New Autism Charity to Test Treatment Claims

Awares.org and the The Scotsman – Edinburgh,Scotland,UK are reporting that a new charity today pledged to investigate the “exaggerated and misleading claims” of some of the hundreds of treatments available for people with autism.

The Autism Intervention Research Trust is to fund research into the effectiveness of interventions to find out which work, which do not and which are potentially hazardous. Read on for more.
There are many different treatments on offer for the 500,000 Britons with autism or similar conditions.

Some claim to offer a cure, while others promise to improve communication, interaction or the sensory disorders that many people with autism experience.

The interventions available include medication and education programmes, changes to a person’s diet or environment, and even swimming with dolphins.

However, the new Trust’s honorary secretary Richard Mills said that while many were very expensive, very few had actually been scientifically examined.

He said the Trust would attempt to establish which were “quack” treatments and which were effective.

“Hundreds of interventions are available, but very, very few have been independently evaluated and that is where the Trust comes in,” said Mr Mills, who is also the National Autistic Society’s director of research.

“We want to give parents and professionals peace of mind that the treatment route they are preparing to go down has been scientifically evaluated before they waste money and effort on approaches which could either be a waste of time, or in some cases hazardous.

“Some of these things are very expensive, with no back up evidence to support them. We are planning to raise significant amounts of money to evaluate most of the interventions currently in use.”

Trust chairman Geoffrey Maddrell said: “Hundreds of treatments and other methods of intervention are available but few have been scientifically evaluated and there are still large numbers for whom there is currently no effective help.

“In many instances, exaggerated or misleading claims are made for specific approaches.

“In the UK, only 8% of autism research activity is currently concerned with intervention and the new research trust has been established to address this vital need“.

Health Minister Stephen Ladyman added the Government’s backing to the new charity’s work.

“We recognise the importance of good quality research into autism and welcome all initiatives which aim to improve our knowledge and understanding of autistic spectrum disorders,” he said.

“We wish the Autism Intervention Research Trust every success in their work.”