Despite the plethora of anecdotal success stories of alternative diets for autism, scientific research is unable to support many of the claims we hear. That doesn’t mean diets like gluten-free and casein-free won’t help your child’s symptoms. What it does mean is that there is no guarantee these diets help. Every child has a different response to food just as every child’s autism experience is different.

Because of the uncertainty associated with special elimination diets for autism, I suggest looking to easier diet modifications to first.

While many parents of kids with autism see improvements in their child’s behavior, attention, and hyperactivity when they reduce the amount of sugar in their little one’s diet, research does not actually support a link between sugar consumption and hyperactivity [1].

Links between sugar and autism are also only speculative. Many children with autism react differently to food than typically developing children, and anything we put into our bodies can have an effect on how we feel.

The never-ending struggle that every parent has faced: what am I packing my children for lunch? I share my foolproof formula that keeps this question easy and simple.