An expert panel is calling into question notions that children with autism are more likely to experience gastrointestinal problems and says that research does not support the use of special diets as a primary treatment of the developmental disorder.
In recent years parents flocked toward special diets restricting gluten and casien in an effort to treat autism, a move promoted by celebrities like Jenny McCarthy and supported by a now-discredited British study.
Now a panel of 28 medical experts says evidence does not support the diets as effective as a primary treatment for autism after conducting an exhaustive review of data related to gastrointestinal issues among children with autism.
The panel’s findings and recommendations were published Monday in the journal Pediatrics.
While there are some children who may benefit from special diets, given the risks that restrictive diets pose, the panel says more research needs to be done to determine markers for identifying children who the diets may help.
Further, they say more research needs to be done to determine the prevalence of gastrointestinal problems in children with autism. The group’s analysis found estimates ranging from 9 to 70 percent.
But whatever gastrointestinal issues are present in children with autism are also likely present in their typically developing peers, the expert panel reports, counter to some reports that have suggested that unique issues such as “leaky gut” may only exist in people with autism.
The panel advises that physicians take seriously parent reports of symptoms of gastrointestinal problems, which may manifest themselves in non-traditional ways such as behavior or trouble sleeping, since many children with autism are non-verbal.
Can you provide a link to this study. This article gives no information about how the study was conducted, or how they came to this conclusion. I need more info before I could ever forward this to anyone.
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/vol125/Supplement_1/index.dtl
What about the relationship between anxiety and gastrointestinal distress? I think autistic children have a lot more anxiety due to their social deficits, communication deficits, and sensory processing issues. This anxiety can manifest itself in stomach aches, diarrhea, even vomiting – which in turn can increase the social, communication, and sensory deficits.
from what i can see ..
this study addresses treatment of gastrointestinal problems in a group of people with autism
NOT treatment of autism.
PLEASE read the actual study. It isn’t even a “study” in the real sense. It’s a report made by a group of very distinguished doctors & people who work in the field of Autism. They evaluated existing data from Medline. They concluded by saying that the studies done aren’t good, and that there needs to be good studies done before judgement can be made. It’s too bad that even Disability Scoop is willing to run with a headline that isn’t truly accurate. I feel for the moms who are breathing a sigh of relief because they don’t have to feel guilty for not “doing the diet” for their Autistic child. This report did not say that.
I still kick myself for not starting the diet when I heard about it when my son was 3. He just got more and more autistic–even with Early Intervention. When he was 5 I took away Dairy, and then Gluten, and he’s been doing so much better ever since. It’s almost 10 years, and I am grateful for the future he will have because of the diet.
For those that have read this study, it’s a joke. GFCFSF mom is correct when she said that it isn’t a study. In fact what it is, is a bunch of physicians that basically say that they have no evidence that anything works or doesn’t work. It’s being published as proof that the GF/CF/SF doesn’t work. None of the research shows that to be the case. It’s also being said that there is no research showing the extent of intestinal issues in children with autism. However, they completely disregarded the research of Dr. Tim Buie at Harvard Medical School and other researchers that show an extremely high occurance of GI distress in autistic children.
I suppose if these fine doctors ask 100 kids who can’t speak if they have GI distress and none of them say yes, it must mean that it doesn’t exist, right????
Perhaps they should read “Evaluation, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Gastrointestinal Disorders in Individuals With ASDs: A Consensus Report” written by approximately 27 different MD from research hospitals and universities around the world. Perhaps they should ask the thousands of parents like my self who dealt with years of extreme constipation, violent diarrhea, malabsorption and food allergy issues. They would get a very different conclusion. I know hundreds of parents whose children were put on the diet and treated for GI problems and the kids either recovered or significantly improved. My son’s recovery from autism is all of the proof that I need. I will keep shouting from the roof tops that the diet helps, that there is help and there is hope! TACA Rocks!
For those of you who don’t have time to read the actual study, read the article above carefully. It states “as a primary treatment of”. Anyone with a child with Autism knows that there is no ONE primary treatment course of action and that each child requires a unique combination of interventions. I’m a Mom of a child with Autism who after taking milk out of his diet doubled his vocabulary in 7 days. For every article for something, there is one against it. Try something, if it works, great, if not try something else. Our kids are hurting and we don’t have time for everyone to agree on what the right treatment option is…