A survey of the use of antiepileptic and muscle relaxant medication in a sample of children with neuromotor disorders.

White et al. (1990) mailed a short form to doctors and parents. They asked one question: is this child with a neuromotor disorder taking antiepileptic or muscle-relaxant drugs?

424 children were checked. The team only counted how many prescriptions were listed. They did not test if the pills helped or hurt.

More children were on antiepileptic drugs than expected. Muscle relaxants were also common. The paper gives no numbers for how much more, just that use was "increasing."

No side effects or benefits were tracked. The study is a snapshot, not an outcome trial.

Eisenhower et al. (2006) asked the same kind of question fifteen years later, but switched to autism. Parents again listed seven treatments at once, including pills and diets. The method matches, so the rise seen by G et al. may keep climbing across diagnoses.

Höfer et al. (2017) widened the lens further. Their big review found up to 95 % of autistic youth use some form of complementary or alternative medicine. The two studies seem to clash—G et al. show rising prescriptions while Juliana shows families also fleeing to herbs and diets. The gap is explained by scope: G et al. only asked about doctor-prescribed drugs, while Juliana counted everything parents tried.

Vassos et al. (2023) moved from counting to predicting. They showed that kids with extra diagnoses and sensory issues often end up with both standard pills and unconventional meds. Together the four papers trace a path: prescriptions go up, families add CAM, and complexity keeps growing.

You will meet kids who take three seizure drugs plus a fish-oil gummy. This 1990 alert tells you the trend started decades ago. Always ask for the full med and supplement list at intake, and re-check each six months. If the family mentions a new pill, call the prescriber before you run a new behavior plan—side effects can look like problem behavior.