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STORY
Theories
to digest
Cancutting
out wheat
anddairy
helpwith
autism,asks
Claire
Droney
JAMES COOGAN,
15,loves
holidaysin Lanzarote,
havingcupsoftea in bed
everymorningand sittingat
the backofthe cinemawithhis
dad,watchingactionmovies
andfeelingthe sound
vibrations.Diagnosedwithan
AutisticSpectrumDisorder
(ASD)at three,James
currentlyattendsa specialunit
attachedto a mainstream
schooland canread at a sixth
classlevel.Buthe hasn't
alwaysfunctionedat sucha
highlevelof ability.
At a specialpre-school
for
childrenwithASD,James
struggledto recogniseand
namesimplepictures."Every
day,he lookedat 26picturesof
a cat or a ballor a dog,andhis
scorewasseven,"saysJames's
fatherPJ Coogan,chief
reporterfor Cork's96FMradio
station.
Afterhearingparental
reportsofsuccesswithspecial
diets,Cooganandhis wifeJill
decidedto implementa gluten
and caseinfree(GFCF)diet
withtheir son,eliminating
wheatand dairyproducts.
"I saidit wasmumbojumbo
and it couldn'twork,and the
doctorsaid it madeno sense,
but we cameto the conclusion
that it couldn'tdoanyharm,so
we did it," saysCoogan.He
soonbeganto noticechanges
in James'sintellectualand
socialfunctioning.
"Sixweeksafterthe diet
started,wegota phonecall
fromthe teacherto comedown
to the school.In frontofme,
mysonknew24outofthe 26
words.Thenwe introduceda
newset andhe did25out of26
words.Wenoticedthat he
beganto interactmorewithus,
talkingand increasinghis
vocabulary.Hebeganto
interactverydramaticallyand
to be enthusiasticaboutthings
and to lovethings,"says
Coogan.
8
\w
Gut response: Evidencefor the use of a gluten and casein-free diet in the treatment of autism is anecdotal rather
than scientific,but some parents have noticed an improvement.
Picture:Thinkstock
"Jameshasn't had a meltdown includinglack oflocal
sincethe diet.
suppliersand a refusalon the
Somewhere
insidetherewasa part of the childto try new
little boystrugglingto getout foods.However,the family
andwhenthe dietkickedin, he havebecomeexpertsat
decipheringfoodlabelsand
cameout."
Cooganacknowledges
that
learn the vocabularyfor the
therecanbe initialdifficulties GFCFfoodswheneverthey
travelabroad.
in adheringto a strict GFCF
dietwitha preschoolchild,
"Thediet is veryhard to
IRISHEXAMINER
Feelgood | 28.06.2013
start and it doestakea few
weeksof veryhard work.If
your childis morethan three
yearsold,he's goingto protest
whenyoutakeyoghurtsor
cheeseaway,"saysCoogan.
Thefamilynowbulk-buysoy
milkin the localsupermarket,
and considermanagementof
the dietto be "secondnature".
Affectingonein 88children
and onein 54boys,ASDis a
neurodevelopmental
disability
characterisedby a triad of
impairmentsin
communication,
social
understandingand flexibility
ofthought.Manyparentswho
use GFCFdietsbelievethat
their childrenwithASDhavea
'leakygut' throughwhich
peptidesfromglutenand
casein-containing
foodscan
escapethroughintothe central
nervoussystem,effectingbrain
functionandbehaviour.
"Youcanfix a leakygutwith
diet,probiotics,nutritional
supplementsand anti-fungals,"
saysnutritionistNoreen
Cronin,whofounda GFCFdiet
to be hugelybeneficialwith
her son Sean,17,whohas ASD.
Witha PhDin chemistryand a
mastersdegreein nutritional
medicine,Croninsaysgut
healthawarenessand its link
to behavioursis lesscommon
in Irelandthan the rest of the
world.
"Ifthere'sinflammationin
the brain,it effectsspeech,
behaviours,understanding,
concentrationand sensory
issues.If westart cleaningup
the gut,we canseewhatthe
childcan dobetter,"says
Cronin,whoseworkincludes
re-culturingthe gutby
introducinggoodbacteria,
probioticsand a nourishing
diet.
