Treating With Medication
One of the most common ways of treating children with autism is by using medication. Like many other chronic medical conditions, autism has given rise to a parade of so-called miracle cures. Up to this date no cure has been found for the underlying biological cause or causes of autism. Many medications have appeared to have dramatic effects in small numbers of children, only to be proven ineffective in larger, more objective trials.
Several medications are effective for treating specific problems that arise as part of autism. For example, certain medications can help reduce a child’s tendency to obsess about particular things or ideas. Other medications may ease problems of inattentiveness or explosive behaviors.
Each of these medications has side effects that are mild in some children but severe in others. The only way to know whether any one medication will be helpful or harmful for a particular child is to try it. Essentially, parents and doctors together make educated guesses, based on all they know about the child involved and the various available medications, then observe carefully to see what happens.