Parental Perceptions and Practices of Complementary and Alternative Therapies for Autism in Türkiye

<jats:p xml:lang="tr">This cross-sectional descriptive survey examined parental use of complementary and alternative therapies (CATs) for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Türkiye. Following the classification adopted in major reviews of autism interventions (National Autism Center, 2015; Wong et al., 2015), CATs were operationally defined as practices and products falling outside the corpus of established evidence-based practices (EBPs) for ASD; sensory integration therapy was included on this basis, as it has consistently been identified as an intervention with insufficient empirical support in this population. Data were collected from 210 parents recruited through convenience sampling via social media and special education institutions, using a researcher-developed instrument reviewed by ten doctoral-level experts in special education and pilot-tested with five families. Most participants (73.3%) reported having used at least one CAT, and 16.6% had tried four or more. Vitamin and mineral supplements (37.1%), sensory integration therapy (30.3%), and the gluten/casein diet (26.0%) were the most frequently reported practices. Information sources included special education institutions, health professionals, other families, and the internet. A moderate, statistically significant association was observed between parental age and the number of CATs used. Parents most often reported perceived improvements in attention span and reductions in repetitive behaviors; however, discontinuation rates were high across nearly all therapies, with reasons including limited perceived benefit, financial burden, and reported adverse events such as sleep disturbances and aggression. Because the findings rely on parental self-report rather than objective outcome measures, they should be interpreted as a descriptive mapping of parental practices that can inform culturally sensitive professional guidance and family-support efforts in Türkiye.</jats:p>