Clinic Notes: Autism and Diet Redux

Okay another study, this one by Dr. Timothy Buie of Harvard Medical School, says that digestive problems are not more common in kids with autism and special diets do not work. Furthermore, there is no evidence of a "leaky gut" as reported by Andrew Wakefield who first suggested the link between autism and the mercury preservative in measles vaccine. The scientific evidence is overwhelming, but the myth persists. Many children who come to my clinic are on a gluten free diet, but I've never seen any improvement and I have seen very few children with autism who have digestive problems other than being finicky eaters. The special diets cause no harm, other than in some cases, depriving the child of therapies like ABA, which require more effort