A recent study reports that about one in five children with autism are now being treated with alternative approaches. Parents are making dietary changes for their children, like eliminating gluten (wheat) and casein (dairy), processed foods and sugar. They are also incorporating the use of probiotics into their children's diets.
Many parents say that their children experience gastrointestinal problems that are serious enough that the GI upsets are regularly affecting various aspects of their lives.
"About 45 percent reported their children had GI symptoms, such as abdominal pain, constipation and diarrhea. The problems were more common as children got older, affecting about 9 percent of children younger than 5 and 51 percent of children 7 and older."
According to Dr. Daniel Coury, medical director of the Autism Treatment Network, people turn in the direction of alternative approaches when they become dissatisfied with conventional medical treatments.
It is estimated that approximately one in 110 children in the U.S. has autism.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20100503/hl_hsn/parentsofautisticchildrenturningtoalternativetreatments