IAN Research Report: Special Diets

[Guest guest]

http://www.autismspeaks.org/inthenews/ian_research_findings_special_diets.php

RESEARCH

IAN Research Report: Special Diets

From Autism Speaks. is.gd/aUSp

The Interactive Autism Network (IAN), a project collecting

information online from families of children with autism spectrum

disorders (ASD) throughout the United States, reports that more than

16% of participating families are using special diets to treat their

child's autism. Of all the special diets, the gluten-free/casein-free

(GFCF) diet is the most commonly used. Parents report high cost and

some inconvenience, but also high expectations for their child's

improvement coupled with an evaluation of the treatment as low risk.

Please Note: These Findings Are Preliminary The analyses

presented here by the Interactive Autism Network are preliminary. They

are based on information submitted over the Internet by parents of

children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) from the United States

who choose to participate. They may not generalize to the larger

population of children with autism spectrum disorders. The data have

not been peer-reviewed -- that is, undergone evaluation by researchers

expert in a particular field -- or been submitted for publication. IAN

views participating families as research partners, and shares such

preliminary information to thank them and demonstrate the importance

of their ongoing involvement.

We encourage autism researchers investigating these topics to

apply for access to the IAN database. Contact researchteam@....

Special Diets in Autism

The use of special diets to treat symptoms of autism is fairly

widespread. Researchers who have surveyed families of children with

ASD report frequent use of these diets, with figures ranging from 15%

to 38% depending on the study and whether a family is asked if they

are currently using a diet or have ever used one. Analysis of IAN

data yielded similar findings: 16.4% of families participating in IAN

and reporting on treatments say they are using at least one special

diet as part of their child's treatment regimen.

+ Read more: is.gd/aUSp