Written by Will CBD Only Work For Severe Autism Or Is THC Necessary - My View On The Continued Debate:
Jayne from Missouri asked today in Facebook Messenger if CBD alone would work for her 14 yr. old son with Severe Autism. “He’s got very bad tempers and will spend the whole night awake, it’s becoming very difficult to handle aggression. I tried the brand name CBD oil and he didn’t respond very well. What do I do?”
There’s a saying about meeting a child with Autism. If you’ve met one with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), that’s what you’ve done – met ‘A’ child with Autism!
Every child on the Autism Spectrum is so unique. Each one falls somewhere in its own unique spot within the Spectrum itself.
With that being said, answering a question like this can be tricky, to say the least – especially for someone that has tons of knowledge about the cannabis plant but has not lived the life of a parent of a child being treated with it who has severe Autism. This is where I have a unique bit of insight. Genevieve is going to be 14 in the following 10 days, soon to be my daughter but might as well call her that now. Michael II is already 24. My biological son is very severe and nonverbal like Genevieve but does not have Epilepsy as she does. The difference between the two is very blunt – and I intended that pun. Cannabis.
But, what type of Cannabis is the question literally dozens per time a day. Many want to replicate Genevieve’s protocol because she’s doing so well and making leaps and bounds in forwarding progress, but, it’s just not that simple as we all respond to Cannabis/Cannabinoids uniquely. Without a doubt, THC is necessary for her protocol and CBD comes from the whole plant vs. Industrial Hemp. Now that’s what works for her – I would never attempt to answer what would work for a child I have not had the pleasure to view at least on multiple videos in multiple settings in answering this question. The use of Industrial Hemp CBD is on the rise throughout the nation and has the world of Autism on the edge of their chairs wanting to know more.
Many parents have dealt with tons of psych medications and more given to their kids and want the ‘nonpsychoactive’ CBD extract from the plant. That’s great – we don’t want our kids ‘high on nature’ but we allow them to be hammered on the likes of Prozac, Thorazine, Haldol, and benzodiazepines galore. Phenobarbital is often given for the 33% that has Autism and Epilepsy – a barbiturate. That being said – THC is a friend, not a foe!
Many are not aware that the high CBD plants do not have to be the tall stalky male Industrial Hemp to produce a darn good medicine – and that’s putting it lightly. The female Cannabis Hemp plant is pretty and loaded with phytocannabinoids – am I an opponent of Industrial Hemp? Of course not – I love Cannabis, but when it comes to treating kiddos like my own – the full plant is necessary for my strong educated opinion.
Even if it’s CBD I tend to gain better results from what comes from the female plant.
Once again, that isn’t at all always the case and CBD only has helped multiple kids that I know of. When I use the word ‘helped’ we must examine to what degree.
My son, Michael II, on the other hand, is still stuck deep in the world of Autism although his IQ is immeasurably high. Genevieve had very marked developmental delays globally by at least 75% (meaning that she was functioning at a 3-4 yr old level as an average level of performance) before Cannabis, Michael II’s global delays were the same and still are in many areas other than cognitive thinking, he’s literally an expert trapped in his brain.
Many have seen her progress on social media and tens of thousands have messaged me, emailed, called, and more to gain information on how their child can start talking like she has, starts communicating with emotion in exchanges as she does now, feeds herself very independently, and so much more we’re not going to concentrate on that. Instead, let’s answer the question!
Every child with Autism is unique – extremely as we know. Many times the world tends to group people together based on a label, just like with a ‘man’ for example, not any two of one sub-type of people are exactly alike – we can’t be. Disability does not mean an abandonment of individuality.
In answering Jayne’s question there was much to consider and it required gaining more information. Aggression, for example, can mean various different things. Staying up all night can be peaceful or not. There are so many factors in considering whether one Cannabinoid (CBD) outweighs the ability of the entire plant. Generally on its own? It rarely does for severe autism in my personal experience and with many others, but I’ve found there’s a rather large crowd that it most certainly will work for. It seems either problem related to inflammation and definitely for ASD it’s anxiety that it’s working for in just the right dose. What is the right dose?
We’ll talk about that another day. The following questions were asked and she gave these answers:
Q: Explain his aggression – is it mild or is he physical?
A: He’s pushing us around and climbing on things. He can’t speak and isn’t using his iPad. Sometimes he yells for hours and rocks violently hitting himself. I keep getting notices from school that they need to hold a meeting and can’t handle him. We tried a CBD product but it didn’t work. Why not?
Q: Does he have behavioral therapy? Cannabis alone will not change behaviors, it will allow a window to work on replacement behaviors for those that are not acceptable or cause harm, etc., what type of program does he have?
A: He has an ABA in-home program 5 days a week but is in a terrible mood for it and gets little accomplished. Nobody knows what to do.
