Dr. Law's Letter to ResearchersTreatments and OutcomesDespite the relative lack of evidence for treatments for Autism Spectrum Disorders, families are using a vast array of treatments. An adage in medicine states that the number of treatments in use is inversely proportional to the efficacy of treatments. Proving that the therapies we use work and/or developing new therapies will be no simple task. At IAN Research, we collect data directly from parents about what treatments and therapies their child is receiving. Because ASDs have no medical (or other) institutional home, parents are the best source of such information. A parent may have his/her child on a diet therapy recommended by a diet specialist, on occupational or physical therapy through an autism center, on seizure medications prescribed by a neurologist, and be trying vitamins on their own. It is likely only the parent who will be aware of each and every one of these. We will ask parents to record the name of each therapy their child is receiving, the start date, who prescribed it, and what the expectations were for therapy. On a quarterly basis, we will ask parents to answer a short list of questions about their perceptions of the benefits and side effects or untoward outcomes. We will also ask them questions when they stop a therapy. These questions will get at why they stopped, what their experience was, and whether they would recommend the treatment to another family based on their experience. This data set will be of great use for researchers and will enable the following research activities:
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