Patterns of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Children and Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Background: This study investigates the utilization of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practices, perceived benefits, and etiological beliefs among children and young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their families. Methods: This exploratory cross-sectional study included 136 participants (mean age 8.9 years; 72.8% male). Data were collected using questionnaires completed by parents regarding CAM utilization patterns, etiological beliefs, and primary information sources. To identify the predictors associated with the lack of parents' perceived benefit from CAM methods, a logistic regression model was utilized among CAM users (n = 124), adjusting for selected clinical, sociodemographic, and informational variables. Results: A high prevalence of CAM use was identified, with 91.2% of participants reporting the use of at least one method. The most common practices were prayer (62.5%), vitamin/mineral supplementation (51.5%), and dietary supplements (44.1%). CAM preferences appeared to vary across developmental stages. Furthermore, logistic regression analysis revealed that child age was the only significant predictor for parents reporting no perceived benefit from CAM; each one-year increase significantly decreased the odds of perceiving no benefit (OR = 0.838; 95% CI, 0.762-0.921; P = .001). Sociodemographic variables and primary information sources did not significantly predict this outcome. Conclusions: CAM utilization is widespread and highly dynamic among families of children with ASD. The perceived lack of benefit is significantly associated with younger child age, likely reflecting unmet high expectations during the early post-diagnostic period. These findings highlight the psychosocial nature of CAM use and emphasize the crucial role of professionals in maintaining open dialogues to provide safe, cost-effective, and evidence-based guidance.