I regularly see, and hear about, ‘treatments for autism’ and how parents will try anything to try and help the child they love so dearly. For me, telling a parent a treatment will cure their child’s autism without the scientific evidence to support such claims in on a par with telling a recently bereaved parent, or widow, that they can contact their love one through a Medium or psychic…the person delivering said treatment is, as Tim Minchin would say, “lying, or mentally ill”. Not only can these treatments be expensive and ineffective but they can also be harmful – both physically and mentally, and can even be life threatening. Look for the science, look for the evidence, because “Science adjusts it’s beliefs based on what’s observed; Faith is the denial of observation so that Belief can be preserved.”

This linked article is old but resonates a lot with me. I regularly come across autism ‘treatment packages’ which are not supported by science. Further, as I see more and more, I am a true believer of using a mixture of approaches to support a child. Every, single child is unique…and so their treatment should be approached as such.

How do we know if what we’re doing is useful? Data!! And we adapt and adjust accordingly.

Tim Minchin talks about this in his poem, named ‘Storm’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhGuXCuDb1U