​the science
data collection
quote from Grinspoon about anecdotal evidence
Legislators are fond of saying that "there's not enough research"  and therefore we can't be in favor of medical cannabis for autism.  (They also say  "we don't know what it's going to do to a child's brain" which we address here and here).  If you put the word "marijuana" into the PubMed search engine you get more than 20,000 results.  If you put "cannabis" and "autism" into the PubMed search engine, you get a dozen results.  So there is plenty of research on the safety and therapeutic effects of cannabis, but what we are missing are clinical trials.  Delaware became the first state to make autism a qualifying condition in it's own right in 2015.  They are now the first state to design a clinical study, which will get underway by the end of 2016.  In the meantime, the purpose of this survey is to informally but accurately accumulate data from autism families who are using medical cannabis.  The more families who fill out these surveys, the better and more convincing the results will be.  We will update the results frequently.  
From MAMMA's goals 2016:  
  • To conduct an informal clinical study measuring the effects of therapeutic cannabis for autism
    • use the ATEC to track improvement in overall diagnosis (validity measures here)
    • palliative effects on measurable behaviors (such as SIBs and aggression)
    • positive effects on observable improvements (such as speech, focus, calm, relatedness, mood)

ATEC Survey 

MAMMA would like to be able to compare ATEC scores from before and after starting cannabis.  If you are already using cannabis for autism, that's okay, we're looking for progress during cannabis treatment too.  
Instructions: 
  1. Click and fill out the ATEC form
  2. Submit form to ARI and get your child's ATEC score
  3. Send your child's score to infoMAMMAusa@gmail.com and include the following:
  • age, diagnoses, score, is this before cannabis, does the score reflect what you are seeing?
Please fill out the ATEC form every 3-6 months to track your child's progress and send your results to infoMAMMAusa@gmail.com

Cannabis for Autism Survey

Questions for the survey:
  1. ​diagnosis or diagnoses
  2. qualifying condition
  3. child's age
  4. started cannabis at what age
  5. amount of time on cannabis
  6. strain details
  7. dosage details
  8. behavior reduction questions (objective - measurable)
  9. increase in desirable behaviors (subjective - parent perspective)
  10. overall experience with cannabis for autism in your family?
  11. improvement in co-morbid conditions such as seizures​

Behaviors and Symptoms that might get better with medicines


Hyperactivity (high activity level, “on the go”, restless, fidgety)


Short attention span


Impulsivity (acts without thinking)


Irritability (testy, grouchy, oversensitive)


Aggression


Hurts himself or herself


Tantrums


Repeating thoughts (thinks about the same thing over and over)


Repeating behaviors


Sleep problems


Tics


Anxiety (too many fears, worries a lot)


Depression (low mood, sad)


Behaviors and Symptoms that are not usually helped


Does not follow directions


Refusing behaviors (flopping, running)


Slow learning


Not talking, low communication skills


Poor social skills 


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