Families with Autism Helping Families with Autism
Autism Research Institute

www.autismwebsite.com/ari/treatment/form34q.htm

February 2006

PARENT RATINGS OF BEHAVIORAL EFFECTS OF BIOMEDICAL INTERVENTIONS

Autism Research Institute
4182 Adams Avenue, San Diego, CA 92116 USA

The parents of children affected by autism represent a vast and important reservoir of information on the benefits—and adverse effects— of the large variety of drugs and other interventions that have been tried with their children. Since 1967 the Autism Research Institute has been collecting parent ratings of the usefulness of the many interventions tried on their children with autism.

The following data have been collected from the more than 24,578 parents who have completed our questionnaires designed to collect such information. For the purposes of the present table, the parents responses on a six-point scale have been combined into three categories: “made worse” (ratings 1 and 2), “no effect” (ratings 3 and 4), and “made better” (ratings 5 and 6). The “Better:Worse” column gives the number of children who “Got Better” for each one who “Got Worse.”

DRUGS

Note: For seizure drugs: The first line shows the drug’s behavioral effects; the second line shows the drug's effects on seizures.

 

Got
Worse A

No
Effect

Got
Better

Better:
Worse

No. of
Cases B

Aderall

41%

26%

34%

0.8:1

589

Amphetamine

47%

28%

25%

0.5:1

1248

Anafranil

32%

38%

31%

1.0:1

386

Antibiotics

32%

55%

13%

0.4:1

1915

Antifungals C: Diflucan

5%

42%

52%

9.7:1

409

Antifungals C: Nystatin

5%

46%

49%

9.2:1

1095

Atarax

26%

53%

22%

0.8:1

489

Benadryl

24%

51%

25%

1.1:1

2809

Beta Blocker

17%

51%

32%

1.8:1

265

Buspar

26%

44%

30%

1.1:1

350

Chloral Hydrate

42%

38%

20%

0.5:1

431

Clonidine

21%

31%

48%

2.2:1

1363

Clozapine

38%

43%

19%

0.5:1

129

Cogentin

19%

54%

27%

1.4:1

167

Cylert

45%

35%

20%

0.4:1

608

Deanol

15%

56%

29%

2.0:1

202

Depakene D: Behavior:

