Herbal medicine as a first-line choice of complementary medicine for South Indian parents/caregivers in the management of ASD children

Abstract

BackgroundParents/caregivers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) try different approaches to manage their child’s condition, of which one of the popular approaches is using Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) treatment. ObjectivesThe present study aimed to estimate the prevalence and describe the pattern of CAM usage in a tertiary care South Indian hospital. MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among the parents/caregivers of children with ASD to specifically report the usage of CAM in their children. Data was also collected about the type of CAM, source, reasons, expectations, effectiveness, harmful effects, and the treating pediatrician’s opinion on CAM usage. ResultsA total of 257 parents/caregivers of children with ASD participated in the study. 24.5% of the children were exposed to at least one CAM therapy. The most commonly given CAM therapy was herbal medicine (71.4%). Parents/caregivers tried CAM therapy as their children’s core symptoms of ASD did not show much improvement with the existing therapy (80.9%). They expected that CAM therapy would at least control the progression of the disability (61.9%). CAM usage did not produce any adverse effects (100%). The baseline characteristics between the CAM users and non-users were similar expect for gender, which showed a statistically significant difference (p = 0.008). About 55.5% of the parents/caregivers did not discuss the usage of CAM for their child with their treating pediatrician. ConclusionHerbal medicines are frequently given CAM to children with ASD in India. History of CAM therapy usage should be a part of the medication history interview.