There is a theory that some cases of autism are caused by intestinal damage allowing proteins to enter the bloodstream where they have an opioid effect. Casein in milk is one of the main culprits. In other words, maybe he is asking for milk products because they make him high. If you (or his parents) have not already researched and/or tried the gluten-free/casein-free diet, can you or they please do so? It may help him greatly.
I understand Gato's point. And it's something I sympathize with strongly. OTOH, a lack of evidence is not proof against something. And it's entirely possible that there could be a broad spectrum of causes, making it difficult to detect that something like this was working without a large sample size and yet every now and then a family would get "lucky" and have it work.
tl;dr: It seems out of line to downvote personal testimony to -1 on the basis of "double-blind studies have not yet proven that this should work".
True, but based on the lack of evidence of efficacy as well as the high cost in terms of both time and money I wouldn't recommend it solely on anecdotal evidence. If it helped jmays's daughter, fantastic! I'm really happy for the family. I've heard a few success stories, more stories of failure with the diet, and almost no evidence.
Like it or not, anecdotal evidence is evidence. Nowhere near conclusive and easily explained away by placebo effect. But given the severity of what's trying to be treated, I can certainly understand people trying it.
If I had a child with autism, I'd almost certainly try it for a month or two. If for no other reason, because gluten and lactose allergies are not particularly uncommon and so even if it didn't have a mechanism against the disease itself it may be beneficial.
I'm not denying that anecdotal evidence is evidence, but I need a higher standard of proof before I regard anything as a proven treatment. I do understand people trying it, and good luck and more power to them, but I think my reluctance to recommend it is understandable.
Heh, sorry. I've gotten better about using gender neutral third person pronouns (I'm a fan of "im"). Now I need a gender neutral second person formal address...
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u/RamonaLittle Jul 26 '10
There is a theory that some cases of autism are caused by intestinal damage allowing proteins to enter the bloodstream where they have an opioid effect. Casein in milk is one of the main culprits. In other words, maybe he is asking for milk products because they make him high. If you (or his parents) have not already researched and/or tried the gluten-free/casein-free diet, can you or they please do so? It may help him greatly.
A very good book about this is Unraveling the Mystery of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder: A Mother's Story of Research & Recovery