Croninacknowledges
that
thereare barrierswiththis
diet,and that it won'tworkfor
everychild."It's sucha
complexproblemandthere's
no onesolutionfor everychild.
ButI haveno doubtthat kids
feelmorecomfortable
when
their gut is better,"shesays.
Thoughthereis scant
scientificevidencethat special
dietsare effective,the US-based
InteractiveAutismNetwork
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COVER
STORY
If there's
66
inflammation
in
the brain,it
effectsspeech,
behaviours,
understanding,
concentration
andsensory
issues.
If we start
cleaningup the
gut,we cansee
whatthe child
cando better
behaviours
aspeoplewith
ASD,showinga lackof
sociability,andhaddeficitsin
socialcognition.
Forexample,
whenthemice
withoutgutbacteriawere
givenanoptionof entering
eitheranemptycageor a cage
with a mousein it, theyalways
optedfor theemptycage.And
whenoffereda choiceof being
in a cagewith a strangenew
mouseor a mousetheyalready
knew,theywereunableto
distinguishnewfromold
friends.
Theyalsoengaged
in more
groomingbehaviours
(like
autisticrepetitiveresponses)
thanthetypically-developing
mice.
Carbswatch:Giving
childrenbananas
instead
Interestingly,whenthe
of complexcarbohydrates
researchers
re-introduced
gut
suchasriceandpotatoes,
bacteriato thesemice,they
mightinfluencetheirASD
were
able
to
reverse
some
of
symptoms.Picture:Thinkstock
theautistic-likebehaviours
(includingsociabilityand
repetitivebehaviours)
but were
unableto reversedeficitsin
socialcognition.
But whatdoesall of this
f
1.
meanfor parentsof children
with ASD?
"We'veshownthat there's
Commonlyusedbiomedicalinterventionsusedwith
with vitaminmethyl-B12supplements.
hugepotentialin our gut
microbiotato influence
childrenwith ASDare:
Prebiotioaridproblotics:
Introducingprobiotics
behaviour,"
saysCryan."In the
('good'bacteria)to the gut maydecrease
GI problems autisticworld,thereis perhaps
Melatonin:
Melatoninsupplements
havebeen
shownto reducesleepdisturbances
in childrenwith
in childrenwith ASD.
somelink betweenbacteria
andguthealthandbrain
ASD.
Specific
carbohydrate
diet:Thisrestrictivediet
function.Youneedbacteriain
replaces
complexcarbohydrates
(potatoesandrice)
your gutfor normalbehaviour.
Omegs-3
fattyacids:Smallstudieshaveshown
Thequestionis which
with simplecarbohydrates
(squashes
andbananas)
thesesupplements
to decrease
stimming(repetitive
bacteria?
Canweusethis
andfermentedproducts(homemade
yoghurt)to
movements)
andhyperactivity,
andimprove
informationandthebacteriain
reculturethe gut with goodbacteriaandyeasts.This
socialisation
in childrenwith ASD.
the gutto treatsomeof the
in turn is purportedto reduceASDsymptomsand
behaviours.
Thereis little evidenceto supportthis diet. symptoms
of autism?"
Nutritional
supplements:
Someevidence
shows
ThoughtheUCCresearchis
that dailymulti-vitamins
helpchildrenwith ASD.
Note: It is recommended
promising,Cryanpointsto the
that anyparentwishingto
needfor large-scale
clinical
Vitaminmethyl-812$«pptemerst$:
Researchers trial thesedietsshoulddo so underthe adviceof a
dieticianor nutritionist.Anydiet shouldbe carriedout
studiesandalsocautionsthat
believethat childrenwith ASDhavemetabolic
undermedicalsupervision.
this studyis basedonanimals,
abnormalities
that canincrease
the symptoms
of
nothumans.
autism.A smallpilot study(Hendren)
found
Furthermore,
a recentUS
improvements
in socialbehaviour,
language
and
Specialdiet informationfrom www.researchautism.net
andwww.autismspeaks.org
NationalStandards
Report
communication
in childrenwith ASDaftertreatment
(2009)
(aninitiative of the
NationalAutismCenter)which
reviewedautismtreatments,
classed
theGFCFdietasan
bloating,constipation
or
Dr DerrickMacFabe
is
"Diet is oneof thebiggest
"unestablished"
treatment,due
studyinga link between
gut
thingsthat is ableto govern
diarrhoea)in thepreceding
to inadequate
scientific
bacteria,proprionicacidand
threemonths,with themost
compositionof gutbacteria.
research.
