Understanding the Decision Making Process of Parents Who Choose Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Their Children with ASD

Filmed April 2013 – edited into 3 parts; total 60 minutes

This presentation summarizes the results of a study that explored the decision-making processes of 15 families who decided to use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies with their children with ASD. Parents’ decisions were influenced by numerous factors, including their beliefs about the cause of autism, anecdotal reports from other parents, guilt, the cost of treatments, fit for each family, and parental intuition. The results of this study have implications regarding the types of information and decision-making supports required by families of children with ASD for the promotion of family-centred care and a shared decision-making approach to treatment selection.

Part 1: Background of the Research (12:41)

Part 2: Findings on the Decision Making Process (25:56)

Part 3: Disenfranchisement and Q&A (21:32)