Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Okay so autism. Where do I even start?

 

Your brain has all these connections, right? In autism, those connections form differently. Sometimes that means amazing pattern recognition. Sometimes it means getting completely overwhelmed by fluorescent lights. Both can be true for the same person.

 

Social stuff is usually hard. Reading faces. Getting jokes. Knowing when someone wants you to stop talking about your special interest. (Though honestly, neurotypical social rules are pretty arbitrary when you think about it.)

 

Then there's sensory stuff. Tags on shirts feeling like sandpaper. Certain textures making you gag. Or the opposite - needing deep pressure to feel calm. My friend's autistic son sleeps under a weighted blanket that would suffocate me. But it helps him.

 

Repetitive behaviors too. Hand flapping. Rocking. Lining up toys. It's called stimming and it's actually super helpful for self-regulation. We all stim actually - ever click a pen repeatedly? Same thing.

 

The range is massive. Temple Grandin redesigned the cattle industry. She's autistic. So is the non-speaking kid in your neighborhood who needs 24/7 care. Both autism. Totally different lives.

 

Early intervention changes everything though. Get a kid the right support early? Game changer. Speech therapy, occupational therapy, behavioral support - start that stuff young and outcomes improve like crazy.

 

This is where things get messy.

 

Some studies say yeah, CBD might help. Anxiety goes down. Sleep gets better. One Israeli study had parents reporting huge improvements in their kids. We're talking going from violent meltdowns to... not having them. That's life-changing stuff.

 

But. Big but.

 

The research is still super new. Most studies are small. Like, 60 kids small. That's nothing in research terms. And a lot of what we "know" comes from parents saying "this worked for my kid." Which matters! But it's not the same as a controlled study with hundreds of participants.

 

CBD seems safer than THC for this. THC is the part that gets you high and that's... not great for developing brains. Or for people who already struggle with reality testing. CBD doesn't do that. It might calm things down without the psychoactive stuff.

 

Thing is, we don't know dosing. We don't know long-term effects. We don't even know which kids it might help versus harm. It's all still being figured out.

 

Some doctors are cautiously optimistic. Others think it's irresponsible to even consider it. Most fall somewhere in between - "maybe, but let's wait for more data."

 

If you're thinking about it? Find a doctor who actually knows about this stuff. Not your regular pediatrician who read one article. Someone who follows the research. Because this isn't something to DIY.

 

Nope. Not even close.

 

No medical organization says "use marijuana for autism." The FDA hasn't approved it. Insurance won't cover it. Most doctors won't prescribe it.

 

But here's the thing - parents are doing it anyway. Go on any autism parent forum and you'll find someone whose kid is on cannabis oil. They'll tell you it saved their family. Stopped the self-injury. Brought back their kid's smile. Heavy stuff.

 

These aren't parents trying to get their kids high. They're desperate. When your 8-year-old is giving himself concussions from head-banging and nothing else works? You try anything.

 

The underground network is real. Parents sharing sources. Comparing doses. It's like a secret society of people trying to help their kids outside the medical system. Wild that it's come to this, honestly.

 

Legal issues make everything worse. Even in legal states, giving marijuana to a minor? CPS might show up. Some parents have lost custody. Others have had to move states to access treatment legally. It's a mess.

 

Until we get real studies - big ones, long-term ones - marijuana won't be recognized as legitimate ASD treatment. That's just reality. Whether that's fair to families suffering right now? Different question entirely.

Benefits? Where do I start. Parents report kids sleeping through the night for the first time ever. That alone changes everything. Sleep-deprived families fall apart. Fix the sleep, fix a lot of problems.

 

Anxiety reduction is huge too. You know that constant fight-or-flight feeling? Lots of autistic people live with that 24/7. If CBD dials that down even a little? Game changer.

 

Some kids start engaging more. Making eye contact. Trying new foods. One mom told me her son said "I love you" after starting CBD. First time in his life. Try not to cry hearing that story.

 

But man, the risks...

 

THC can trigger psychosis in vulnerable people. And we have no clue who's vulnerable until it happens. Imagine giving your kid something to help and instead they lose touch with reality. Nightmare scenario.

 

Then there's the development question. Kids' brains are still building themselves. What happens when you add cannabinoids to that process? Nobody knows. Could be fine. Could cause problems that don't show up for years. That uncertainty is terrifying.

 

Dependency is real too. Not addiction like with opioids, but psychological dependency? Absolutely. What happens when the CBD stops working? Do you increase the dose? Add THC? Where does it end?

 

Some kids have had seizures. Others got more aggressive, not less. One family told me CBD made their daughter's sensory issues ten times worse. She couldn't tolerate any touch after starting it.

 

You're basically running an experiment on your kid. Sometimes it works out. Sometimes it doesn't. No way to know beforehand which you'll get.

 

Forget cannabis for a second. There's tons of stuff that actually works.

 

ABA therapy gets a bad rap sometimes but done right? It teaches kids skills they need. Communication, daily living stuff, how to handle frustration without melting down. My nephew did ABA for three years. Went from completely non-verbal to using an iPad to communicate. Now he types full sentences.

 

Speech therapy is obvious if your kid struggles with talking. But it helps with social communication too. Understanding context. Getting abstract concepts. All that subtle language stuff that makes human interaction work.

 

Occupational therapy is underrated. Helps with sensory issues, motor skills, daily routines. The OT taught my friend's daughter how to tolerate hair brushing. Sounds small but it was ruining their mornings. Now? Non-issue.

 

Medication works for some kids. Not for autism itself but for the stuff that comes with it. ADHD meds for focus. Anti-anxiety meds for... well, anxiety. These aren't perfect but at least we know how they work. Decades of research there.

 

Structure helps almost everyone with autism. Visual schedules. Predictable routines. Clear expectations. Boring? Maybe. But it works.

 

Social skills groups teach the hidden rules of interaction. Why you can't just walk away mid-conversation. How to tell if someone's interested in your topic. Basic stuff that neurotypicals somehow just know.

 

Exercise matters more than people realize. Swimming, martial arts, trampolining - physical activity helps with regulation. Plus it's an outlet for all that energy.

 

The truth? Most people with autism do fine with these standard interventions. No cannabis required. They go to school, make friends (maybe just a few close ones), get jobs, live their lives. Different doesn't mean less than. Just means you need different supports.