I guessed right about the therapy study announcement from the USAAA conference in Boulder Colorado this week. Dr. Dan Rossignol released the findings of a study in which autistic children are reported to have made significant improvements in speech, versus those in a control group, after receiving 40 treatments in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. The improvements are said to include more language, new words, more words put into sentences and improvements in cognition. If the Lovaas 1987 study is any guide this study will undoubtedly receive intense scrutiny; some from professional sources and some from those with a more ideological bent.
A report on CBS4 from Denver tells of the Wrangham family of Boulder whose 16 year old daughter Rachel has an autism spectrum disorder and whose family has purchased a $15,000 hyperbaric oxygen chamber for their home and who report language gains from using the Chamber. Rachel herself reports that the chamber treatment has helped her organize her thoughts. As the CBS4 report indicates "Doctors believe the hyperbaric oxygen therapy helps children with autism by increasing blood flow to areas of the brain which may have lower levels of oxygen than in typical children.The hyperbaric oxygen therapy has also been found to help with sleep and intestinal problems often associated with autism.
http://cbs4denver.com/health/local_story_223173252.html
I could guess the author would be Rossignol. Because nobody else has reported in PubMed hyperbaric oxygen therapy for autism.
ReplyDeleteNow, his results have to be confirmed by other authors.
Yes, that is the process.
ReplyDeleteAre you opposed to scientific research into autism cures as a matter of principle?