Alternative Therapies For Developmental and Learning Disabilities - Prevalence

Prevalence

From 12% to 64% of families of a child with ADHD use an alternative therapy, with the lower estimates likely come from narrower definitions of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). School teachers, family and friends are the most common source of suggestion of alternative therapies for ADHD. In 2003, 64 percent of families of a child with special health care needs reported that they use alternative therapies. These therapies included spiritual healing, massage, chiropractic, herbs and special diets, homeopathy, self hypnosis and other methods of complementary and alternative medicine. The need for an alternative therapy was related to the child's condition and to its evaluation as repairable or not. A 2008 study found that about 40% of Hong Kong children with autism spectrum disorder were treated with CAM, with the most popular therapies being acupuncture, sensory integration therapy, and Chinese herbology; the 40% is a lower prevalence than in Canada and the U.S., where biological-based therapies such as special diets predominate. In the U.S. CAM is used by an estimated 20–40% of healthy children, 30–70% of children with special health care needs, and 52–95% of children with autism, and a 2009 survey of U.S. primary care physicians found that more of them recommended than discouraged multivitamins, essential fatty acids, melatonin, and probiotics as CAM treatments for autism.