Autism is a condition that, even in this modern age, is poorly understood. Children with the more severe forms of this disorder battle to operate according to established social norms. They’re often ostracized by their peers and their behavior is often misunderstood by adults as well.
Situations outside of their normal routine cause them a great deal of anxiety and make them act out. This is often misconstrued as misbehavior. What’s heart-breaking for parents is to see their child being treated insensitively for something that is beyond their control.
Worse still, there’s no known cure for the condition. There are ways to manage the symptoms more effectively, but there’s no magic pill that the child can take to make them go away completely.
Or Is There?
That is something that might change in the future, though. A study conducted by researchers in Israel in 2018 made some interesting findings. It was a small study consisting of 53 children at different stages along the autism spectrum. The children were given CBD oil on a daily basis for a minimum of 66 days.
The results were that:
· Rage attacks and self-jury: In 67.6% of the cases there was an improvement. In 8.8% of them, these symptoms worsened. The remaining 23.6% of cases showed no change.
· Hyperactivity: In 68.4% of the cases, hyperactivity decreased. In 2.6% of the cases, it increased. The remaining 29% showed no change.
· Sleep problems: In 71.4% of cases, there was a reduction in sleep problems. In 4.7% of the cases, sleep problems increased. The remaining 23.9% showed no change.
· Anxiety: In 47.1% of the cases, anxiety levels dropped. In 23.5% of the cases, anxiety levels increased. In 29.4%, there was no change.
Before You Start Dosing Your Child With CBD
The results are encouraging and certainly warrant further study. The side effect profile of CBD oil is undoubtedly a lot better than the psychoactive drugs that are commonly used to treat the more severe symptoms of autism, like rage attacks.
That said, even the doctor leading the study admits to being cautiously optimistic. He believes that it’s too early to give CBD the all-clear. We don’t know what the long-term effects of its use are at the moment.
Better Regulation Is Needed
Of especial concern is the lack of regulation in the industry as a whole. CBD products are classified as supplements and so not subject to the same rigorous testing and quality standards as pharmaceuticals are. In 2017, a random sampling of products found that 70% of the sampled products were mislabelled.
Final Verdict
At this stage, CBD is showing promise in the treatment of autism but there’s no need to rush. Until the industry is better regulated, and until we know more about the potential long-term effects, it’s not absolutely safe to do so.
