On Fri, 1 Dec 2000, Mary wrote:

> Can the paleo diet heal the gut damage of "autistic" children? I have had my
> son on the paleo diet with huge , simply huge improvement, but not a cure.
> Awesome improvement.  But he is still labelled "high functioning autistic"...

My son has also had huge improvement, but without the paleo diet.
In fact, at his evaluation last year we were told that he no
longer meets diagnostic criteria for the autism spectrum.

He still has attention deficit issues, however.

> I need any ideas.
>
> What would you guys do if this had happened to YOUR child??

Obviously, it *has* happened to my child, and you won't like my
idea, but I'm going to share it anyway, because it is relevant.

We did try paleo for a month or so, but found no improvement.

> ps note they are connecting the gut infection to ADD/ADHD as well

Yes.  Here's the thing that you won't want to hear.  This fall,
after rejecting this option for years, we finally conducted a
Ritalin trial.  The improvement was instantaneous and staggering.
Although Dylan was not hyperactive, it was difficult to get him
to focus on anything for very long, so learning could only take
place in very small increments.  With the Ritalin, he is able to
sit and work on problems or projects for extended periods of
time, to listen and process information that is presented to him,
and so forth.  Again, the change has been simply astonishing.

Yes, this is treating symptoms, not causes.  I am also well aware
that it doesn't work for all kids.  I'm just sharing our
experience, because it has been life-changing.

> Most conditions like arthritis clears up quickly on paleo diet, why does
> this take so long??? OR was the brain inflammation so great (encephalitis
> post vaccination) that he will never heal???

First, you are claiming way more than you know.  There have been
*no* studies of the effects of paleo diet on arthritis or
anything else, so we have nothing but anecdotal evidence.  We
also have no idea whether the damage involved in autism is
completely reversible.  There is evidence of a genetic
contribution as well, but we don't know much about that either.
I certainly believe that paleo diet ought to help the body to
heal from many injuries and insults, but there is simply no
evidence that it can reverse all health problems.  That is a
fantasy, and if it keeps you from considering all available
options it is a dangerous fantasy.

A drug like Ritalin may not be the answer for Larry.  We were
sure it was not what would help Dylan, and in fact we avoided all
drug interventions for years.  We were wrong.  It may be that the
cause of autism or ADD is something so unnatural in the first
place (such as vaccination) that it places the body beyond its
normal homeostatic range of states.  The treatment may have to be
as unnatural as the cause.

Todd Moody
[log in to unmask]