This early study (1962; n=12) with LSD (50-200µg) on children with autism (ASD) and schizophrenia, of which 7 were mute, showed that LSD elicited large psychological changes in this population, but no change in muteness. Procedures for consent were different/non-existent at that time.
Abstract
From the summary (as no abstracts were provided at that time):
“Twelve children, ranging in age from 5 years 11 months to 11 years 10 months, who attended a day school for schizophrenic children, were given LSD on 14 different occasions. Ten of the children received 100µg one received 50µg, and one had 110µg on one occasion and 200µg on another. The drug was administered orally in a vehicle (Coca Cola, orange juice, etc.) which the children liked. All the children were of the autistic type and all were mute or nearly so.
The effects of the drug appeared an average of 20 minutes after its ingestion and lasted about 4 hours. Somatic effects of the drug included facial flush, dilatation of pupils, some catatonia, some ataxia, complete loss of appetite, increased body awareness, and desire for physical contact. Psychic effects included rapid mood-swings from elation to depression, anxiety, or flattening of affect, auditory and visual hallucinations, decreased alertness in most but increased alertness in a few, increased remoteness, decreased eye contact in several and increased eye contact in a few, and increased vocalization and verbalization. The hoped-for change from muteness to speech did not occur.”
Author: A. M. Freedman
Summary
Introduction
LSD, discovered accidentally by Hoffman in 1943, has been widely experimented with to test its properties both as a psychotomimetic and as a therapeutic agent. Some investigators consider LSD to have great value in revealing the nature of the schizophrenic state, while others insist that the LSD experience cannot be equated with naturally occurring psychosis.
Psychotherapy with these agents is by no means uniform, and the results obtained may be influenced by the attitude of the psychotherapist.
While LSD has been accepted with greater or less enthusiasm by various investigators, its value in the treatment of the psychoses has been considered much more questionable. However, some striking temporary changes were observed in the behavior of schizophrenics who had been given LSD.
Pennes6 reported that LSD and mescaline intensified pré existent symptoms in 16 (64%), diphasic (mixtures of intensification and normalization) in 6 (24%), and absent in 3 (12%) schizophrenic subjects.
At the Second International Congress of Psychiatry in Zurich in 1957, Hoch, Pennes, and Cattell7 stated that schizophrenic patients displayed intensification of their pre-existing symptomatology on administration of mescaline or LSD 25.
Some researchers believe that the disorganization of behavior patterns in schizophrenics might be followed by a reorganization that could be a step toward normalization. However, Bierer and Browne 8 state that 50% of schizophrenics in a group reduces the chances of success.
Sandison and Whitelaw9 treated patients with LSD and chlorpromazine in combination, and found that this method showed encouraging results.
Abramson and his colleagues10 found that under LSD, the patient’s participation in the group process is increased, and that the patient’s affective references toward or centering around other persons increase.
Cholden, Kurland, and Savage studied the reactions of chronic, regressed schizophrenic patients to LSD. They reported that one catatonic patient who had been mute for some years suddenly burst into loud wailing sobs which were shortly followed by over whelming bursts of laughter.
All patients developed complete tolerance to the drug by the third day, but some patients showed unusual behavior as a result of the drug administration.
At the time we observed the effects of LSD on a group of schizophrenic children, there were no reports of such use.
Several investigators reported having treated children with LSD, but results were not given for most of these cases. One psychiatrist reported having treated 5 children with LSD once a week over a 3-to 6-week period, and the results were classified as excellent in 4, poor in 1.
A 10-year-old girl, moderately autistic, showed profound changes during 3 months of treatment with LSD, and a 13-year-old boy with a severe behavior problem appeared to have been markedly changed by LSD.
Method
The present studies were undertaken at a day school for schizophrenic children, which had a total of 40 children.
12 children were chosen for the experiment. They were autistic schizophrenics, ranged in age from 5 years 11 months to 11 years 10 months, and received tranquilizers regularly.
The experiment was conducted over several weeks so that only one child received the drug on any one day. Two children were given LSD on 2 separate occasions.
A pediatrie psychiatrist was present while the children were under the influence of LSD. Blood pressure and pulse were taken immediately after ingestion of the drug.
The effects of the drug were noted in 4 children in 15 minutes, 2 children in 20 minutes, 3 children in 25 minutes, and 5 children in 30 minutes.
Somatic Reactions
Children ingested LSD showed signs of facial flushing and pupillary dilatation, but no other changes in pulse rate or blood pressure.
In 3 children there were evidences of catatonia, with true waxy flexibility developing in one child who was given 200g of LSD. 8 children remained in equilibrium, but 1 child developed ataxia, a lesser degree of ataxia was seen in 4 other instances, and 1 child developed dizziness.
The somatic reactions of the children to LSD varied from relaxed to tense, with 2 of them showing variability dependent on mood. There was evidence of some change in body awareness or development of new bodily sensations, and a desire for increased physical contact was apparent with many children.
Psychic Reactions
The most striking psy chic effects of LSD in children were sharp mood swings from extreme elation to extreme depression or anxiety. In 8 instances there was no evidence of actual depression but in Richard, Danny, Gene, Ronnie, and Donald there seemed to be flattening of affect.
On 7 occasions, the children seemed to be experiencing hallucinations, and on 10 occasions, their remoteness was increased. Two children seemed to experiment with new sounds, and half of the children seemed to demonstrate decreased alertness.
Nancy, a slight girl, 7 years 11 months old at the time of the experiment, showed fairly substantial improvement in the 21/ years she had been attending the school. She became euphoric, “singing” while sucking her thumb, and vocalizing almost constantly, but depression set in after an hour.
Ralph, an 8-year-old passive but anxious child, showed neither development nor regression in the 2 years 7 months he had attended the school.
When given LSD, he was tense but didn’t resist, and within 20 minutes was relaxed, smiling, making eye contact, and rocking in a boat with apparent joy. After 50 minutes, he became depressed and remote, and continued making guarding movements with his hands.
Ralph was given another lOOg. of LSD, and within 20 minutes was jumping up and down, vocalizing “happy” sounds, and soon gave evidence of pleasant hallucinations (auditory). He sat motionless with his hands in an odd position, and seemed rather flat.
Comment
At the time of this experiment, it was recognized that continued usage of LSD with schizophrenic children might be of little value in the cure of their disease, but that some marked alteration might occur in the patterns of autism characteristic of them.
The response of this group of children to LSD was similar to the response of adults to whom it has been given. They showed heightened body awareness, including wriggling of the nose, holding food in the mouth for long periods, and grinding it with the teeth.
During the experiment, several autistic children showed signs of auditory and visual hallucinations, including standing in one spot and smiling, putting their hands over their ears, and following something on the ceiling with their eyes.
Although none of the children showed any qualitative difference in speech patterns, there was an increase in the quantity of sounds, laughter, or words produced.
All but one child experienced euphoria, with depression and anxiety predominating for the entire period of over 3 hours. The children showed frequent mood-swings, with elation often followed by depression or anxiety manifested by sweating, clinging to the doctor, and generally fearful behavior.
Children’s reactions to LSD are comparable with those of adult schizophrenics, but further use of the drug is required to demonstrate its potentiality for utilizing these effects therapeutically.
Summary
Twelve autistic children were given LSD on 14 different occasions. All were mute or nearly so, and ten received 100/i.g., one received 50, and one received 110ju,g.
The effects of the drug included facial flushing, dilatation of pupils, some catatonia, some ataxia, complete loss of appetite, increased body aware ness, and desire for physical contact.