Efficacy and Validity of Alternative Treatments as a Supplement to Autism Spectrum Disorder Traditional Treatments

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been gaining attention in the occupational therapy field throughout the past decade. Studies have shown that ASD has the high prevalence of 62 in every 10,000 children (Levy & Hyman, 2003). There has been increasing clinical treatments as well as public desire for alternative treatments for ASD, including diet, exercise, and other techniques. Although many parents have used these alternative treatments for children with ASD (Levy & Hyman, 2003), their effectiveness is unclear. Families that learn about alternative treatments from one another do not necessarily learn the effects and possible side effects of them (Wong, 2008). This presentation brings together literature on alternative therapies and evaluates their effectiveness in treatment of ASDs