Effects of Cannabidiol on Social Relating, Anxiety, and Parental Stress in Autistic Children: A Randomized Controlled Crossover Trial.
CBD oil with terpenes failed to lift SRS-2 scores yet gave modest relief from anxiety and parental stress in autistic children.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers gave autistic children aged 5-12 a daily dose of CBD oil mixed with plant terpenes. Each child took 10 mg per kg of body weight for the whole study.
The team used a crossover design. Kids got real oil for half the weeks and placebo oil for the other half. Parents did not know which bottle was which.
What they found
The main score, the SRS-2, did not budge. Social responsiveness stayed flat between CBD and placebo.
Yet parents saw small gains on other checklists. They rated their kids as slightly less anxious and felt less stressed themselves.
How this fits with other research
Chalfant et al. (2007) and McConachie et al. (2014) already showed that group CBT can cut anxiety in autistic kids. Their effect was larger, but CBD now offers a pill option for families who cannot attend weekly groups.
Minshawi et al. (2016) tried another pill, D-cycloserine, to boost social skills. Like the CBD trial, they also saw no change on the SRS. The pattern hints that pills alone may not move core social scores.
Laposa et al. (2017) warn that parent reports can rise even with no treatment. The small anxiety drop seen here could partly reflect that placebo-like drift rather than true drug power.
Why it matters
If you run a social skills group, do not expect CBD to replace practice. The oil may, at best, take the edge off anxiety and give Mom or Dad a calmer evening. Track direct observation data before you credit any parent-rated change.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-intoxicating compound derived from the cannabis plant, has garnered increasing attention as a potential pharmacological therapeutic for autism. We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial to understand whether oral CBD oil containing terpenes can improve outcomes in autistic children. Twenty-nine children (18 male), aged 5 to 12 years (M = 9.62 years, SD = 2.05), diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, completed the study. Participants received weight-based dosing of CBD oil (10 mg/kg/day) or matched placebo oil over two 12-week intervention periods (crossover), separated by an 8-week washout period. Outcome measures included the Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2; primary outcome), PROMIS Social Relating, Anxiety, and Sleep, Developmental Behavior Checklist-2 (DBC-2), Vineland-3, and Autism Parenting Stress Index (APSI; secondary outcomes). There was no significant effect observed for the primary outcome measure (SRS-2) for CBD oil relative to placebo oil after 12 weeks (β = -11.15, SE = 7.19, p = 0.125). Significant improvements were observed in secondary measures of social functioning, including DBC-2 Social Relating (β = -2.35, SE = 0.92, p(adj) = 0.024), as well as reduced anxiety on the DBC-2 subscale (β = -3.20, SE = 0.94, p(adj) = 0.002), and lower parental stress (APSI; β = -4.63, SE = 2.26, p(adj) = 0.044). No differences were detected on Vineland-3 adaptive functioning (ABC: β = 2.06, SE = 2.67, p(adj) = 1.000), and domain scores were not significant. Safety and tolerability data indicated that two children experienced gastrointestinal discomfort while taking CBD. Findings from this pilot trial suggest that while CBD combined with terpenes did not improve the primary outcome of social responsiveness, it may hold potential in addressing certain autism-related difficulties, particularly anxiety and social relating. Further research with larger sample sizes is needed to fully evaluate the efficacy and safety of CBD for autistic children.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2026 · doi:10.1002/aur.70159