WaPo: Autism and diet: Many questions to digest
By Jennifer LaRue Huget
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Read the full article in The Washington Post.
Last week, the British medical journal the Lancet, which had originally published a controversial 1998 study by British researcher Andrew Wakefield that implied a link between autism and the vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella, formally retracted that study. In the wake of this, one of the tantalizing areas to be explored is the role diet might play in the lives of children with autism.
Research published in October showed that 1 in 91 children has a disorder somewhere along the autism spectrum, with degrees of severity ranging from mild to major. (Federal figures released in December put that number at 1 in 110.) For now, the only treatment known to help kids with autism -- the most common of the conditions that make up what is known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) -- is placement in an education program that's appropriate to their specific needs, providing speech and language therapy to boost their ability to communicate, and helping them develop social skills, according to Susan Levy, director of the Regional Autism Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics' autism subcommittee...
@Anne:
Have you ever noticed that if your child gets better after changing his diet, the doctor says, "Coincidence!"
When your child screams for HOURS after a vaccine, followed by monumental developmental regression, "Coincidence!"
Other family members who have severe reactions to vaccines, "Coincidence!"
But they will give your child antibiotics for a VIRAL ear infection, and when it gets better three days later, it's NOT a coincidence, it's because of the antibiotic?????
Posted by: Momof5 | February 16, 2010 at 11:05 PM
I sometimes overhear groups of non-biomed autism parents talking about how no one in their house sleeps, how their child is up half the night, how tired they are all the time. Unfortunately, when you're hearing people have discussions like this in cliques, they've often already made up their minds and are policed by each other into remaining in a rut. I might mention that my kids sleep, that we suspect the sleeplessness was due to subclinical seizures and that the GF/CF diet seems to address this, may even save their lives. I mention the eye contact, the excellerated learning, the explosion of language, etc. And they stare and suck their teeth, then resume complaining. I don't expect anything different, but there's always a hope for the sake of their children that one or another might go off and think for themselves at some point. I'm afraid the kind of propaganda that's in this article can literally be deadly because it feeds that denial.
Posted by: Gatogorra | February 16, 2010 at 08:21 PM
Ahhh finally I got to read it.It was coming up that it had been moved. Must be my end.
The woman they quoted has not seen the end of the vaccine autism connection because its one of those things that just keep resurfacing --- it is called the truth! Truth seems to do that a lot! - Darn, how inconvenient!
Posted by: Benedetta | February 16, 2010 at 04:59 PM
Well, well somebody from CHOP is quoted! Quelle suprise!
Just take the kid off milk and wheat and be done with it people. Do you want to sleep through the night or not?
Posted by: julie | February 16, 2010 at 02:05 PM
"we don't know the true prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms in kids with autism."
So sad... It's because they don't want to look methinks.
Posted by: ObjectiveAutismDad | February 16, 2010 at 01:55 PM
The last paper I would ever read is the Washington Post so I didn't follow the link. Am I really expected to ask permission from a doctor about what to feed my children. Give me a break. The last doctor I saw was a good 60 pounds overweight,red faced and seriously looked like he had been up all night drinking
Jim Beam and smoking crack. I almost laughed when he walked into the exam room. Please, fatty, tell me what I should eat.
Diet matters to EVERYONE.
Posted by: Washington Post is a rag | February 16, 2010 at 01:01 PM
Some one check on that Washington Post website. It is not working for me????
Yes, I know, You should have seen me trying to put my son on a Ketogenic diet with out the backing of the medical profession. I still have that yellowish orange book well worn. But you try getting a kid on a diet and the whole family and friends handing out candy, potatoe chips, and birthday cakes. -- AND who told you this is the diet he needs???? Did the doctors say he had epilepsy??? I thought you said his EEG was okay and he is off the seizure medicine now???? You should have seen how the medical doctors looked at me when I tried to get them to agree, or asked for thier knowledge (education on their part was bad)
But I have noticed lately - at the big Universities - the doctors there are not only open to it - but have some knowledge. I had one ask me just last week how the Atkin's diet was going and then he asked if we were taking CoenzymeQ10 - I told him we had for years but it did not seem to work. He then asked about L-Carnitine!!!!! Amazing???
Posted by: Benedetta | February 16, 2010 at 12:07 PM
When we first decided to try the GFCF diet, I also wanted to consult with a certified nutritionist. We were put on a "waiting list," as the Children's Hospital only had ONE dietician for all their clients. Guess what, in spite of regular inquiries, we never recieved an appointment (in 2 1/2 years). Also, most insurance companies do NOT cover nutritional consults. We ended up finding a great DAN doctor in Houston, who was also a certified nutritionist. We still consult with him, even though he's out-of-state for us now (and has always been an out-of-pocket expense). After being on the GFCF diet for only 3 weeks, our daughter's "irratable bowel syndrome" that she'd had for 8 years mysteriously disappeared, and she was finally able to potty train. When we mentioned this to our regular pediatrician, he said she just "matured" coincidetally at the same time as the diet change. Funny, our son, who is also on the spectrum "coincidentally matured" after 3 weeks as well. Most pediatricians I've spoken with don't have a clue as to what proper nutrition is, and all improvements seem to be chalked up to "coincidence". As a health professional myself, I find it very frustrating that doctors refuse to listen to the parents, and we are pretty much left to fend for ourselves when it comes to finding qualified specialists.
Posted by: Anne | February 16, 2010 at 11:19 AM
I couldn't help but notice the GFCF cookbook in the picture associated with this article :)
Details on that cookbook, sample recipes, and an email link to the author to ask her questions about any of the recipes in the book or posted on the website are available at:
http://autismmomcooksgfcf.com/
Posted by: John Hemenway (autism dad and husband of the cookbook's author) | February 16, 2010 at 10:57 AM
Slightly off topic (not much though).
Apparently, Oxytocin is getting some press. I wrote about it on my blog here:
http://my-socrates-note.blogspot.com/2010/02/uh-ohthe-parents-are-right-about.html
Posted by: Craig Willoughby | February 16, 2010 at 09:59 AM
Isn't it strange how no one ever instructs your average American family to see a nutritionist? Why of course - a diet consisting primarily of chicken nuggets, mac & cheese and pizza is perfectly fine!
Eyes rolling.
My child wouldn't eat anything except the above items UNTIL we went GFCF. Now I frequently hear from other moms how "healthy" my son eats and "how do you get him to do that?"
Even more interesting - my husband dropped his bad cholesterol 20 points.
The way we typically eat in this country is killing us.
Posted by: Parent | February 16, 2010 at 07:41 AM