I enjoyed this post. I've been reading the Body Ecology Diet by Donna Gates and she too suggests the Glutin and Casin free diet for autism. My family Dr. suggested my 4 year old may be high functioning autistic, wants me to take him to Children's hosp for testing, I have not had him tested yet. I've been feeding him a gluten and casin free diet, giving him probiotics and cod liver oil.
How do you get a Dr. to run the types of tests Dr. Hyman ran. I know I can request a IgG food allergy test but what else and then how does your conventional Dr. handle these results?

My child is 4, she was diagnoised with autism when she was 2 1/2. for the past 1 1/2 years she has recieved steady speech and occupational therapy 3 times a week and was in school in the program for exceptional children and with all these therapies she is improving greatly. she won't stop talking now and is acting more and more like a typical child everyday.

I read your blog a lot and am very impressed by the way that you have chosen to treat disease/illness. I commend you for your efforts and believe that you will help to revolutionize medicine, which is needed. My main question about autism is, if it is all biologically related, why are the number of children with autism primarily male? I have watched numerous shows on the topic, but this is rarely addressed or just mentioned in passing. Certainly there must be a link?

Dr Hyman-

I appreciate your desire to education people on the very complex disease of autism. I feel you are providing disinformation by your statement

""Autism is a genetic brain disorder."

That is what most people -- and most of the medical community -- believe today.

I'm here to tell you that neither one of these statements is true."

There is extremely solid data indicating some types of autism are inherited which is absolutely a genetic cause. Please get you facts correct before widely distributing them. Families with autism are under significant emotional stress and do not need additional misleading information. It is true that some children benefit from antiinflammatory treatment but this is by no means a panacea.

Please review the following references and update your mailing and blog.

SchaeferGB, Lutz Re, Diagnostic yield in the clinical genetic evaluation of autism spectrum disorders.
Genet Med. 2006 Sep;8(9):549-56
Venkitaramani DV, Lombroso PJ Molecular basis of genetic neuropsychiatric disorders.Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2007 Jul;16(3):541-56.
Martin CL, Ledbetter DH. Autism and cytogenetic abnormalities: solving autism one chromosome at a time.Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2007 Apr;9(2):141-7

Kim Wilber

Improved nutrition can have a positive effect on most medical conditions.
My son, Brian, was diagnosed with Aspergers' Syndrome in middle school. There were signs as far back as pre-school, such as parallel-playing.
I remember that he had problems moving his bowel. He also had delays in tieing his shoes and riding a bike.
These all point to a neurological problem. I have read about scientific research at the University of Chicago that showed that the neurons in these childrens brains are shorter than in a normal child's brain.
While I believe that good nutrition and proper exercise can enhance everyone's brain function. But a dramatic changes are an indication that something more is going on here! These kids might very well have a susceptibility in their genes that can be triggered by toxic elements in our environment. That could explain the increases in autism spectrum disorders.
But there were always kids with Aspergers' we just didn't have a diagnostic label before 1994 for Aspergers'. So if you go back before vaccinations how do explain the Aspergers and autism before the use of vaccinations.
I don't know all the answers but with respect to my child I believe that his brain is neurologically different. He is now studying computer science (he just graduated with his A.S. in computer science).
Thank you for you advice regarding proper nutrition but I think that is only one piece to a very complicated puzzle because the humen brain is very complicated. And with autism being a spectrum disorder it is probably due to a combination of brain+body+environment.
I just want to say one more thing. Giving anti-psychotics to autistic children is a cruel, sadistic way to treat these children. It causes metabolic disorders that can cause life-threatening diseases such as diabetes.
Sincerely,
Catherine McEntee

Thank you for your article. It makes a lot of sense to me. My 4 year old was diagnosed a little over a year ago, but we have known since he was 18 months old that he had sensory integration issues. I think your article makes A LOT of sense, but my question is this - My son only eats 4 foods. PB & honey on waffles, shoestring french fries, gummy bears, and Trix yogurt. How can I remove these harmful foods from his diet when I can't get him to eat any other foods due to his sensory issues? He has been working with a speech therapist for over a year now and even still the only success we have had in regards to eating is he put a piece of popcorn in his mouth about the size of a pea and promptly spit it out due to gagging. Obviously we are dealing with some behavioral based feeding issues, but we can't find anyone in my area specialized to work with my son.

Sam's story is remarkably like the one told by Jenny McCarthy about her autistic son in this week's people... Maybe you can join forces to get the word out!

