Biomedical Treatments for Autism

Saturday, November 1, and Sunday, November 2, 2008 there will be a conference in Weston, Massachusetts titled “Successful Inclusion in School & Community” organized by Autism Conferences of America.

It looks interesting and I would like to see “Learning Social Skills Through Play: Life’s Most Important Skill Made Fun!” by Rick Clemens, MA, and would love to see “Biomedical Treatments for Autism from A to Zinc” by Nancy O’Hara, MD. Unfortunately $95 to listen to two lecture is a bit steep for me, so I’ll have to pass.

However, the conference web site also includes a pdf of an article titled “Summary of Biomedical Treatments for Autism” written by James B. Adams, Ph.D., which sounds very interesting. James B. Adams is Full Professor in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at Arizona State University, and Director of the Autism/Asperger’s Research Program.

The Autism/Asperger’s Research Program site includes a pdf of another publication – “Pilot Study of a Moderate Dose Multivitamin/Mineral Supplement for Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder,” by James B. Adams, Ph.D. and Charles Holloway, B.S. published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine in 2004.

By the way, The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine is the official journal of the International Society for Complementary Medicine Research and the Society for Acupuncture Research. It is a peer-reviewed journal, it has an editorial board, and the publisher’s web page on Manuscript Submission says “A primary goal of this international peer-reviewed journal is the establishment of rigorous and appropriate research methodologies.” The Editor-in-Chief is Kim A. Jobst, MA, DM, MRCP, MFHom, DipAc, and a Visiting Professor in Healthcare & Integrated Medicine at Oxford Brookes University. 

Now, the developmental pediatrician that tracks my son says the studies so far do not prove whether it’s the nutritional deficiencies that cause autism or it’s the autism that causes nutritional deficiencies. But she did give us a referral to see a nutritionist.

In the meantime, I wonder whether I should ditch the regular vitamins for two months and try to enroll our son in the National Vitamin/Mineral Study for Children & Adults with Autism at the ASU’s Autism/Asperger’s Research Program to see what happens. Of course, there’s the risk that he’d be on the placebo and we personally would not benefit from this study.