The Bottom Line
Pros
- Simple, readable graphics
- Easily navigable
- Wonderful summaries of scientific research
- Answers parents' questions about autism treatments
- Allows readers to ask questions of experts
Cons
- Limited list of autism treatments
Description
- Website offering in-depth information about autism treatments
- Includes laypersons' summaries of scientific studies
- Offers opportunities to ask questions, share ideas
- Includes glossary of autism treatment terms
Guide Review - Review of Healing Thresholds Autism Website
When I first started looking into autism treatments, I found myself overwhelmed. The "evidence" available included either highly technical journal articles or highly emotional anecdotal stories of "recovery." I couldn't really wrap my brain around which research studies were truly significant, nor could I determine whether a success story was for real, or just wishful thinking.Then Healing Thresholds came along.
Healing Thresholds, from what I can tell, takes a unique approach to providing information about autism treatments. In addition to a straightforward presentation of the treatment, its theory, and its application, it also provides links to layperson summaries of each scientific study cited in the text. The summaries are specifically targeted to intelligent lay adults - that is, to parents (and teachers) for whom technical journal articles are either unavailable or unintelligible.
This approach means that readers are able to review the research, make sense of individual studies, and make intelligent choices based on something other than intuition, common sense, or friends' recommendations. It also means that readers have access to information that, in general, is reserved for subscribers to major medical journals.
The site's greatest shortcoming, however, is in its lack of breadth. Only about a dozen treatments are listed - which means that many parents will search its pages and come up empty handed.
