There are several special diets commonly used in autism. Some are very broad and others focus on a specific issue that may affect a subset of children; often people use more than one in combination. It is best not to start a trial of a special diet until you have read enough to know why you are doing it, how to do it properly and what to expect from it.
Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Diet (GFCF Diet)
Unraveling the Mystery of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder: A Mother’s Story of Research and Recovery by Karyn Seroussi – this book really delves into why and how the diet works as well as what you need to do. A great place to start!
Special Diets for Special Kids and Special Diets for Special Kids Two by Lisa Lewis, Ph.D. – fantastic resources for the practical aspects of doing the diet and lots of recipes.
Autism Network for Dietary Intervention (ANDI) – website formed by Seroussi and Lewis, has tons of information including parent contacts and an online message board. They also have a new book due out in June 2008 called The Encyclopedia of Dietary Interventions.
Another great online resource is the GFCF Diet Section of the TACA (Talk About Curing Autism) website. It has tons of information about getting started, including doing GFCF on a budget.
Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)
Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet by Elaine Gottschall, B.A., M.Sc. – this diet is often used to treat conditions such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease and has also been found to help individuals with autism who have similar symptoms.
A great website for help implementing this diet and connecting with other parents is pecanbread.com. Another good place for more information is the BTVC site itself. Although this diet does allow some dairy products, many people do it casein-free for at least the first few months.
Feingold Diet
Why Can’t My Child Behave?: Why Can’t She Cope? Why Can’t He Learn? by Jane Hersey and Robert C. Lawlor – this book is a comprehensive guide to the Feingold Program, which basically eliminates artifical colors, flavors and preservatives from the diet and environment, as well as a certain type of food called salicylates.
Feingold Association of the United States – contains many resources, including their Bluebook, which can be read online or ordered for free (voluntary donations accepted), and their program materials, which can be purchased through the website.
Low Oxalate Diet
This diet, which has been used for many years in some other conditions, is now being explored as helping some individuals with autism. It involves removing foods with a particular structure – more information can be found as the Low Oxalate Diet website.
This is by no means a comprehensive list, but these resources will definitely get you on the right path if you are interested in learning more about dietary intervention.
{ 2 comments }
we follow a GF/CF diet for Monkette. I simply make everything from scratch and adjust recipes to make them fit her needs. That way she gets all those yummy foods without even realizing that it is any different.
Apparently I have been following the Feingold diet with my son for his ADHD and did not realize it. All of that stuff was the first thing we cut out before resorting to medication. I think if we were not following it we would have to have him on a higher dose.
Good info.
My boy dosnt eat enough food to beable to put him on a diet.
Comments on this entry are closed.