Research summaries for autism therapy: deficient

definition of deficient: State of having less than normal levels of something.

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Vitamin A therapy may help children with autism who are also vitamin A deficient.

This case study of an 8-year-old boy describes his symptoms of autism and severe eye problems. He squeezed his eyes shut often. The doctors reported several problems with his eyes, including sores and cloudy (opaque) corneas. The child was a picky eater who, for four years, ate only fried potatoes and drank only water. His vitamin A blood levels were very low. After a month of vitamin A therapy, his eyes were improved. His behavior problems were also less severe.

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This article concludes that children with autism on casein- and gluten-free diets are receiving approximately the same nutrition as children with autism not on elimination diets.

This study focused on 37 children with autism; 8 were on gluten- and casein-free diets, and 29 were not. The parents of these children completed questionnaires about the diets of their children. The results showed no significant differences between the dietary intakes of the two groups. However, children on the casein- and gluten-free diets were more likely to be deficient in calcium, copper, iron, and zinc. The authors commented that children on the elimination diets ate more fruits and vegetables than the children on non-elimination diets. Read more...

This article summarizes the evidence that several related disorders, including autism, may all result from problems with the way the body uses fatty acids.... This is relevant because males are more likely to be deficient in essential fatty acids (EFAs) than females. The authors outline the research showing that EFA deficiency, or abnormalities in the way the body uses EFA, have been found in all four of these conditions.... Read more...

This article describes research showing that children with autism have lower levels of omega-3 essential fatty acids (EFAs) in their blood than typical children.... This article describes several experiments to test the idea that children with autism are deficient in essential fatty acids (EFAs). In the first study, parents were asked to rate their childrenâ??s physical characteristics against a checklist of indicators for EFA deficiency.... Read more...

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