Hyperbaric therapy is a treatment that is available, with multiple claims regarding its effectiveness in a variety of special needs situations.
Many believe it is effective.
The claims of some private clinics offering the treatment are quite extensive.
They say it is useful in treating ADD, autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome (and trisomy 13), dysphasia, fetal alcohol syndrome, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, and stroke, among other diseases and conditions.
Yet, it is not covered by Medicare in Quebec.
There is plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest that the treatment at least has a temporary effect on patients.
Hyperbaric therapy was looked at in a recent news story on CTV News. They say that a round of 40 treatments can cost $5,000 in Quebec and that some parents have noticed improvements and have returned to continue with more treatments. Obviously there is little way of knowing whether these improvements would have occurred without the treatment. Neither is it certain how permanent they will be.
In the U.S., hyperbaric therapy is indicated for 14 applications with medicare coverage, mostly physical healing enhancement situations such as skin grafts, etc.
One small double-blind study in 2009 showed hyperbaric therapy to be effective for treating certain aspects of autism, particularly social interaction and eye contact.
However a randomized study for the Center for Autism Related Disorders (CARD) found that the therapy had no effect. (Doreen Granpeesheh, Jonathan Tarbox, Dennis R. Dixon, Arthur E. Wilke, Michael S. Allen (2009). The lead researcher is also the founder of CARD.
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