Study Finds CBD Can Help Children with Autism

Autism is a condition that differs in people suffering from it. However, CBD can help children suffering from autism and help them limit harming themselves.

Have you ever used the popular CBD or any of its products? If not, you might know someone who does. Alternatively, it may be your chance to give it a try. After all, many manufacturers are continually incorporating it into beauty, health, and fitness products. This is largely because of the purported health benefits. Although the available study and evidence are inadequate, the results are positive. Read on to find out more about this.

CBD for Anxiety in Children with Autism

CBD is a compound with medical benefits. Also, it contains below 0.3% THC levels, so you don't have to worry about the intoxicating effects. Also, it has many claimed benefits. However, does it work for autism in children? This condition can make the children very aggressive and, at times, injure themselves. Moreover, some of the children suffer from anxiety and have issues dealing with social interactions. Can CBD help?

Bar-Lev Schleider et al. (2019) stated that CBD could ease anxiety in children who have autism. It is important to remember that children with autism differ from others. You don't expect all children with autism to have the same experience. However, if your child has autism and exhibits autism-related symptoms, you may try giving him CBD. You can incorporate CBD oil as part of his medication. The good thing is you don't have to worry about the psychoactive effects on your kid.

Giving the child CBD will help reduce or eliminate the aggression or protect and prevent the child from causing harm to himself. Nonetheless, it can help alleviate anxiety so that his social interactions improve. These are just but available evidence pointing at the CBD benefits in children with autism. However, keep in mind that research on how it helps with anxiety in children with autism is still ongoing. According to Babayeva et al. (2022), CBD is potentially therapeutic and can help with  anxiety.

CBD for Aggression in Children with Autism

Romero et al. (2016) explained that aggression is one of the symptoms common to children with autism. Families with autistic children have to undergo the struggle of dealing with this. Therefore, it is not a surprise when a parent of a child with autism keeps seeking ways of managing their aggression. If you are in such a scenario, there is some great news. The anecdotal evidence provided by studies shows that CBD can help. It is no wonder some parents opt for introducing CBD as a part of the treatment process for their children with autism. According to Bilge et al. (2021), CBD can help manage behavioral changes in such cases.

Reports from parents who administered CBD to address aggression in their children are positive yet varied. Some say that it helped make their kids calmer and reachable, while other parents point out that CBD helped reduce physical violence in their kids. Moreover, in s study involving 34 kids with autism, aged 4 to 22 years, the cases of rage attacks and self-injury improved in 67.6% of the children, while in 8.8%, the condition worsened.

Therefore, if you have tried different traditional medications to aid in reducing your autistic child's anger and aggression to no avail, you may consider giving CBD a chance. Scientists believe that using CBD in such cases is a more effective way.

CBD for Sleep Disorders in Children with Autism

One of the beneficial health claims of using CBD is improving sleep quality, thus dealing with sleep disorders. However, can the same apply to children with autism?

This study was conducted on 21 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who were suffering from sleep disorders. The results obtained from this study are very promising. The sleep disorders in 71.4% of this number improved while it worsened in a lower percentage, 4.7%. Therefore, this report is quite encouraging to parents with children with autism. CBD can help enhance symptoms such as sleep disorders in autistic kids.

CBD for Autism and Epilepsy; What is the Link?

As you think of introducing your autistic child to CBD, remember that scientists connect the behavior of autism to that of epilepsy. One study recently reported that 30% of autistic children also have epilepsy. They point out that the two conditions deal with abnormal functioning of neurons and cells resulting from the differences in brain development.

The good news, however, is that CBD contains anticonvulsant properties that come in handy to enhance proper brain development. The properties act on neurotransmitters that, in turn, change how the cells function by changing the movement of cells in and out of neurons.

Therefore, if you have a child with autism and epileptic at the same time, you can try CBD. However, remember to administer it under the supervision of qualified medical personnel. Besides, ensure you get advice on whether or not it is right to give your autistic child oral drops of CBD oil.

Is CBD Safe for Children with Autism?

Studies show that CBD is safe for children with autism. However, you can beware of the following potential side effects, especially in cases of higher doses;

• Vomiting
• Headache
• Nausea
• Dry mouth
• Drowsiness
• Diarrhea
• Lightheadedness
• Low blood pressure
• Change in appetite

The good thing is that not many children with autism experience these side effects when they take CBD. However, before you administer CBD to your child with autism, it would be wise to first consult with your doctor. This way, you can get the best medical advice and recommendations on the best treatment plan.

Conclusion

Children with autism face various symptoms; anger, aggression, sleep disorders, and anxiety. Thankfully, CBD is one substance under research and study for its numerous claimed benefits. Recent studies point out that it can help children with autism. The available evidence so far suggests that it can help lower cases of anger and aggression in these kids. Help improve their sleep disorder and reduce their anxiety, thus helping them handle social interactions better. However, this is not to forget that the results were not identical for all autistic kids. Notably, CBD in children with autism is reportedly safe, but it is wise to consult a medical doctor before incorporating CBD oil into your child's treatment plan.

References

Babayeva, M., Assefa, H., Basu, P., & Loewy, Z. (2022). Autism and associated disorders: cannabis as a potential therapy. Frontiers in Bioscience-Elite, 14(1), 1.

Bar-Lev Schleider, L., Mechoulam, R., Saban, N., Meiri, G., & Novack, V. (2019). Real life experience of medical cannabis treatment in autism: analysis of safety and efficacy. Scientific reports, 9(1), 1-7.

Bilge, S., & Ekici, B. (2021). CBD-enriched cannabis for autism spectrum disorder: an experience of a single center in Turkey and reviews of the literature. Journal of cannabis research, 3(1), 1-11.

Romero, M., Aguilar, J. M., Del-Rey-Mejías, Á., Mayoral, F., Rapado, M., Peciña, M., ... & Lara, J. P. (2016). Psychiatric comorbidities in autism spectrum disorder: A comparative study between DSM-IV-TR and DSM-5 diagnosis. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 16(3), 266-275.