I am very impressed that a main stream doctor had the courage to print this column regarding autism. Thank you so much for your open-mindedness and the no nonsense way you present the information that AUTISM IS TREATABLE! I am the mother of a 6 year old who has been receiving all of the treatments you mention plus some. The journey to recovery is not an easy one but it can be done. It is essential that all parents get the message that there is HOPE for their child to improve.

Please continue to spread the word amidst your colleagues that America's children are sick in epidemic proportions and they need medical care. The medical establishment needs to help us recover our children that have been damaged.

Bless you Dr. Hyman for listening to your very wise mentor and for taking the leap to start helping children yourself. I applaud you!

Amy Stoutjesdyk
Blake's Mom

I'm wondering what your recommendations are for mapping out an alternative route to vaccinations, or for delineating what is needed to proceed safely with vaccines for a 27 month old boy.

Our autistic grandson is almost 8. The only medication he takes is to control minor epilespy.
He has food preferences which lead me to believe a total change in diet will help.
He is brillant and I'm sure he knows and does more that anyone can verify.
Although he has regained some speech skills he still has behavore problems.
He prefers fruit to anything (at Halloween he takes the apple and orange out of his bag first.)
He limits his bread and gluten, loves chees and chicken.
does not sleep after pizza, but parents have not accepted the fact.
Still I give him probiotics and pass along every article I can find. It is helping and they are getting info to take to a DAN doctor.
I must relate this story because it is causing the change.
We live in Huntington, WV and attend Marshall football. My daughter sat beside a couple from Roanoke who had an autistic son who had turned around thru DAN. Later,my daughter collected some pictures and received 4 rolls instead of 3. The fourth roll belonged to Ruth Sulivan's son "THE RAIN MAN." Life works in strange ways.

Almost no one pays attention to stomache function, in paticular gastro guys. Low stomache ph causes more problems than are countable. If the somaches ain't happy, nothing downstream is working correctly and that causes lots of chronic conditions. It's petty easy to measure, but no one does. The assumption is that everyone has too much stomache acid--false. Do some measuring to get the truth.

THANK YOU!!!!! I was just commenting on this epidemic the other day. I was saying that the dramatic increase in autism had to be environmentally/food related. It's nice to know I'm not imagining things!

Thank you, Dr. Hyman, for really illustrating what is going on medically in kids with autism. And special thanks for including a link to the DAN (Defeat Autism Now) website that gives parents more detailed information on healing these kids.

My 5-year-old son has autism, and we have spent a year running extensive tests and peeling away the layers of medical problems that are resulting in his autism. Testing these kids is really the key to finding out what's going on - it's really mainstream medical stuff! So Why aren't more pediatricians doing it?

Well, hopefully now that biomedical treatment for autism is getting more publicity in the media recently, they will. I believe the dark days of autism are coming to an end, and soon it will be commonplace to treat the underlying medical conditions associated with autism.

In our case, we uncovered everything you describe in the story about Sam - gluten and dairy intolerance, food allergies, leaky gut, nutritional deficiencies, yeast, bacteria, inflammation, oxidative stress, impaired methylation, deficient sulfur and glutathione and heavy metals toxicity.

The only thing I would add to your list is using a urine test called a porphyrin test to test for the presence of heavy metals in the body. Test the blood for heavy metals will only show recent exposures, not past exposures. Heavy metals very quicklt leave the bloodstream and settle into tissues where they are undetectable by a blood test. And hair testing only show what metals are being excreted. These kids have a problem with excreting metals and toxins, so hair tests will often show nothing.

My son showed no metals in his hair (because he has methylation and sulfation detoxification problems) and no metals in his blood (no recent exposures). But his porphyrin test came back with very severe metals poisoning. You can find out more about porphyrin testing through DAN.

After a year of treating my son biomedically, he is now almost fully recovered. Recovery is possible.

I heard of a story (about a friend of a friend) this week where a mother took her severly autistic son to the HMO emergency room with intestinal distress. The doctors said he was fine, but she, a pediatric nurse, knew they were wrong. After 36 hours of waiting, followed by an exam by a different doctor, they finally got an x-ray. The x-ray revealed intestinal bleeding and the child was taken for emergency surgery. This type of medical "care" goes way beyond negligence. Please keep spreading the truth.

