Autism of ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) is generally classified as a socio-communicative disorder. People with autism display a self-absorbed character, excluding those around them, and it has been theorized that this is the reason for their lack of communicative skills.
This is also reinforced by the fact that people with autism can talk at length on subjects that capture their interests, and at the same time, the same person is unable to carry on a normal conversation.
Although autism was diagnosed in the late 1930s, it is not understood very well. In fact over the last decade, it has come to light that a large percentage of autistic people have gastrointestinal problems. This has resulted in the theory that diet for autistic children can be very helpful as part of the treatment.
Unfortunately, studies of whether diet can have a positive effect on autism are still at its infancy stage and no claims have been proved. In fact, the brain-gut relationship is very little understood, and there are many academics who do not believe there is a correlation at all.
It is, however, estimated that up to half of all autistic people have tried different diets as part of their treatment with up to 10% estimated to be on dangerous diets. However, diet as a method of treatment has caught the fancy of the public with the GFCF (gluten free, casein free) diet for autism, being the most popular.
Gluten is a form of protein and is found in the following foods:
People who have celiac disease have to go on a gluten free diet because the gluten triggers an autoimmune response in their bodies that causes the progressive damage of the intestines. There is no cure, and the only treatment is to go on a GF (gluten free) diet.
Casein is another protein that is theorized to act in the same way that gluten does. This is the basis of a GFCF diet.
The theory for using the GFCF diet for autism is as below:
It is still too early to comment on whether a GFCF diet will help in treating autism. As of now, all indications seem to point to the fact that a GFCF diet makes no difference whatsoever, although parents of autistic children are very positive that it does.
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