By: Ivanhoe Broadcast News

Many treatment plans include therapies like speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy, as well as alternative treatments like supplements and vitamins. Some treatments are researched and approved while others remain experimental and controversial.

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is currently the most comprehensive and proven approach to improving the lives of people with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs).

ABA is a science to understanding behavior, and for children with autism, that science is used to teach them language, social skills and other skills like reading and math. ABA therapists utilize consequences and rewards to increase desired behaviors. Therapists identify negative behaviors and analyze the cause. They then work to teach the child a more positive way to express himself as an alternative to the unwanted behavior.

Chelation therapy is the administering of drugs into the body to remove heavy metals from a person's system. Chelation has only been FDA-approved for the treatment of lead poisoning. All other uses are experimental and considered by many doctors to be dangerous.

Because of speculation that mercury exposed to children through vaccines may be a trigger for autism, chelation has recently gained attention as a potential treatment. However, there is no scientific support for chelation therapy as a treatment of autism. There is also speculation that chelation therapy may be a potential treatment for heart disease, but as is the case with autism, there is no scientific support behind those claims.

Gluten is a protein fraction found in all wheat, rye, barley and most oat products. Casein is a protein fraction found in all dairy products. Many autistic children show sensitivity to these two protein fractions.

The theory behind this is that they leak into the gut undigested and attach to the opiate receptors of the autistic child's brain.

Some doctors believe many autistic children are essentially "drugged" on wheat and milk products, as if they were on a morphine drip. Removing these two food groups from an autistic child's diet may prove beneficial for their overall health and developmental ability.

Source: http://www.news8austin.com/content/h...231442&SecID=2

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