Dr. Hyman, I appreciate your comments about autism. Do you have any insight into treating borderline personality disorder via metabolic intervention? My daughter is BPD/bipolar. We have both mood disorders and Asperger's all over the family tree. Maybe if I could get her to read something you post she might(please God)listen just enough to try something on her own. Thank you for listening.

I am currently raising a 4.5 year old son with autism. He was diagnosed just before his 2nd birthday. He currently have no understandable verbal communication and show no understanding of what is spoken to him. He does speak jargon all day long. He currently attends an early childhood preschool where he is the only autistic child. He receives speech and occupational therapy. I have heard alot about the gluten-free casein-free diet but don't know how to start this with my son. He currently only eats the following items: Cheetoh Cheese Puffs, Cheddar Lays Stack Chips, Little Debbie Pecan Rolls, Cinnamon Graham Crackers, Jiff Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Cinnamon and Sugar Toast. We're going through feeding therapy now but nothing has changed. I would like to try this diet but need help. Please help me know what types of food to buy that my son would actually eat.

Thanks,
Carrie T.

I can't speak to autism, but in the case of ADD, there is a genetic component that has been identified. Certainly many children (and adults) are over-diagnosed, but they are under-diagnosed as well.

Perhaps part of the challenge lies in looking at differences as problems. There is evidence that ADD has been in gene pool for a long time. People with ADD are inventors, entrepreneurs, humanitarians - creative and innovative people who add something to the world.

Health and wellness is always the goal, no matter what. But "different" doesn't necessarily mean "bad."

Thanks Mark for writing this piece.
the story you told above was pretty much word for word my sons story, and with diet and some supplents we have seen a dramatic recovery . With no support from our MD we have relied on other parents doing the same thing. in the UK the charity Treating Autism are excellent. (www.treatingautism.com)
thanks againand good luck to all the parents too

My son was diagnosed with PDD right after he turned 2. I knew something was wrong as he was not yet talking and would "perseverate" on spinning things for hours. Up to this point, my pediatrician told us that he was a "boy" and was just "delayed". When we told her about the diagnosis, she just flippantly waved her hand and said, "well, I'm not familiar with that doctor you used."

My husband found a book 'Unraveling the mystery of autism and pervasive development disorder'. This book addressed exactly what this article is saying. I immediately put my son on this GF/CF diet and within weeks, his language started to appear. When I told my pediatrician about this diet, she seemed angry and said it wasn't a proven method. Instead of helping us find answers, she shut the doors on trying something new. She is no longer our pediatrician.

We stayed on the diet for 6 months then slowly started to integrate gluten back in and eventually some casein.

He also has received in-tense at-home therapy, but this did not start until Thomas was already talking and on his way.

The diet is not easy to adhere to. But it is worth getting your child back. Try it for 6 months. It won't hurt your child and the potential of helping your child is tremendous!

My son is now 4.5 and very close to being "normal" (as his EC teacher says).

Thank you for publishing this article. Parents/doctors/public need to be educated on other, safer, more effective avenues than drugs!

my son will be going in for more vaccinations at his 18-month visit. and i am really concerned about the mmr shot at 22 months. if my son is getting these shots, is there anything i can do to prevent ill effects? should i ask that the immunizations be made as single shots and spread out over a longer time period? how so? should he be tested for any toxicities at this point, when nothing untoward has been diagnosed? after reading and reading on autism, i'm scared about it, but don't know what i should be doing to avoid it. thanks, liz

Very insightful and information regarding Autism. But, this raises the question of the possible link to the MMR. My 22-month-old is scheduled to receive his MMR in November. What do you suggest as possible alternatives, preparations, etc., to ensure the vaccination does not produce the onset of autism?

My 9 year old son has Aspergers Syndrome. Psychotropic drugs are suggested for him daily by teachers and school administration. So far I have managed to keep him off the poison but my luck is beginning to run out. Soon I may be charged with child abuse for choosing not to drug him. I would have liked to look into all that was spoken about here but I am laughed at and it's seen as more evidence of my abuse to my son. Teachers are taking over the medical care of my child and the courts are on their side. What am I to do???

Heidi,

Please educate yourself further before you allow you child to receive the MMR. You can find a wealth of information at www.909shot.com or www.NVIC.org.

Autism was rare when immunizations were given one at a time, weeks apart. Then if the baby's immune system was compromised in any way (slight cold, etc.) there would be no overload on his system.

