Treating
Autism With Prednisone
This area of the website is intended to help parents
with the decision to use prednisone in treating autism
and Autistic Spectrum Disorder, which includes Pervasive
Developmental Disorder (PDD) and related conditions,
specifically to restore speech and language functioning.
This is a parent's page, not a medical reference
site. It is intended to be accurate without too much
medical jargon. For the purpose of this page, "autism"
will also include Autistic Spectrum Disorders.
Prednisone and Autism
To date, prednisone appears to be one of the only medications
that has a high rate of success in treating the underlying
cause of speech loss or lack of speech in autism. Prednisone
is not a new drug; has been used for almost 50 years
for a variety of diseases. Its side effects are very
well understood. However, its use for treating autism
is still in the early stages.
The use of prednisone in autism is still experimental,
and has not been clinically studied in a scientific
manner. No "random placebo-controlled crossover"
studies have been carried out, nor have there been any
long term follow-up studies of children who have received
prednisone for autism. To date, its effectiveness and
safety are known only through only anecdotal evidence
from parents and doctors, based on individual accounts
or small sample sizes. There is no way at this time
to predict whether prednisone could be helpful or harmful
for any given child.
Other Notes of Importance
This web page was written in cooperation with neurologists
and parents who have graciously donated their time and
effort to share their experience and knowledge, but
we are not responsible for any errors.
Prednisone is a very strong medication, and MUST be
administered under a physician's prescription and close
surveillance. Treatment should start with several tests
to provide a baseline from which to measure the results.
Treatment with prednisone is not a stand-alone intervention
for autism. Parents MUST also pursue appropriate interventions
such as behavioral therapy, speech and occupational
therapy where needed, and should not rule out dietary
interventions. Other medications may be called for as
well (e.g., Prozac, Clonidine), though the neurologist
may wait to use other medications until treatment with
prednisone is finished, or may recommend continuing
with medications already in use.
Other Ahead with Autism Resources
For further definitions and explanations about autism
and Autistic Spectrum Disorder, please visit our About
Autism page or the Resources
section.
Questions or comments about Prednisone and Autism?
Email us at prednisone@aheadwithautism.com.
Story about a child with Autism...
The child showed poor eye contact, lack of pointing,
noise sensitivity, lack of social awareness and no
language from birth. He was not hyperactive, had minimal
stimming and fair gross motor and fine motor skills. He
had an outstanding visual and auditory memory as
demonstrated by his ability to do puzzles and read and
recite videos.
The child was diagnosed with PDD-NOS at age 2 years. At
that time he had no language or interest in people.
He started Prednisone 2mg/kg for GI problems at age 5
years. At that point he was about 75 percent related
with a significant expressive and receptive language
delay. His relatedness improved markedly in the first 2
months of treatment until he became fully related. His
language improved and he was declassified by 2nd grade.
He is currently an academically and musically gifted
college student.
The side effects from the prednisone consisted of weight
gain. When placed on weekly prednisone he had some
irritability on the day that he received the prednisone.
The weight gain resolved over time.
He started ABA at 3 years (continued for 1 year) and his
parents instituted a Greenspan approach, a GFCF diet at
4 years, received IVGG, secretin, did AIT and took
multiple supplements (DAN Physician) He was never
cheated. His mother saw the most improvement with
secretin and then DMG when very young. Of course the
most dramatic results were seen with the prednisone.
This child appears to have autoimmune disease that
responded to prednisone. He was not a Landau-Kleffner.
He clearly would not have recovered without the
prednisone treatment. When the prednisone was stopped he
showed no signs of regression. The parents did report
that secretin continued to be effective.
Christina Hift M.D., F.A.A.P.
Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Bronx, NY
Consultant Pediatric Rheumatology
Beth Israel Medical Center
New York, NY
|
Prednisone
and Autism