A Parent's Guide to alternative treatments for children with autism

The man of fashion or warlock ancient medicine still exist? Remember the stories of selling snake oil charlatan by the side of the road? Have you been told about someone who can "cure" your child with autism? Have you been contacted by someone who says he can reverse the progression of the illness of his son? Have you found a website that promises new and exciting treatments to "fix" the condition of your child?

As a parent of a child on the autism spectrum, all these statements may seem attractive and something that desperately wants to believe in. It's bad enough when we are personally affected by an illness or disability of ours, but when it affects our most prized possession, our son, we tend to do almost anything to eliminate the disease and the challenges it entails.

Acceptance of a diagnosis of autism for their child is a hard pill to swallow and find a cure or at least the best treatment option, immediately becomes a target of the parents and the mission. As the degree of disability on the autism spectrum is so broad and so varied are the numbers of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) treatments.

The abundance of therapies and remedies available out there can be overwhelming and confusing to any parent. In addition to the long list of traditional treatments exist, there are many alternative treatments that are being promoted everywhere.

Many of these alternative treatments are not covered by insurance and expenses out of pocket money for something that does not work or may even aggravate the status of your child will not help anyone. Some treatments do not set out there that could help your son, but running on them without doing your homework first is not the best way to approach what could be a health problem or financial risk. So what should parents do?

Here are some tips to keep in mind when considering alternative treatments for your child:

Buyer beware! - Ask questions and get informed. Do some research as possible in order to become a wise consumer and make the decision of most knowledge possible. Time may be of the essence, but to rush into an alternative treatment can be a waste of time in the long run - to make an efficient and effective use of your time should be a priority. When dealing with any related health problems, it is always important to determine the potential risks and weigh carefully against the benefits promised.

Assess the resources they find. - Watch to see who is responsible for the information and what the qualifications of the person or organization has. If it's a website, determine that the sponsors of the site and assessing credibility. Universities, medical schools, government or public agencies and peer-reviewed journals tend to have most of the target sites. Beware of sites that simply have an opinion. Before being accepted as fact to find any convincing evidence to back it up.

Look for quality references. - If you are reviewing a website, search for links or references to other credible scientific organizations, books and papers. If the site is referred to other professionals, take the time to find a way to contact them or connect to their own websites to get an idea of the authority or standing, they have as professionals within the autism community .

Ask for an opinion. - If a provider is not willing to put in contact with someone who can give testimony to the effectiveness of the services they receive from them I urge you to think twice before committing. If they do present you with a contact person, make sure that there are frauds being tempted to give false positive reports. Make many detailed questions that only a receiver of the treatments we know is a great way to discover the impostors.

Request tests. - If the demands of a miracle cure or are doing, take note. Usually, the most spectacular and extravagant statement, the less likely it is accurate. If there is a scientific explanation provided as to how the treatment works, does it make sense? Because this is difficult for most non-professionals to discern, to seek concrete evidence in the form of a publication or study.

Find a doctor you can trust. - Be comfortable with your child's pediatrician is paramount. Find a doctor who is open to discuss all treatment options and is not threatened by his desire to get a second opinion is a good indicator that he or she has the child's best interest at heart. To check the physician's ability to practice their professional standing or conduct, be proactive and look to go to the licensing board for doctors in your state. The website makes any doctor looking DocFinder easy.

Remember, you always want to approach any large outlay of cash for medical intervention like you would any other financial investment. Using caution and common sense is the best thing you can do when investing in your own health or that of his son and future.