Oh my god, you are feeding your kid nothing but chemicals. Throw it all away - it is all trash
Get him on "real" food. You are killing him with that diet. Sure, it tastes good to him and his taste buds are so accustomed to the poison MSG that any vegetable or fruit will be intolerable at first try. It takes a few weeks to retrain the palate to accept the new healthy foods. If he refuses the food, let him go hungry. Once a person is truly hungry, they will eat the real food, and they will enjoy it.

See this is where I get frustrated. My son will go without eating. He's not eating these foods because they taste good but because of their textures. I've been through feeding therapy for years and this is as good as it has gotten. He used to not eat solid foods at all. So, to hear just let him go hungry upsets me. He's my child how can I let him go hungry. But, in another sense I hear what you are saying. That is why I haven't yet tried the gluten-free and casein-free diet. Because I just don't know where to begin. My son definitely eats to live and doesn't live to eat. Thanks for your reply.

Dr. Hyman,

My Son Justin was diagnosed with Autism this past May just before his second birthday.

He's had genetic, hearing and seizure testing-all normal.
He currently is in therapy 16hrs a week.
One of his is main problems is with food textures. He is still eating baby foods and he will eat a limited variety of crackers, cookies, pretzels etc--which the pediatric specialist told me was a "typical" diet for a child that has Autism. Why is this?? Why do these children crave the very foods that are possibly making them sick??

In my reading, I have found information saying that these foods (Gluten-wheat, Casein-milk products) are not broken down normally by some children and leave a molecule similar to an opiate that leaks from the gut into the bloodstream. It causes a systemic and neurochemical imbalance that produces the Autism characteristics. As an opiate like substance gives a feeling of pleasure and can be very addictive, these children crave the very foods that are making them ill.

After all the reading I have done to this point, I am convinced that there is some connection with diet and Autism. How can anyone ignore the high percentage of parents that have tried this diet and have had amazing results?? I guess that's where seeing is believing.
I am in the process of researching this before I start this with my child. Unfortunately, I live a rural area where awareness on this subject is limited and I am meeting some resistance from his therapist in starting this. She has reservations due to his food issues, and I feel he has food issues because of his diet.

I guess my main point is that we all want the best for our children and if there is something out there to help them that is safe, why not try it. If your child had cancer and there was a magic pill to cure it, wouldn't you try it??

If your child has Autism and the diet doesn't work, well at least you know you tried and won't have to live with the what if's.

Hope

Carrie-

I'm so pleased that you are looking into this diet. I just wanted to sent a note to encourage you to follow through. I sooooo know what you are going through. The first day I started it, I burst into tears when I realized that I had virtually nothing in the house that my son could eat. (even most hotdogs have casein in them)

Luckily for us, most regular grocery stores carry a section of GF/CF foods and all food companies are required to put on their packages whether or not their products have milk or wheat in them. They didn't have this a few years back.(of course gluten is also in oats, barely, etc.... so be careful)

My son too had a very limited selection of foods he would eat. And he also will just not eat if he doesn't like it. Hunger did not encourage him to start eating. But there is hope! There are foods out there that are "like" what your son eats. And if you can't find it prepackaged, there are also special cookbooks out there that you can use to create your own foods.

I won't kid you. It's a lot of work and frustrating and you'll get a lot of negative comments from others (unfortunately including doctors and therapists). But this isn't their son, he's yours and you need to do what's best for him. And once you get into the routine, it's not too bad.

Good Luck, I hope this works for you like it did for us.

Kathy

Carrie, please contact me to try DR. ORGANICS which is a powder that you mix with water. They have fruits, greens, and protien which are all orpanic and triple orac tested. You can mix them with bananas or strawberrys or just in water. They taste like a shake but most importantly they give your body every vitaminand mineral you need.

Brian,
This does sound like something I could try. Curtis does drink soymilk so maybe he would drink this if I mixed it with milk or water. You can contact me at my email address carriethole@hotmail.com. I appreciate your reply as well as everyone elses. It's nice to hear from other parents of children with autism. Sometimes I feel like I'm all alone and fighting a losing battle. I just want whats best for my son.

Thanks,
Carrie T.

Kathy,

Thank you for your reply. It's nice to hear that someone else has experienced the same problems that I am having. So, based on your email you think that with a little research that I can obtain all the foods that Curtis eats with no gluten or casein. He's just particular about his food. I mean when he eats he rarely looks at his food. He determines what he wants to eat by feel. So, if the texture isn't exactly right he won't eat it. I know I need to do this but am a little optomistic about it. The food items at the store must state gluten free and casein free on them. Right? Is there somewhere I can go for more information on this diet?

