Autism

  • Autism is one area of a spectrum of disorders, known as the autistic spectrum. The spectrum ranges from dislexia to schizophrenia, with autism being somewhere in the middle.
  • Much of the literature on autism seems to be concerned with definition, how to manage the behaviour and how to engage educational and other support resources.
  • There are many books about autistic children that describe the behaviour of the child and battles to obtain the supporting services and schooling
  • Is there anything diet or lifestyle related that that helps manage, reduce or eradicate autistic behaviour?
  • "Unraveling the Mystery of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder: A Mother's Story of Research & Recovery" by Karyn seroussi. The thing I like about Karyn Seroussi's book is that it is a success story. In the end, Karyn's son Miles is declared free of autistic symptoms. There are many books about autism that describe the behaviour of the child and battles to obtain the supporting services and schooling. Karyn does this too, but, uniquely she engages with the scientific community to unravel the underlying biochemistry involved and take action on what is discovered. There is one poignant moment in the book, where, having removed all dairy and gluten from Miles's diet, she finds him licking the gum on brown envelopes, only to discover that the gum contains gluten! This is by no means a raw food book, but I think we all have something to learn from it, particularly why we might want to exclude things from our diet.