If you’re a parents of a special needs child, chances are you’ve researched your child’s diagnosis(s) completely, knowing it almost as well as the professionals you consult. You’ve sought various treatments, both mainstream and not, maybe even looking at nutrition, changing colors of a room, or installing various sensory stimulating / calming equipment. If you’re a parent of a child diagnosed on the autism spectrum, you’ve likely noted the latest report where experts are disputing the gluten-free and casein-free diets that many parents swear by.
Why do they swear by these diets? In short, because these parents believe there is a link between gastrointestinal issues and autism. Imagine if you had an intestinal blockage, constipation, chronic diarrhea, a fungal overgrowth (yeast, etc), or twisting organs and you couldn’t communicate it. Imagine if you weren’t even sure what it was, all you knew is that you were in constant pain and discomfort, unable to verbalize this and it turned you into a behavioral firestorm. A “tantrum” from those on the outside, a meltdown of rage from those on the inside; head banging, hitting, kicking, biting, chucking of forks across a dinner table, repetitive behaviors such as rocking. All you want is to feel okay, to be okay, but you’re not even sure what ‘okay’ is (or at least that’s my perspective).
Parents who diligently practice these “hard core” diets find that their children’s outbursts decrease or cease, that there becomes a little more communication, more focus or concentration, an increase in their ability to learn, adapt to their environments, showing less “autistic-like” behaviors. The firestorm subsides because the insides are “right”. Some statistics estimate 1 in 5 children diagnosed with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) are on one of these rigid diets; other statistics say that 90% of ASD children have tried these diets. With a majority of parents, if not over 95%, seeing improvements in their child’s quality of life after strictly enforcing these diets, can there truly NOT be a link between gastrointestinal issues and ASD?
The latest report states 25 experts reviewed a variety of published research looking at the link between these two. In part, the study looks to dispute the idea that the “leaky gut” syndrome or “autistic enterocolitis” thought to be specific to autism exists. This syndrome was first introduced by Dr. Andrew Wakefield who found a connection between a particular type of autism and bowel disease to the measles vaccine in 1998. However, in all the studies reviewed by this latest group, only one study was a double-blind study and this was conducted on only 15 children, for only 12 days. Even those who aren’t experts understand that this single study was incomplete at best.
Additionally, experts (other experts) do say that there is a connection, agreeing more studies should be complete, but also caution the grouping of ASD functioning. For instance, children considered low functioning should not be grouped with high functioning autistics for a GI study since it is thought that there is a certain “type” of ASD that is linked to “leaky gut” syndrome. Still others, also agreeing on a connection, state that it’s unclear which comes first - the autism or the GI problems:
"There is a higher reported rate of GI (gastrointestinal) problems in children with autistic spectrum disorders compared with normal children and with children with other developmental disabilities," said Dr. Shlomo Shinnar, of the Montefiore Medical Center in The Bronx, N.Y.
"This has been reported in multiple case control studies." But a higher rate among children with autism doesn't mean autism caused the intestinal problems or vice versa," Shinnar said
. Many parents watch their child slam his head into the ground in a rage every hour, then receive a high level dose of antibiotics and become abnormally “normal”, only to have him return to a mean, raging, aggressive child again when the dose is out of his system; how could they not believe there’s a connection. When these parents watch this happen over and over again, how could they not believe that there’s a fungus or yeast overgrowth causing his irritability. Many parents of ASD children, or any child with a special need, will say that regardless of what the experts say, they “know” because they live it. Regardless of this latest study or any other study that refutes what parents of special needs children already know, parents must trust their instincts, do the research, experiment with the diets, and record the data on their children. Then, they WILL know best.
NOTE: It is extremely important to note that this is not implying that a gluten-free or casein-free diet is a cure for autism, nor is it appropriate for every autistic child or every family (see above re: different types of autism). Careful consideration must be made, along with consultation with a qualified, certified doctor, and your child’s treating doctors before beginning one of these diets. Do your due-diligence in research.
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