Thanks,
Carrie Thole

Excellent article.........A a naturopath, I see incredible betterment when food intolerances are corrected and heavy metals removed........

Gluten is one of the worst intolerances also, and they hide it in everything today.

Refreshing to see a mainstream Dr. attack the cause instead of symptoms.Keep up the good work!

I would like to know what they attribute all those toxins in the childs body to. Is it from a combination of diet and immunizations? Was the child on a very poor diet prior with lots of processed foods? Also, has anyone seen the Juice Plus products? I believe very deeply that they are one of the best foods (not supplements) to assist in getting your child the nutrients they need to fight free radicals and reduce DNA damage. They are a whole food, not another chemical which is what I regard multivitamins as. They are made from fully vine ripened fruits and vegetables and gluten free. I am not familiar with casein. The fruits and vegetables in Juice Plus come from very select farms (in USA!)and are almost completely organic. The daily serving of Juice Plus (capsules, chewables or gummies) is equal to eating 13 different fruits and vegetables. Everyone knows variety is very important but no one can come close to the daily requirements with food available today. Juice Plus also has many independent studies done by various Universities and phisicians. In addition they offer free Juice Plus to children ages 5-12 yrs old. You just have to purchase a monthly supply of adult Juice Plus to recieve the childrens. It is a Children's health study they do which requires you to fill out a survey quarterly stating how much your child was sick, etc. Anyway, I just wanted to mention it because I am very happy I found it for my family.

I agree about the inflammation in the body/brain; parents should also investigate the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania website is www.iahp.org. They are the only program in the world that have published RESULTS of their work with brain injured children, one category of which is autism. Dr. Glen Doman wrote the book "What to Do About Your Brain Injured (or Mentally Retarded, Mentally Deficient, Cerebral Palsey, Athetoid, Spastic, Autistic, etc. Child). I just returned from a one week intensive training for parents about this book and cannot recommend the institutes enough - if nothing else, just look! You owe it to your child

I have had 4 DAN doctors, amongst other doctors, each one has a different opinion on chelation IV...what is your thought on chelating a 2 and 3 year old with Ca EDTA IV? also IV Glutathione....any info is appreciated...

I agree that many types of autism may just be a result of severe allergies and inability to metabolize certain chemicals. It is definitely worth a try for parents of children recently diagnosed with autism, because early intervention will yield the best results.

However, I take serious issue with this statement:

"His parents were told that nothing could be done except arduously painful and barely effective behavioral and occupational therapy techniques."

I am an ABA therapist working with a "low-functioning" autistic boy who is nonverbal. It is ridiculous to call therapy painful. I would never hurt this child and he is never uncomfortable during our sessions. It is like school: he doesn't necessarily want to do it, but if he does well he gets praise (or candy), so he voluntarily sits down for activities with me. These therapies are very effective at eliciting communication skills. My client could not express any of his needs when we started therapy, but now he can understand some commands and use PECS to tell us what he wants. A new diet might work wonders, but that is up to his family, not to me, so unfortunately I will never find out if that is his problem. Still, ABA therapy is much more than "barely effective" and is the next-best alternative to a real recovery.

In short, please don't discontinue occupational behavior therapy just because one doctor says it's all about the food. He may very well be right, but ABA therapy is not harmful, arduous, or painful in any way.

Are you raising a child with autism?

ANSWER:My daughter just turned three this Aug. and was diagnosed in march.

How is he or she being treated?

ANSWER:I had taken her to a doctor here in AZ that seemed to be great but the only thing he was doing was giving her risperidol. Which seemed to make things worse after a short time and i took her off and haven't seen him since. She is going to a special preschool for learning disabled children and i am in the middle of trying to get her speech therapy and music therapy back. other than that i try to get her to eat what i can when i can and try every way i can think of to get her to talk.

Have you tried any of the approaches here?

ANSWER: I have not tried anything here yet but if i can afford a doc to help me i will try anything.

My daughter is my life and i try what i can with what i have but because of her disorder, i can't work. All i can do is help in the ways that i see working. if there is anything i can do to help her please let me know. I want my VIVI back. Thank you.

As a personal trainer,I couldn't agree more with your style of treating patients. I am sick of hearing many doctors prescribing more chemicals to syndromes or illnesses like Autism, IBS, Attention disorders etc, without finding the REAL reason. My nephew is a bright young boy whom was diagnosed with very mild Autism and struggles now with staying back at school and special classes. I am sure it has more to do with his body chemisry and nutrition. Is there anyone in Australia/NSW associated with your line of thinking or practices? I am inthe USA but my brother is in Australia and I would like him to seek another option.

