CBD for Autism Treatment: Promising Signs

NOTE: Nothing in this section should be taken as a claim about the effects of any of our particular products. No claims are being made as to the use of any of our products and none should be inferred. We simply find this evidence to be interesting and hope it may help customers make more informed decisions. 

A lot of research is going into the benefits of CBD. One of the areas research is showing the most promise is in CBD for the treatment of autism.

Many people are using CBD to help alleviate anxiety and stress in patients with autism. While that may be the case, there’s still work to be done to prove its efficacy.

CBD doesn’t target the core of autism. What it can help with are the illnesses associated with autism such as anxiety, chronic pain, insomnia, stress and epilepsy. A growing number of families of patients believe that when these are treated, problems manifested by autism weaken. These problems include insomnia that results in destructive behavior. Epilepsy attacks lead to withdrawal from the public and stress that makes it difficult for the patient to comprehend and develop new skills.

An Israeli study, published in 2018, suggested CBD is “80% successful in helping autistic children.” The study included 60 children whose condition had not improved with conventional drug therapy.

“80% of the children’s parents who participated in the study reported a decrease in problematic behavior, with 62% percent reporting that their child's behavior improved significantly,”

This has been the most promising and noted study on the effects of CBD on autism to date. Even though many people regularly point out that more information is needed, many parents are still turning to CBD to help their children with autism.

“We had tried six or seven pharmaceutical drugs,” said Rachel Anderson, whose son has a rare form of epilepsy called Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, told Healthline. “None of them worked (to get his seizures under control), or if they did, they had serious side effects that made life miserable for all of us.”

Remedy Review asked a group of respondents if they used CBD for their children with autism. Forty percent said they did.

According to this survey, this is what parents reported.

“The most cited benefit was that their children exhibited more positive moods (almost 56 percent). Nearly 53 percent reported their children had less anxiety, and over 45 percent said CBD provided their children with stress relief. Improved sleep quality was cited by more than a third of respondents who used CBD with their children, and improved communication was also up there (roughly 30 percent).”

Clearly, many parents believe CBD is a viable treatment for autism. Again, more research needs to be done, but the early results are very positive.