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Does it work? Or not? It really depends on who you ask. I have neighbors who plan to try this treatment for their autistic son, age 2. It is very expensive and insurance will not cover the cost.

     First, you may be wondering exactly what  hyperbaric oxygen treatment consists of. What is hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT)? And who are candidates for this kind of therapy?

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     A person lies on a table and is then placed inside of a sealed chamber that has been pressurized to about 1.4 to 2.8 times the normal atmospheric pressure. This increases the amount of oxygen in blood, organs and tissues in the body. People are asked to breathe normally during the treatment which can last from 30 minutes to 2 hours for each treatment.  

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     HBOT is considered a conventional treatment for a number of conditions including decompressure sickness and carbon monoxide poisoning. It has been shown to be effective in treating the “bends” in scuba divers who resurface too quickly, causing oxygen bubbles to form in the bloodstream. 

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     Over the years, medical researchers have used HBOT in treating certain kinds of wounds such as burns and gangrene. HBOT can speed the development of blood vessels in these various kinds of wounds. HBOT is typically performed in the hospital , in a large chamber and under high pressure.

     In more recent years, some doctors believed that HBOT would improve symptoms of autism by increasing oxygen intake and reducing inflammation within the brain. It is not certain whether either of these factors have any bearing on a person developing autism or not, however a great many researchers and parents alike, believe they are seeing improvement in autistic individuals who are are receiving these treatments.

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     There are also risks and side effects involved with the use of HBOT, the most common of these being ear pain, reversible nearsightedness and seizures. Despite the lack of scientific evidence that HBOT is a valid treatment for autism, many parents of children with autism spectrum diagnosis are excitedly reaching out to this treatment as a very real hope for their children. 

Presently, no insurance company will cover the extremely high cost of HBOT for autism since it is considered an experimental and unproven theory. Is it possible that the day will come when insurance will cover such a procedure? Certainly. We are still in the early stages of researching autism, it’s causes and possible cures. We can only hope that we are “on to something”.