My son, age 23, was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome 10 years ago. He's been in counseling since then and taking anti-anxiety medication along with Adderall for his ADHD. Not much has been working well. Is it too late for a change in diet, etc. for him?

This is great information. The Process makes so much sense.
Is there any way to practice this type of medicine without going through conventional medical school?
Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You

Melissa,

The fact that he is self limiting to a lot of wheat and dairy points to a drug-like reaction to those foods. For many autistic kids, it's like they're tiny addicts.

There are gluten free waffles available in stores like whole foods. Most french fries are gluten free. I am not sure if there are gluten free gummy bears, but the Internet is a great resource. You will probably have to stop the yogurt cold turkey.

The great thing about this is that within a few weeks, as the addiction is broken, they will have an easier time with sensory issues. My son has been gluten free for a while now and is no longer bothered so much by substances on his hands and fingers -- he now finger paints happily, for example.

You'll also find after a few weeks that he may be able to tolerate other foods. Gluten free can be difficult, but when kids are as self-limiting as yours is, it tends to be easier in the short term. Gluten hides in all sorts of things however -- toothpaste, shampoo, lotions, condiments -- so be sure to check into gluten free options so you're ready once your son wants to try something new. Good luck!

Susan

Carrie,

There are many many options. Don't be discouraged. I know it's hard!

Whole Foods is an excellent store. You can get almost anything in a gluten free casein free form. Gluten hides in nearly everything!

Please e-mail me. I have been gluten free for about five years now. I will help you if I can.

susan at pendantaudio dot com

Christine,

I feel for you. I will never put my son on drugs like that.

Like it has been outlined, a gluten free casein free diet has helped many many kids.

There are options. It's hard to find support. There is a web site called functionalmedicine.org where you can find physicians that will look at all of these options. Hopefully you can find someone who can help you with your son. Good luck!

Dear Dr Hyman
I agree with you about Autism. Have you ever looked into the Naet process of desensitizing
people Web Site is www.naet.com
I go to a Holistic MD in Michigan Dr David
Brownstein I have seen some of the work they have done with autism and using Naet
Ethel Rosen

I'm a clinical social worker at a treatment centre for PDD and ASD kids in Canada. I'm also a mother of a 9 yr old boy with poor attention and concentration difficulties. It is very hard to get Pediatricians and Family Doctors to take the possible MMR cause to Autism, much less have them endorse a special diet since they affirm there is no scientific validation or evidence based research backing them up. Plus, the cost of having kids tested is OUTRAGEOUS and 80% if not more families cannot aford it so they are left with conventional explanation and treatment. Dr. Hyman seems on the right track but he also benefits a great deal finacially form his functional medicine. What do we tell parents and how do we encourage them to seek these answers and treatment without socially affordable and acceptable options that are limited to the United States???

I have Asperger's Disorder. I know a great deal more about diet and exercise than the average lay person and serve on my tribe's health board, but for as long as I can remember my skin felt like it was burning. I knew this was a symptom of systemic inflammation but the cause eluded me. In 1982 I read a book about antioxidants and amino acids and have been taking them ever since.

Several months ago I bought Ultra Metabolism and the Detox Box. Good stuff. I glanced through it but my 120-hour workweek (regular job plus tribal duties) made reading "other material" a challenge. Then at a Sept. 14th tribal function the director of our voc rehab department encouraged me to eliminate gluten from my diet. I did. I'm 54 years old and for the first time in my life I feel...not bad.

Then I received Dr. Hyman's Sept. 27th email relating gluten to autistic spectrum disorders. I had heard this before, but Dr. Hyman's article explained it in a way that put everything into context: issues with glutathione metabolism and methylation, the systemic inflammation, it makes sense, particularly now that my skin has stopped burning.

The chronic inflammation around my mouth is almost gone, and I guess that there are changes I can't see but others can because people are reacting to me in a more positive way, now. Having Asperger's, I have experienced many social challenges. Even though I slogged my way through 8 years of college (which I paid for, along with all my living expenses), in the 26 years since graduation jobs have been hard to keep solely due to social issues. Consequently, there have been times when I had to take menial labor to pay my bills.

