On Fri, 13 Oct 2000, Madeline Stratton wrote:

> I would like to point out that it is most common for autism to
> develop at just around the age kids are getting many vaccinations, leading to
> the conclusion, erroneous or not, that the vaccinations are the cause of the
> autism.

There's a well-known logical fallacy: Post hoc, ergo propter hoc.
Translation: After this, therefore because of this.  This fallacy
also plays a role when, as parents, we attempt various treatments
and interventions.  With my own son I tried many things, and
often swore that I could see "some improvement."

> My oldest son, 21, has Asperger's syndrome,
> and yes, he was vaccinated. But he had strong indications of deviant behavior
> from earliest infancy, long before he received any vaccinations.

There are many cases of autism where the abnormality is evident
from birth.

> There are cases where a single allergic food, such as milk, has
> proven to be the sole cause of the autism. When removed from the diet, the
> child becomes normal.

I've never actually seen a case like that, where removal of a
food or foods, brought about complete reversal of symptoms.  I
have seen great improvements, including in my own son's case, but
always with residual difficulties.  I have seen kids whose
parents *claimed* complete recovery, but to me the residual
autistic characteristics were evident enough.  In my son's case,
I might be tempted to say that he is "recovered," but I know it's
not so.  The signs are subtler, and easier for an untrained eye
to miss, but I know they're there.

There was a fellow here in Pennsylvania who used to be an
absolute zealot for the use of gluten-free and casein-free diet
for treatment of autism.  His son appeared to improve
phenomenally on the diet.  After one year of this diet, the dad
decided to see the effects of reintroducing gluten and casein.
He expected to see regression, and although he dreaded this he
believed it was necessary to establish cause and effect, which he
very much wanted to do.  So he let his son eat some "forbidden"
foods, such as grilled cheese on whole wheat.  The boy was fine.
There was no regression.  Nothing.

My son's story is similar except he was on the gluten-free diet
for 3.5 years instead of one, and he conducted the "gluten
challenge" experiment himself, without consuling his parents.
(We omitted casein for a while, but without noticeable benefits)
There was no regression or any negative consequence.  About a
year later we tried a strict low-carb paleo plan, to see what we
could do about the remaining attentional issues.  This was very
difficult, but we did it for about six weeks, keeping careful
records and behavioral charts.  There was no measurable change.

What did help, enormously, was 20mg of Ritalin.  We resisted this
approach for years, thinking there must be some "natural"
solution, but we never found it.  I now regret the time we lost
searching for it.

Todd Moody
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