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. 2018 May;48(5):1803-1818.
doi: 10.1007/s10803-017-3432-6.

Parents' Use of Complementary Health Approaches for Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Olivia J Lindly  1   2 , Sheryl Thorburn  3 , Karen Heisler  4 , Nuri M Reyes  5 , Katharine E Zuckerman  6
Affiliations

Parents' Use of Complementary Health Approaches for Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Olivia J Lindly et al. J Autism Dev Disord. 2018 May.

Abstract

Knowledge of why parents use complementary health approaches (CHA) for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is limited. We conducted a mixed methods study to better understand factors influencing parents' decision to use CHA for ASD. Parent-reported data about CHA use were collected on a probability sample of 352 young children with ASD in Denver, Colorado; Los Angeles, California; or Portland, Oregon. Follow-back interviews were conducted with 31 parents. CHA use was negatively associated with older child age and positively associated with parents' belief ASD has major consequences, living in Portland or Denver, and medication use. Nine themes help explain these results. Study findings may have utility for healthcare providers working with children with ASD and their families regarding CHA.

Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; Complementary and alternative medicine; Complementary health approaches; Mixed methods research.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: All authors declare they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

None
Conceptual framework (adapted from Fouladbakhsh & Stommel, 2007)
Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Percentage of children with autism spectrum disorder aged 2–10 years who used no, one, two, three, four, or five or more complementary health approaches as reported in the survey.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Type of complementary health approaches used by children with autism spectrum disorder aged 2–10 years, as reported in the survey.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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