Since learning that I had an autistic spectrum disorder I've followed the research on cause and consequence, and have experimented with nutritional supplements looking for ways to mitigate it. The positive changes I have experienced since eliminating gluten from my diet are profound. Do I agree that gluten is the trigger agent the causes autism? Pretty much. Do I agree that the current (mainstream medical) thinking about autism is wrong? Yes, absolutely.

My child is 4yoa and has recently been diagnosed with Sensory Integration Syndrome. I know that this is about autism, but that was one of the things they looked at first, then ausberger and finally was diagnosed with SIS or SID. If anyone can give me a few pointers on how to deal with this. He is currently going to an OT, but any out-side of the box thinking might help.

We have been following the Dan protocol for my 6-year-old Asperger son for the past 2 months. We have been gluten free (and somewhat casien free) for two years. We've seen changes along the way, but most recently saw huge changes after introducing a yeast eliminator. My son went from running in circles and talking continuously about one subject--Thomas the Tank Engine--to having normal interaction and conversation about anything. His eye contact has improved dramatically. And his tantrums and aggression pretty much stopped. His teacher can't get over the transformation and it has become a joy to teach him. For us, it is miraculous.

My ADD daughter has been gfcf for two years as well but has only been on the DAN protocol for one month. We saw dramatic improvements in her energy and personality once we changed the diet, but have not seen a big difference yet with the DAN protocol. We hope to, since it took almost 2 months to see a change in our son. (With DAN, supplements are introduced every 4-5 days, so it is a slow process.)

Our DAN doctor is Dr. Hicks of Delevan, WI. He recently told me he just returned from a conference in Lennox, Mass. Perhaps you know him.

Anyway, we BELIEVE in the biomedical approach and were happy to come across your books this summer. I hope the world soon catches up with the rest of us.

Kathy Vescovi

Thank you for this post. My daughter, Taylor, is now 14 years old, and at the top of her class (A Student in a difficult High School program), athletic and socially well liked. A far cry from the autistic label she was given at age two. Back then, we could have a feast on the table, and she would not look beyond the plain crackers on her plate. She would run corner to corner flapping her arms and squeeling, and have fits of rage. After taking her off of milk products (and ONLY this), she came back to us within three days. After three years of special ed to make up for lost time, she progressed normally, and today she has only mild Asbergers symptoms that most teachers don't even know about. She still likes to "pace" without flapping her arms, but she is aware she is doing it, and does it for relaxation, when she chooses and WITHOUT anyone judging it. It's just her thing. At 14, it is hard to get her to stay off all milk products, because she has choice points that are not in my control, but she polices herself most of the time. When I tell parents about Taylor's recover by diet, they look at me like it could never work, that the solution is too simple for such a grave illness. But it was dairy products, at least for her. I can't imagine what our lives would be like if we had not discovered it. My heart goes out to every parent on the search. And the link to www.MeditationMovie.com is a short movie I created that many kids love, and autistic kids and their parents really need!

I wondered this very thing. Did you happen to receive any advise? My boy is 14 months and so far, he is doing great. I am scared that vaccinations will hurt him.
Thanks,
Diane

I thank you for your input on Autism. My grandson is turning 3 years old in december 22. my grandson was a very advance baby up into the age of 2 before we start seeing a delay in him. My daugther is a young mother she's 26 years old this is very hard for her and we would like to have as much help as we can get.

thank you

Rosella

Beware of vaccines in large amounts. Speaking from personal experience I had many vaccines for which I was told were necessary in order for me to travel safely thru many 3rd world countries, including a six month supply of anti malarial. The result, 8 years of Chronic fatigue syndrome whose onset began 2 days after receiving a dose of 3 vaccines. I was not the only one either a friend had the same result. The high levels of toxin in the vaccine overwhelmed my immune system, now I see were doing the same to our children with horrible results. They don’t need all those vaccines. I was raised in New Zealand & did not have what children have today here in the USA & I, like my friends were fine until I decided one day to travel the globe.

ABA is a practice that goes against-the-grain, forcing a disabled person to rigidly conform to impersonal and artificial rules and standards. It is another example of treating the symptoms instead of the cause.

That said, ABA can be helpful if you are fortunate enough to get conscientious therapist/practitioner who is sensitive to your child. But the risk for the opposite is high, the cost of the therapy is not cheap, and the results are typically minimal relative to the bio approach (such as described in this blog's subject article).

