Several years ago some naturopath doctors began speaking out about how some children with supposed Autism might, in fact, have celiac disease instead. As reported in an earlier article on this site, there is presently no scientific evidence linking Autism to celiac disease. But now it is painfully clear that some children thought to have Autism actually have celiac disease, and never had Autism in the first place.
Actress Jenny McCarthy, the founder of Generation Rescue, is probably the best-known mother of an Autistic child who was “cured” by following a gluten-free/casein-free diet and nutritional therapies. Jenny’s latest book “Healing and Preventing Autism: A Complete Guide“, written with Dr. Jerry Kartzinel, helps parents of Autistic children think outside the box in terms of healing this baffling learning disorder.
When Jenny McCarthy went on Oprah and spoke out about the healing journey with her son Evan, the Autism medical community was in an uproar. Certainly, people should not totally ignore their doctors and listen to a celebrity with no medical training. But they are not going to harm their children by trying a gluten-free/casein-free diet. Maybe it could help some of their children too. Surely it will help kids who actually have celiac and not Autism at all.
Treating Autism is big business with 1 and 150 children being affected by the disorder in the U.S. Those numbers indicate the problem is bordering on being an epidemic. Why not test every child with Autism for celiac disease? Is the Autistic medical community concerned with helping patients or worried about how losing some of them to nutritional therapies would affect their bottom line?
Here is an interesting story about Eamon, a child who was thought to have Autism but really had celiac. Be sure to watch both the videos posted, one of which includes comments by Dr. Peter Green of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University. How many more kids just like Eamon are out there?
Great article Tiffany. It is amazing (and a little scary) just how common Autism actually is. I think their current commercials really bring that point home when they advertise about the odds of your child have Autism vs. becoming a professional athlete (or even college athlete). If a solid percentage of these people instead have untreated Celiac Disease, then screening for celiac disease would be very beneficial.
You are correct in that trying the GF/CF diet wouldn’t hurt anything, and it wouldn’t hurt to screen for CD, so I am all for this. One of the wonderful things about the internet is that people have access to testimonials from people like Jenny McCarthy. Of course Jenny is a celebrity and has access to TV slots, radio interviews, and other channels where she can share her findings, but for the average American, the internet allows us to share what works and what doesn’t and help drive change and improvements in how we treat diseases. Unfortunately, many doctors seem to be suspicious of change, so they are less open to learning new tricks.
I totally agree with this article. It’s the neurological symptoms that are probably the least recognized when it comes to celiac/gluten intolerance. Yes, get autistic children (and adults) tested for celiac AND gluten sensitivity if they test negative for celiac.
And, with 97% of folks with celiac still undiagnosed, celiac testing should be ramped way up anyway. Folks with IBS, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, Down syndrome, skin conditions, and so on and so on–and all the conditions that can be related to celiac or misdiagnosed as celiac–should be tested.
Shirley
Thanks for your comment gfe – gluten free easily! I will be posting an article later this week that will include thoughts from a celiac expert on this exact subject. It is refreshing to find a doctor that can think outside the box when it comes to celiac disease.