Parent Ratings of Behavioral Effects of Biomedical Interventions

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ARI Publ. 34/April 2002

PARENT RATINGS OF BEHAVIORAL EFFECTSOF BIOMEDICAL INTERVENTIONS

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

The parents of autistic children 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 autistic children. The following data have been collected from the more than 21,500 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.” There are three sections: Drugs, Biomedical/Non-Drug/Supplements, and Special Diets. Click here to download a one-page Adobe (.pdf) file containing all three sections.

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BIOMEDICAL/NON-DRUG/SUPPLEMENTS

SPECIAL DIETS

DRUGS

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

GotWorseA NoEffect GotBetter Better:Worse No. ofCasesB

Aderall 39% 28% 34% 0.9:1 285

Amphetamine 47% 28% 25% 0.5:1 1174

Anafranil 31% 37% 31% 1.0:1 351

Antibiotics 30% 59% 11% 0.4:1 1617

AntifungalsC: Diflucan

7%

42%

51%

7.2:1

185

AntifungalsC: Nystatin

5%

48%

47%

10:1

727

Atarax 26% 53% 21% 0.8:1 443

Benadryl 24% 51% 25% 1.1:1 2512

Beta Blocker 18% 49% 33% 1.8:1 236

Buspar 26% 45% 30% 1.2:1 281

Chloral Hydrate 41% 37% 22% 0.5:1 375

Clonidine 21% 31% 48% 2.2:1 1090

Clozapine 44% 39% 16% 0.4:1 79

Cogentin 19% 53% 28% 1.4:1 149

Cylert 45% 35% 21% 0.5:1 580

Deanol 15% 55% 29% 1.9:1 195

Depakene: Behavior 25% 43% 32% 1.3:1 871

Depakene: Seizures 12% 30% 57% 4.6:1 569

Desipramine 38% 25% 38% 1.0:1 61

Dilantin: Behavior 28% 48% 24% 0.9:1 1049

Dilantin: Seizures 14% 36% 51% 3.8:1 377

Felbatol 26% 45% 29% 1.1:1 38

Fenfluramine 21% 51% 28% 1.4:1 453

Halcion 37% 30% 33% 0.9:1 43

Haldol 37% 27% 35% 0.9:1 1119

IVIG 13% 45% 42% 3.2:1 31

Klonapin: Behavior 28% 33% 38% 1.4:1 156

Klonapin: Seizures 38% 50% 12% 0.3:1 26

Lithium 27% 42% 31% 1.1:1 384

Luvox 28% 36% 37% 1.3:1 120

Mellaril 28% 38% 33% 1.2:1 2023

Mysoline: Behavior 44% 40% 15% 0.3:1 131

Mysoline: Seizures 19% 58% 23% 1.2:1 57

Naltrexone 22% 46% 32% 1.5:1 200

Paxil 27% 28% 45% 1.7:1 192

Phenergan 30% 44% 26% 0.9:1 244

Phenobarbitol: Behavior 47% 37% 16% 0.3:1 1052

Phenobarbitol: Seizures 17% 43% 40% 2.4:1 458

Prolixin 34% 34% 33% 1.0:1 83

Prozac 31% 33% 36% 1.2:1 975

Risperidal 19% 28% 53% 2.8:1 401

Ritalin 44% 26% 29% 0.7:1 3540

Secretin: Intravenous

8%

43%

49%

6.2:1

217

Secretin: Transdermal 12% 47% 41% 3.6:1 78

Stelazine 28% 44% 27% 1.0:1 415

Tegretol: Behavior 24% 45% 31% 1.3:1 1345

Tegretol: Seizures 12% 33% 55% 4.5:1 721

Thorazine 36% 40% 24% 0.7:1 897

Tofranil 30% 37% 33% 1.1:1 698

Valium 36% 41% 23% 0.7:1 788

Zarontin: Behavior 34% 43% 22% 0.7:1 129

Zarontin: Seizures 21% 51% 29% 1.4:1 87

Zoloft 33% 31% 36% 1.1:1 212

BIOMEDICAL/NON-DRUG/SUPPLEMENTS

GotWorseA NoEffect GotBetter Better:Worse No. ofCasesB

Vitamin A

2%

59%

39%

22:1

334

CalciumD 2% 62% 35% 14:1 988

Cod Liver Oil 3% 51% 46% 14:1 411

Colostrum 6% 58% 37% 6.7:1 163

Detox. (Chelation)

3%

28%

70%

27:1

116

Digestive Enzymes 4% 44% 52% 14:1 314

Di-methyl-glycine (DMG) 7% 51% 42% 5.9:1 4547

Fatty Acids 4% 44% 51% 12:1 299

5 HTP 11% 55% 35% 3.3:1 66

Folic Acid 4% 55% 41% 11:1 1100

Food Allergy Treatment 4% 37% 59% 14:1 290

Magnesium 6% 65% 29% 5.2:1 288

MelatoninE 10% 33% 57% 5.9:1 302

Pepcid 9% 61% 30% 3.2:1 64

SAMe 25% 46% 29% 1.1:1 28

St. s Wort 11% 67% 22% 2.0:1 46

Tri-methyl-glycine (TMG) 14% 42% 44% 3.1:1 182

Transfer Factor 18% 51% 31% 1.7:1 39

Vitamin B3 5% 55% 41% 9.0:1 487

Vitamin B6 alone 7% 64% 29% 4.1:1 590

Vitamin B6 & Magnesium 4% 49% 46% 11.1:1 5079

Vitamin C 2% 59% 39% 16:1 1306

Zinc 3% 55% 43% 17:1 835

SPECIAL DIETS

GotWorseA NoEffect GotBetter Better:Worse No. ofCasesB

Candida Diet 3% 45% 52% 18:1 605

Feingold Diet

2%

47%

51%

23:1

645

Gluten- /Casein-Free Diet

4%

33%

64%

18:1

724

Removed Chocolate

1%

50%

49%

36:1

1491

Removed Eggs

2%

61%

37%

21:1

882

Removed MilkProducts/Dairy

2%

51%

48%

30:1

4950

Removed Sugar

2%

51%

47%

24:1

3392

Removed Wheat

2%

53%

46%

26:1

2701

Rotation Diet

2%

50%

47%

20:1

678

A. “Worse” refers only to worse behavior. Drugs, but not nutrients, typically also cause physical problems if used long-term.B. No. of cases is cumulative over several decades, so does not reflect current usage levels (e.g., Haldol is now seldom used).C. Antifungal drugs are used only if autism is thought to be yeast-related.D. Calcium effects are not due to dairy-free diet; statistics are similar for milk drinkers and non-milk drinkers.E. Caution: While melatonin can benefit sleep and behavior, its long-term effects on puberty are unknown. Visit the ARN Homepage! http://www.geocities.com/ARNFL