This article describes a study showing that improvements in autistic behavior can result from a casein-free diet, in combination with the elimination of foods to which children are allergic.
The study focuses on 36 children with autism (8 to 13 years old). Each child was also tested for food allergies, and each of their diets was adjusted to avoid any foods to which they were allergic. In addition, all 36 children were put on a casein-free diet for 8 weeks. Following the diet, children were given capsules containing extracts of the foods to which they had allergies. Their behavior was rated by observers according to a standard behavioral scale for children with autism. The results show that there were significant improvements on five of seven behavioral measures from before to after the 8-week period. These measures were: autistic isolation, verbal communication disturbances, inappropriate emotional responses, disturbances in feeding behavior, and disturbances in concentration. After children received the food capsules, three behavioral measures worsened significantly, suggesting that food allergies themselves may be at least partly responsible for some autistic behavior.
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