s functioning. We collected data from a total of 166 parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) through a web-based survey. 94% of the parents reported lifetime use of at least one CAM treatment. Parents weighed on a wide variety of factors in decision-making. CAM treatments use was positively associated with parental educational level, length of time since ASD diagnosis, and child’s ASD severity.