Autism is a developmental disability that affects 1 in 150 children in the United States. It causes sensory issues, communication delays and social problems. A growing percent of parents and experts claim that dietary intervention is an effective treatment for autism. They believe that certain foods cause reactions in the autistic child's body, interfering with normal development and causing autistic tendencies. To treat autism with dietary interventions, follow these steps.
Instructions
1. Request a food allergy test. Ask the child's pediatrician for a referral to a specialist to test for allergies. The most common test used is the allergy skin test.
2. Consider the results carefully. Positive results on a skin allergy test don't necessary mean the patient is allergic to the food, just that there was some reaction. The results of the allergy test show which foods are not a problem. The negative results mean the food is fine to eat; the positive results require further testing by the parents. That means parents have to figure out which foods truly have an effect on the child. Remove foods that tested positive and see if they actually cause any problems. In many cases, they will not.
3. Take foods out slowly. Since dietary changes are tough for children to adjust to, so do it little by little. Don't go cold turkey on everything. This would make it impossible to tell which foods the child has a reaction to. It takes a while to test all the offending foods, but it is really the only way to tell which foods cause a reaction.
4. Document all dietary changes. Keep logs, including dietary, gastrointestinal and behavioral changes, both positive and negative. On paper, it's much easier to see the effect that diet has on the child internally and externally. If no effect is seen in a food that tested positive for sensitivity, adding the food back in is fine.
5. Re-evaluate dietary restrictions periodically. Children grow out of many food intolerances, so occasionally try adding specific foods back in, making sure to pay extra close attention to the child's behavior for the next few days.
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