26%

43%

31%

1.2:1

992

Depakene D: Seizures

12%

33%

56%

4.7:1

651

Desipramine

36%

31%

33%

0.9:1

72

Dilantin D: Behavior

28%

49%

23%

0.8:1

1087

Dilantin D: Seizures

14%

36%

50%

3.4:1

408

Felbatol

22%

52%

26%

1.2:1

46

Fenfluramine

20%

52%

28%

1.4:1

465

Halcion

39%

37%

24%

0.6:1

59

Haldol

38%

27%

34%

0.9:1

1169

IVIG

8%

46%

46%

5.4:1

59

Klonapin D: Behavior

28%

38%

34%

1.2:1

207

Klonapin D: Seizures

30%

54%

16%

0.5:1

50

Lithium

25%

44%

31%

1.2:1

424

Luvox

30%

36%

34%

1.1:1

181

Mellaril

29%

38%

33%

1.2:1

2070

Mysoline D: Behavior

42%

44%

14%

0.3:1

140

Mysoline D: Seizures

21%

57%

22%

1.1:1

68

Naltrexone

20%

46%

34%

1.7:1

234

Paxil

30%

32%

38%

1.3:1

336

Phenergan

30%

46%

24%

0.8:1

278

Phenobarbital D: Behavior

47%

37%

16%

0.3:1

1090

Phenobarbital D: Seizures

18%

43%

39%

2.2:1

495

Prolixin

31%

40%

29%

09:1

93

Prozac

31%

33%

37%

1.2:1

1181

Risperidal

18%

27%

55%

3.0:1

780

Ritalin

44%

26%

29%

0.7:1

3921

Secretin: Intravenous

7%

46%

47%

6.5:1

376

Secretin: Transdermal

11%

50%

39%

3.6:1

157

Stelazine

29%

45%

27%

0.9:1

424

Tegretol D: Behavior

25%

45%

31%

1.2:1

1456

Tegretol D: Seizures

13%

33%

55%

4.3:1

794

Thorazine

36%

40%

24%

0.7:1

922

Tofranil

30%

38%

32%

1.1:1

726

Valium

35%

41%

24%

0.7:1

834

Zarontin D: Behavior

36%

43%

20%

0.6:1

143

Zarontin D: Seizures

20%

53%

27%

1.3:1

98

Zoloft

32%

34%

34%

1.1:1

368

BIOMEDICAL/NON-DRUG/SUPPLEMENTS

 

Got
Worse A

No
Effect

Got
Better

Better:
Worse

No. of
Cases B

Vitamin A

2%

59%

40%

23:1

803

Calcium E:

3%

62%

36%

14:1

1636

Cod Liver Oil

4%

47%

49%

12:1

1093

Cod Liver Oil with Bethanecol

11%

50%

39%

3.4:1

80

Colostrum

6%

58%

36%

6.5:1

428

Detox. (Chelation) C:

3%

22%

75%

27:1

470

Digestive Enzymes

3%

39%

58%

18:1

979

DMG

8%

51%

42%

5.5:1

5367

Fatty Acids

2%

43%

54%

23:1

804

5 HTP

13%

52%

36%

2.7:1

200

Folic Acid

4%

54%

42%

11:1

1613

Food Allergy Treatment

3%

35%

62%

22:1

684

Magnesium

6%

65%

29%

4.6:1

301

Melatonin

9%

29%

62%

7.0:1

720

P5P (Vit. B6)

13%

37%

51%

4.0:1

318

Pepcid

10%

62%

28%

2.8:1

120

SAMe

17%

65%

18%

1.1:1

93

St. Johns Wort

17%

65%

18%

1.1:1

107

TMG

14%

44%

42%

3.0:1

571

Transfer Factor

10%

50%

40%

4.0:1

119

Vitamin B3

4%

54%

41%

9.3:1

746

Vitamin B6 alone

8%

63%

30%

3.9:1

620

Vitamin B6 with Magnesium

4%

48%

47%

11:1

6079

Vitamin B12

4%

33%

62%

14:1

445

Vitamin C

2%

56%

41%

17:1

1938

Zinc

3%

49%

48%

18:1

1486

SPECIAL DIETS

 

Got
Worse A

No
Effect

Got
Better

Better:
Worse

No. of
Cases B

Candida Diet

3%

43%

54%

18:1

811

Feingold Diet

2%

44%

54%

24:1

797

Gluten- /Casein-Free Diet

3%

32%

65%

20:1

1818

Removed Chocolate

2%

49%

49%

28:1

1846

Removed Eggs

2%

57%

40%

17:1

1199

Removed Milk Products/Dairy

2%

48%

50%

32:1

5847

Removed Sugar

2%

50%

48%

24:1

3862

Removed Wheat

2%

49%

49%

27:1

3367

Rotation Diet

2%

48%

49%

20:1

831

A. “Worse” refers only to worse behavior. Drugs, but not nutrients, typically also cause physical problems if used long-term.

B. Number of cases is cumulative over several decades, so does not reflect current usage levels (e.g., Haldol is now seldom used).

C. Antifungal drugs and chelation are used selectively, where evidence indicates they are needed.

D. Seizure drugs: top line behavior effects, bottom line effects on seizures

E. Calcium effects are not due to dairy-free diet; statistics are similar for milk drinkers and non-milk drinkers.

SPECIAL THANKS TO AUTISM RESEARCH INSTITUTE (ARI) FOR THEIR PERMISSION TO PROVIDING THESE RESULTS TO YOU, FOR THEIR TIRELESS AND WONDERFUL WORK FOR CHILDREN WITH AUTISM! I COULD NOT IMAGINE LIFE WITHOUT THEM AND THEIR INFLUENCE!! GOD BLESS DR. RIMLAND!

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