There are so many autism treatments out there right now. How is a parent supposed to pick the best one? If a child was diagnosed with cancer, the doctor would lay out a treatment plan and tell the parents exactly what to do, but with autism, a parent gets the diagnosis and is sent on their way to figure out the best treatment on their own. With only so much time in the day and so much money in our pocket, it is important that we use our children’s time and our money wisely.

Parents are being bombarded with new treatments for autism every week. As a consumer and advocate for your child, you need to decide how to spend your child’s time and your money.

Before your child starts any treatment, check out the facts. Has this treatment been proven to be effective for children with autism? Is there peer reviewed research that proves its effectiveness? This is the type of treatment that you want to look for. Don’t get popularity confused with effectiveness. Just because a lot of people are doing it, doesn’t mean that it is effective. For example, hippo-therapy is a popular treatment for children with autism, however; there is no research that proves it to be effective. Sure, the kids love it, but does it really do anything to lessen the symptoms of autism? So, is this the best way to spend time and money?

My husband and I recently bought a car. We checked out Consumer Reports and several other legitimate sources before we made our decision. We did not pick our new car simply because the sales person said it was a great vehicle. After all, he gets paid to sell cars. We looked at the glossy ads that the manufacturers put out, too, but again, we knew that they are trying to sell us their car. Consumer Reports on the other hand, does not make any money based on the car that we bought. It is a non-biased source that puts all the cars it rates through the same tests and clearly describes what the tests are and their rating criteria. When choosing a treatment for your child with autism, why would you do any less? Be wary of the glossy ads and the salesperson. Do your homework.

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