Dietary, complementary and alternative therapies

Abstract

Few treatments for autism generate as much controversy and consternation among families and caregivers than the group of treatments considered as complementary and alternative medical (CAM) treatments. Evidence-based practice should guide all treatments used for symptoms of autism, including behavioral, educational, medical biologic or complementary therapies. All interventions should be held to the same standards of evidence. This chapter discusses commonly used CAM therapies, reports the prevalence for use in children, reviews the factors promoting its use, and discusses the evidence-based evaluation of efficacy of treatments. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.