I’ve just found an intriguing article on how LSD was used as an experimental treatment for children with autism during the 1960s. When I first heard about these studies I did a double take, but there were a surprising number conducted at the time.
Flashback to the 1960s: LSD in the treatment of autism.
Dev Neurorehabil. 2007 Jan-Mar;10(1):75-81.
Between 1959 and 1974, several groups of researchers issued reports on the use of d-Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) in the treatment of children with autism. This paper reviews that literature to consider how the authors justified these studies, as well as their methods, results, and conclusions. The justification for using LSD was often based on the default logic that other treatment efforts had failed. Several positive outcomes were reported with the use of LSD, but most of these studies lacked proper experimental controls and presented largely narrative/descriptive data. Today there is renewed interest in the use of psychedelic drugs for therapeutic purposes. While this resurgence of research has not yet included children with autism, this review of the LSD studies from the 1960s and 1970s offers important lessons for future efforts to evaluate new or controversial treatments for children with autism.
Sadly I don’t have access to the full text of the paper, but I’ve discovered that the Neurodiversity website has created a list of many of the original studies and has archived the full text of most of them online.
The studies are a morbidly fascinating read and it’s interesting how some studies seem to exclusively report beneficial effects with remarkably flowery language (“They seek positive contacts with adults, approaching them with face uplifted and bright eyes…”) while others report mixed or quite unpleasant reactions (“mood swings which were sharp and rapid from extreme elation to extreme depression or anxiety”).
Link to PubMed abstract of LSD and autism paper.
Link to Neurodiversity paper archive.
12 Comments
It will be interesting to see if the psychedelic effects of the drug interact with the often-found exceptional abilities in the autistic children.
I’m surprised this paper is omitted from the Neurodiversity archive:
MODIFICATION OF AUTISTIC BEHAVIOR WITH LSD-25
SIMMONS et al. Am J Psychiatry.1966; 122: 1201-1211
No abstract is available. It is the only paper I’ve come across with O.I. Lovaas’ name on it that uses the term “autistic” or “autism” before 1971. In all of his other papers published from the late 1950s through early 1970s the children he conducted his experiments on were described as schizophrenic and/or mentally retarded.
“childhood schizophrenia” at that time was merely a synonym for autism.
I am Steve Selpal, an artist/illustrator, and graphic designer, with credentials. A lifetime of being enveloped in the autism world (unseen to you, neurological typical ) plus being enveloped in all of the self-training, and psychological therapist training and psychiatric doctor meds, to fit into the so-called real world has enabled me to survive to the age of 59, now, almost 60. All the therapy was good.
I was born in 1950, late in the year, 11/11. I managed to be an outpatient, taking supervised psychiatric medicines most of those years. I was in psychiatric hospitals 3 times, over the years.
I wish I could get the papers of O.I. Lovass. I am sure that by reviewing his collected data, I, could/would result in a
comparison of his data analogous to my own observation/summary of myself. The effects of LSD for people with autism does not measurably change the states of mind or awareness and sensitivity to external phenomena. The importance of such an experiment would require one, two, or more NTs (neurotypicals, from an Aspie’s perspective). There is a good reason for this, regarding the Aspie or Autie’s progress.
All of the NT therapist participants and the Aspie/Autie person should take the same dosage of LSD-25. This should be an adequate or large amount to cause effective hallucinations. A small dosage of LSD-25, such as 100 mcg that has been used for talk therapy, is inadequate, for all participants. It has to be a much larger dose.
The health-giving presence of the well meaning NT therapists will reassure the Aspie subject that all is well. Everyone can relax for awhile. The progressive effects of the LSD will affect the observable conditions of the NT therapists. They will have a profound experience. Normal (NT) people cannot describe this.
The autistic participant will realize that the NTs, his/her normal friends have entered the “normal” world of the Autie/Aspie. LSD equalizes the communication between therapists and their autistic subjects or patients. This connection of communicating between the therapists and the Autie/Aspie, is like leveling the playground. The Autie or Aspie can explain to the NT therapists what they are seeing. There are many kinds of seemingly foreign life forms that are unknown to the NT, but are common to the Autie/Aspie daily, typical perceptions.
The mental development of the Autie/Aspie is thus advanced or improved by his/her attempt at explaining into words to the NT therapists, the experience of their typical daily environment, it’s lower life forms which is just ordinary stuff to the Autie or Asperger’s daily life. The action of explaining and chatting between the therapists and the subject Autistic person, causes image projection and an attempt at describing and experiencing a commonality. The Aspie or Autie can come out and show an authoritative role, perhaps for the first time in the subject’s life. The very actions of striving to communicate to the NTs in words, programs the Autistic person to memorize an avenue of communication, with the will to describe this other reality.
The result of all of this experience is a progress of communication between Autistic people and internist psychologists. The results of such experimenting is beneficial to all participants.
I am hoping that more people will register and comment here.
I experienced LSD myself the first time a couple months ago.
I’m pretty sure I have a mild form of aspberger’s. (not diagnosed or anything just always been very very isolated and socially awkward) So far it’s helping me tremendously with social anxiety and just letting myself out into the real world and with self esteem.
For me, Acid might be a step INTO reality. (but only if I use it RIGHT.)
I feel like I feel things more intensely now.
Of course, I’m only 18, so I could just be growing up.
(this is not to refute that acid is incredibly psychologically dangerous to idiots.
in my view this is the best reason to keep it illegal)
Idiots should not take acid, and idiots never know they’re idiots
It turns out that the words “autism” and “psychedelic” have a strong link. A substance called bufotenin was detected in many of their urine samples. The effects are similar to LSD.
No Illegal Maahn
I think this is a fantastic idea! This could be used in VERY, VERY small doses when the small child is first seen to have problems. We all know that LSD “wakes” up the brain and does NOT stay in the system. It can’t be detected in 24 hours. The only reason it brings on mood swings is because of how it is obsorbed into the body. This is a fantastic idea!
Yes it truly is amazing that those studies contain both “good” AND “bad” results. It’s almost as if they weren’t bOught off by big pharma to approve a new drug. (cuz if they were, the 70% negative would be swept under the rug as they are with most pharmaceuticals). Ironic that the drugs they do give to autistic kids kill more people in the last 10 years than LSD has ever killed. Oh well thank god for big pharma.
Sandoz promoted studies that included both positive and negative results, becase they always promoted the use of Thorazine injection in the case of a bad trip, so in a clinical setting, you can’t really have a bad trip with a reset option like that…
OK, maybe we are overdiagnosing autism as anyone exceptional with poor social skills. this is retarded. totally unscientific. LSD is not a treatment for autism though potentially is a treatment for OCD which many consider autistic (how many of us are autistic now)