Treating Children with Autism Using Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
In more than 7,000 facilities worldwide, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) has been used for decades to heal serious infections, non-healing wounds, and to treat divers with the bends. An increasing number of these hyperbaric medical centers are also successfully treating neurological injuries and disease such as autism. Recent studies have suggested that a common link among children with autism is chronic inflammation of areas of the brain and gut, and that the anti-inflammatory effects of HBOT may make it one of the safest and most effective ways to help resolve the debilitating effects of autism.
In Hawaii, according to the most recent Department of Education statistics, nearly 1 in every 74 children with special needs within the autism spectrum, and direct DOE services for these children are estimated to cost over $30 million per year. Since 1992, statistics show the prevalence of children in Hawaii diagnosed with autism has increased by over 2700%.
This may be related to a genetic pre-disposition among Pacific Islanders and Asians. According to a 2004 US Dept of Education report ethnically make up more than 65% of all children enrolled in public school in Hawaii) were also 1.24 times more likely to receive special education and related services for autism than all other racial/ethnic groups combined.
Resources for the evaluation and treatment of autistic children in Hawaii are very limited.
For example, there are currently only two registered DAN! doctors (trained specialists in autism) in the entire state, and functional imaging SPECT scans commonly used to understand the ongoing neuropathology are virtually unavailable for children in Hawaii. As the only hyperbaric treatment facility in the state commonly providing therapy to children with autism, we have documented consistently positive reports of improvement in autistic patients following HBOT. In order to provide a more objective basis for the use of HBOT to treat these children, however, a study using less subjective reporting methodology was needed.
This study evaluated the effects of 20 hours of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on the functional outcomes of twenty children (4 females and 16 males) ranging in ages from three to seven years, each with a clinically proven diagnosis of autism, and living in Hawaii. Pre-HBOT baseline and post-HBOT follow up evaluations were performed by experienced autism testing clinicians in the community, independent of the treating facility. Testing outcomes proved statistically significant clinical improvements in 100% of the children in one or more of the following areas: Communications, Social Interaction, Imagination/ Creativity, Stereotyped Behaviors and Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scores.
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