If you are looking for additional therapy to complement your natural, bio-medical treatment, try looking into the Son-Rise Program provided by the Autism Treatment Center of America (in the U.S.). (FYI - I am not affiliated with them.) Their program works to establish bonding and communication and enable the child to start to help themselves .. without the use of forced conformity. There are probably other similar programs out there.

Bottom line: you must research and evaluate. Don't blindly accept other people's word for what is best for your child.

DR. Hyman,

Finally someone "GETS IT". How sad that it has taken this long.
I am the mother of a 15 year old son with Aspergers. Who has also had the misfortune of having Esthisioneuroblastoma, but is a survivor today.
Our journey began when he was three years old and lost his abilitiy to speak or respond in a manner appropriate for his age.
It took us five long years of Doctor after Doctor, countless insults by the professional community to finally come to an aspergers diagnosis. How sad that my son had lost all of this valuable time due to the incompetancy of the medical community here in Buffalo, New York. At the time, they were unwilling to believe me and knew little about Autism Spectrums.
I researched on the internet until my fingers were about to fall off, talked with other parents of autistic children and began looking for the common denominator.
I was convinced that a nutritional approach was the best road to follow for my son.
My son was given epsom salt baths three times a week. He reports feeling much more relaxed and able to concentrate better and would ask for them if I forgot. You know it's of benefit if the child is requesting it.
We also included high quality fish oil ( hidden in various foods), and kefir, a probiotic food VERY beneficial in healing the gut and all systems. I would also make chicken soup to which I added finely diced seaweed once a week.
We began to see a marked difference in my son's behavior. Less tantrums, better eye contact. School grades improved slightly and my son began to allow other children into his life as friends.
Someday I would love to write a book about our very long and painful journey. I don't think others would believe the insults and injustices we had to wade through to get to this point.
My son is now almost 16 and doing much better. I still have to hide the supplements as he is not always cooperative with taking them. We see a different boy since we have taken a nutritional approach. I firmly believe this is the way to go.
Thank you so much for writing on this subject. It is my sincere wish that other parents try this for at least six months and keep a journal. A journal is important because the changes can be subtle at first. I had categories listed in my daily journal such as behavior, energy, eye contact, stimming, etc which I then broke down to sub categories A,B,C, under each. This gave me a much better picture day to day, week to week as to the improvements I was seeing.

Hoping parents will try the nutritional approach. It's natural and much beeter than stuffing man made drugs down your child's throat. Natural foods give life long benfits. Drugs usally give life long problems.

Norma Rose

Oh my goodness! I have a ten year old daughter under the Autism spectrum. As a family we were on the gluten-free, casein-free diet for several years. We saw some results, such as a dramatic decrease in self-injurous behaviors. One of her doctors wanted to do some allergy testing so we slowly introduced these foods back into her diet with no problems occuring. Turns out the only testing they did was scratch tests on her back for things like trees and mold, etc. Did not do urine tests for gluten. Since she had not shown any effects of being back on it we have let her have it for the last couple of years. Things have not gotten any worse, but she still doesn't talk and now they are trying to tell me they suspect Rhett's Syndrome instead. The doctors in the area are completely clueless about Autism. What can I do without a doctor?

Carrie,

Try www.gfcfdiet.com. This is a website dedicated to letting people know what you can and can not eat on a gluten free, casein free diet.

Also, remember that going gfcf also includes household items such as soaps, lotions, glue on stickers, etc. This website will prove extremely valuable to get you started on alternatives.

April

I think there is a typo in the quoted paragraph from the following link:

http://www.ultrawellness.com/blog/current-thinking-about-autism?utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=0501-07022009&utm_content=default

"Sam also had trouble with a key biochemical function called methylation that is required to make normal neurotransmitters and brain chemicals and is critical for helping the body get rid of toxins.
This showed up as LOW levels of homocysteine (signs of problems with folate metabolism) and high methylmalonic acid (signs of problems with B12 metabolism). He also had two genes that set him up for more problems with this system."

I capitalized the word "low" and made it bold.  From my understanding of homocysteine, low levels are better for ones health.  I think it should read "high levels of homocysteine".  Perhaps the author ment "low levels of methylation".

Michelle Johnson,ND
Synergetics Health & Wellness
www.synergeticshealth.com
(702) 240-3533

 I am attempting to work with a 16-year autistic young man. His detoxification processes are extremely hampered, and I need to find out what kind of infections he has in his gut. Generally, what tests do you run for this purpose?

hello,

is autism (pdd nos) can be reversable also in older age (my daughter will be 10 years old in March)?