Q: You stated you had tried a CBD product, without going into details of brands can you describe the number of milligrams and the size of the bottle?
A: Yes, I purchased a 500mg. bottle of CBD in 2 fluid ounces of Hemp seed oil, is that good? (1 fl oz = 30ml, 500mg = 1/2ml, meaning 500mg in 2fl oz’s would equate to less than 1% CBD in the product)
Before I even get to a very educated and experienced opinion on what would work best for this particular individual with Autism I have to address a huge problem in the online CBD market. The very product this mom purchased. Paying over 150.00 for 500mg. of CBD in very oiled-down vegetable oil is no longer uncommon. Regardless of the ‘CBD Need’ – products such as that are ‘fly by night’ and will not remain for long on the market.
There are a few that have been around since the days I began myself nearly 4 years ago. They’re over 10% CBD and that’s why they’re still here because there’s enough in them to work!
Now, will they work for a severely autistic child – that would depend on that child’s individual needs.
If the sole purpose of the child’s behavior is due to anxiety which sometimes it is – the research and actual patient testimony show it might do the job.
This would likely apply to a small percentage of severely autistic individuals. It seems the more severe the Autism is the more of the plant is needed. I’m a whole plant kind of guy so I never like to discriminate against cannabinoids – but we do live in a world of rules and laws which means in many areas CBD only is the only legal option.
What I’ve found through talking it up in the groups I’m in is that with adults and even teens with anxiety from ASD, many have reported tinctures and vaping CBD from cartridges or vape pens helps them tremendously with the social anxiety that plagues them.
But, in answering the question asked of me, we’re talking about a very severe child with behaviors that could actually be attributed to Temporal Lobe Epilepsy – this affects about 1/3rd of all children with Autism. Whenever behavior is involved that is unmanageable with therapies in kids with ASD and EEG testing of brain waves should be conducted to rule out the possibility of seizures that manifest in behaviors. Without a doubt, kids that are in this area of the Autism Spectrum tend to need the entire plant and all available Cannabinoids.
2015 research heavily suggests Cannabidiol (CBD) in particular, gives relief to this anxiety. “Anecdotal reports of cannabis use in autism suggest a reduction in anxiety-related symptoms” but as well state “The second commonly occurring co-morbidity (anxiety being #1) in autism relevant to the endocannabinoid system is epilepsy..it is, therefore, possible that a potential future drug acting on the endocannabinoid system is better able to ameliorate epilepsy-related comorbidities in ASD” states the researchers in the article “Endocannabinoid Signaling in Autism”. But, remember who did these studies and what they were leading up to – awarding GW Pharma and other major corporations patents to create synthetic cannabis-related medicines that have by far failed in a huge way.
Now, what does all that mean? Basically that CBD alone will help with Anxiety and help Seizures. Do I believe that one cannabinoid alone is the answer? Not always. So no, I do not. I have seen some kids and adults do very well with CBD both vaped and ingested. Most are using other cannabinoid therapies in conjunction with CBD. My personal opinion for a child with severe Autism is that THC is a must-have. CBD can indeed give some relief and calm a severe child, but that’s only been reported to me – it’s not something I’ve experienced with the vast number of children I’ve worked with. For Genevieve getting her to calm down in the midst of a meltdown simply doesn’t happen with CBD. Does it help her in general – yes? Does it stop her or my seizures on its own – No. Does it allow her freedom from the world of Autism on its own – No, for Genbug CBD only does not do the trick. THC IS MANDATORY FOR HER. Again, every child and adult will respond individually so it’s very difficult to say with 100% certainty exactly what will happen. Much like a doctor who prescribes medication, an educated guess is made – in my case, I’d like to think I take a bit more time than the doc does in that 10 min. visit. While some find anxiety relief with vaporizing or using CBD via ingestion, others will find that the use of only one cannabinoid just isn’t enough. I personally am not a huge fan of any single cannabinoid therapy. But that’s just me, there are many that prefer it and many that have great outcomes. Every child and person is different and that is the biggest point to be made in answering this question!
My final answer to Jayne after gaining more data about the type of behaviors her child is exhibiting, the type of therapy he has, and the mood he’s in during it as well as his reaction to a ‘name brand’ CBD product: It appears as if this individual child on the Autism Spectrum may be exhibiting behavior that has a function beyond the relief of anxiety. If there is the opportunity to use a well-rounded Cannabis Oil such as a full extract of some type that includes the vital phytocannabinoids including THC, that would be a starting ground from here.
Many have found relief for their children that use CBD products by simply adding some ‘Cannabis Budder’ edibles to their diet – the problem with that is calories and unnecessary sugars.
There are many solutions and many different ways to introduce cannabinoids to the body. When a child with severe behavioral issues and moods such as this does not respond to CBD only my advice to my fellow parents is to move forward to the whole plant. Jayne has that ability and is now using it with success for her son Jason after I answered this question last week!!
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