It suggested
no
commonbeingabdominal
pain its abilityto produceautisticlike Changingyour diet will
educational
or behavioural
behaviours
in rats.
changehowyoubehave,
no
andconstipation.
benefits
for
this
diet
and
found
Closerto home,UCC
matterwhoyouare,"says
"Gastrointestinal
problems
studiesthatpointto therisk of
ProfessorJohnCryan,senior
scientistshavediscovered
a
aresometimes
difficult to
in
gutbacteriaand
authoronthestudyandhead nutritionaldeficiencies
diagnose
especially
if thechild link between
In a
of theDepartment
of Anatomy childrenwhousedit.
is non-verbal,"
saysGeraldine autisticbehaviours.
Leadercautionsagainstthe
clinicaltrial usingmice,
& Neuroscience
at UCC.
Leader,
directorof theIrish
useof thesediets.
researchers
foundthatgut
Cryanandhis team
Centrefor Autismand
"Manyparentssearching
for
for the
compared
thesocial
Neurodevelopmental
Research bacteriais essential
a biomedicalinterventionthat
development
of normalsocial
behaviours
of micewhowere
(ICAN)at NUIGalway.
mayhelptheir childrenwith
artificially raisedwithout
"Our research
andother
behaviours.
autismhaveembraced
the
anybacteriain thegut,
researchdemonstrated
that
of a 'leakygut' in
andthosewhohadgut hypothesis
gastrointestinal
issuesmay
autism.As a result,restrictive
bacteria.Themice
exacerbate
behaviourproblems
dietsandothernutritionalor
withoutbacteria
andproblems
with sleep.It is
I exhibitedsimilar
GI therapies,
suchasthe
importantto remember
that
gluten-free,
casein-free
diets
I
gastrointestinal
symptoms
havebecome
widelypopular
Rightchoice:James
arealsocommon
in
Cooganwhohas
interventionsfor childrenwith
typicallydeveloping
young
benefitedfromchanging autism.To date,thereis no
children."
hisdiet,with
scientificevidence
to support
US-based
researchis
hisdadPJ. theeffectiveness,"
shesays.IM
currentlyunderwayonthe
Picture:
controversial
gutbrain
Eddie
link in
O'Hare
children
www.generationrescue.org
with ASD.
www.autismspeaks.org
In
www.tacanow.org
www.researchautism.net
Canada,
ptions
thedietto
consider
w
(IAN)onlinesurveyfoundthat
16%of parentswereusingat
leastonespecialdiet(including
melatonin,vitaminB12
injectionsandprobiotic
supplements)
with their
childrenwith autism,with
GFCFdietsbeingthemost
popular.
Todate,success
with the
GFCFdiethasbeenlargely
confinedto small-scale
scientificstudies,anecdotal
evidence
andparentreports.
Therearecurrentlymany
books,websites
andforums
promotingcomplementary
or
alternativedietsfor usewith
childrenwith ASD.Hollywood
actressJennyMcCarthyis an
advocate
of theGFCFdiet,
citingthat it helpedimmensely
to alleviatesomeof herson's
autisticbehaviours.
Thefaceof
Generation
Rescue,
a US
autismorganisation,
McCarthy
hasbeencriticisedfor using
her celebritystatusto promote
whatshebelievesto becausal
factorsin autism—theMMR
vaccineandenvironmental
factors.Slammed
by Timeand
Forbesmagazine
for
discouraging
parentsfrom
gettingtheir children
vaccinated,
McCarthyremains
a powerfulvoicein theautism
world,claimingthat usinga
GFCFdiet,codliver oil and
vitaminswith her sonEvan
helpedhim to havebettereye
contact,doubledhis language
skills,improvedrepetitive
movements
andsleepingand
decreased
tempertantrums.
Despitea lackof scientific
evidence
to supportGFCF
diets,it is quiteclearthat
gastrointestinal
(GI)problems
arecommon
in childrenwith
autism.A recentICANstudy
foundthat 79%of children
with autismhadpresented
with at leastoneGI symptom
(nausea,
abdominal
pain,
IRISH
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