This House Believes in autism diets
Author: Rachel Harkawik & Paula Leslie
Magazine issue: Winter 09
Page numbers: 16-18
Date: 30 November 2009
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This is the fourth in our series of articles set out like a debate, with the Proposition required to prove its case and the Opposition aiming to show why the Proposition is wrong. The Proposition case is that gluten and casein free diets have positive effects on some children with autism in terms of attention, sleep, hyperactivity and anxiety, and may decrease resistance to communication, thus making them more able to benefit from therapy. The opposition points to the potential negative effects of such diets and the poor quality of the studies cited by the proposition. Based on the available evidence the authors conclude that, while some individual children under appropriate professional supervision may benefit, restricted diets are not something speech and language therapists can support.
