Prescription doses of folinic acid may help children with autism better develop verbal communication skills, a new study suggests.
The study was led by researcher Richard Frye of the Arkansas Children's Research Institute. In the experiment, 48 children with autism spectrum disorder and language impairment were randomized to receive 12 weeks of either high-dose folinic acid treatment or a placebo.
Children in the experimental group were found to demonstrate notably improved verbal communication skills. The findings were published in Springer Nature's journal Molecular Psychiatry.
"Improvement in verbal communication was significantly greater in participants receiving folinic acid as compared with those receiving the placebo," Frye explained in a press release.
