Autistic Boy Develops Speech Using Cannabis Oil

Kalel Santiago, a 3-year-old boy from Puerto Rico, was diagnosed with autism after suffering a rare form of cancer and undergoing chemotherapy, surgery and radiation treatments, starting when he was only 10 months old.

He had severe speech delay, meaning that he did not speak at all until age 3.

“While he was in the hospital, we noticed he didn’t speak at all and had some behavior that wasn’t right, like hand flapping, and walking on his toes,” explained Kalel’s father Abiel Gomez Santiago to Yahoo News. “But we waited until he was 3 and cancer-free to look at his behavior.”

Kalel’s parents knew very little about autism at the time, and sought out a way to ensure that their child would be helped. They found measurable success from various schools and therapeutic techniques, including one that used surfing as a means of therapy.

After trying various methods, the Santiago family was made aware of Cannabidiol (CBD) oil as a non-psychoactive treatment for autism.

CBD is one of over a hundred cannabinoids present in cannabis. It can be used as an anti-tumoral, anti-inflammatory, antiemetic, anticonvulsant, anti-oxidant, anti-psychotic or anxiolytic.

When they were able to obtain CBD oil, Kalel was given small oral doses twice daily. In just 2 days, he began to speak.

“He surprised us in school by saying the vowels, A-E-I-O-U. It was the first time ever,” Abiel said. “You can’t imagine the emotion we had, hearing Kalel’s voice for the first time. It was amazing. The teacher recorded him and sent it to my wife and me and we said well, the only different thing we have been doing is using the CBD.”