The Autism News | English


Minneapolis — The epidemic of autism in children in the United States may be linked to the typical American diet according to a new study published online in Clinical Epigenetics by Renee Dufault, et. al. The study explores how mineral deficiencies—affected by dietary factors like high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)—could impact how the human body rids itself of common toxic chemicals like mercury and pesticides.

The release comes on the heels of a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that estimates the average rate of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among eight year olds is now 1 in 88, representing a 78 percent increase between 2002 and 2008. Among boys, the rate is nearly five times the prevalence found in girls.

“To better address the explosion of autism, it’s critical we consider how unhealthy diets interfere with the body’s ability to eliminate toxic chemicals, and ultimately our risk for developing long-term health problems like autism.” said Dr. David Wallinga, a study co-author and physician at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP).

Commander (ret.) Renee Dufault (U.S. Public Health Service), the study’s lead author and a former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) toxicologist, developed an innovative scientific approach to describe the subtle side effects of HFCS consumption and other dietary factors on the human body and how they relate to chronic disorders. The model, called “macroepigenetics,” allows researchers to consider how factors of nutrition, environment and genetic makeup interact and contribute to the eventual development of a particular health outcome.

“With autism rates skyrocketing, our public educational system is under extreme stress,” said Dufault, who is also a licensed special education teacher and founder of the Food Ingredient and Health Research Institute (FIHRI). As part of the current study, the authors found a 91 percent increase in the number of children with autism receiving special educational services in the U.S. between 2005 and 2010.

Institute For Agriculture And Trade Policy

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The Autism News | Special Guest

From Mary S.

How can I persuade my son with autism to try a variety of foods, when he eats the same thing everyday?

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The Autism News | English


RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) – The six-day search for Robert Wood, Jr., a nine-year old boy with autism, had a happy ending. However, the search continues for answers about autism and why the disorder continues to baffle scientists and researchers.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, one out of every 110 children in the U.S., develops autism, but, based on statistics from the Department of Education, one out of every 67 children develops the disorder.

Richmond Pediatrician, Dr. Mary Megson, is declaring autism an epidemic. “I think these kids are canaries in a coal mine, telling us, we need to clean up our environment,” says Dr. Megson. She tells CBS 6, based on her research, both environment and genetics are the culprits. Dr. Megson believes pathways in the brains of many autistic children are blocked, because their bodies can’t dispose of harmful toxins like typical children.

“I think the children have a weakness in the way cells communicate with each other and we’re adding other weaknesses through overuse of antibiotics, some toxins in our vaccines, a lot of other environmental influences and toxins in our food, “ says, Dr. Megson.

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The Autism News | Special Guest

What’s On Your Plate?……and Why?

Self restricted food choices and autism

By Mike Chabanik

Eating can be very challenging for families living with autism. Many children on the spectrum
have favorite foods which they must have every day, sometimes for breakfast, lunch and
dinner. They also may have forbidden foods, which they do not want to eat or even come near.
Some children must have their foods lined up in a certain order or not touching each other
before they will eat. They may not eat if the wrong color food is on the table. Sometimes, they
may not even eat their favorite food if it is in a different shape or if it has a certain texture. And
trying new foods is out of the question!

Why can’t children with autism simply try a new food when it is placed in front of them?
Many children with autism have tremendous anxiety symptoms. New foods can cause a lot of
anxiety! Thoughts like “What if I don’t like this food, what if it tastes terrible?”, replace “What
if I like this food?” The taste may not be the only problem that comes with trying a new food.
Some foods may feel uncomfortable or even painful in a child’s mouth. An excessive sweet,
sour or sharp taste or even an unusually smooth or crispy texture can be very disturbing for
some children. The taste of candy makes my mouth burn! Some foods may even make children
choke! Almost anything from McDonald’s does this to me! Sometimes, even thinking about
McDonald’s does this!

If you continue to make children eat these bad foods, they will begin to dread mealtimes,
only eat one or two foods or maybe refuse to eat anything at all! Simple mealtimes may turn
into dreaded activities, as scary to children as shots at the doctor’s office. But if you get children
to try new foods in the right way, they may actually start liking new foods.

At one time, most of these statements applied to me and my eating habits. For a long time, I
only ate peanut butter and banana sandwiches. I had them every day for breakfast, lunch and
dinner. When I finally started getting tired of these sandwiches, I switched to egg and cheese
sandwiches, which I also had for every meal, every day. When I got tired of egg and cheese
sandwiches, every meal became macaroni and cheese.

What’s more, I wouldn’t simply sit down and eat. Whenever I ate, I had to be doing
something to keep my mind occupied, like playing a board game or using the computer.

Eating in restaurants with me was even worse! At restaurants, I only ate one thing; a grilled
cheese sandwich with the pieces cut diagonally. We had to bring matchbox cars for me to line
up on the table during the meal. If food was placed where my cars were lined up, I would have
a terrible meltdown. We constantly had to take breaks to play the claw machine!

I hated the smell of McDonald’s. I did not eat anything from this restaurant. If McDonald’s
food or any McDonald’s-related items were on the table, I wouldn’t eat.

Now, my diet is a whole lot better. It is still different in some ways. I do not eat candy,
cookies, cake or any other sweet things because the sweet taste burns my mouth. I still eat
macaroni and cheese once a day and prefer my favorite foods during stressful situations. I
still eat in front of the computer, except for on special occasions, and I still hate the smell of
McDonald’s. But other than that, I have a wonderful diet! I eat well over 50 different foods,
including squid and frogs legs! At restaurants, I order my own food and eat, just like anybody
else. Putting up with McDonald’s smells is a lot easier and I eat McDonald’s’ breakfast burritos
every Saturday during yard sales. I even eat McDonald’s French fries if worse comes to worse.
How on earth was it possible to change my very-restricted diet to a wonderfully varied and
well-balanced one? Let me explain.

Mom simply related new foods to things I knew and liked. As a kid, cars were my passion,
so Mom gave several vegetables the names of car parts. Red beets were known as “wagon
wheels”, carrots were “hubcaps” and mixed vegetables were “nuts and bolts”. As my diet grew,
new foods were related to foods I already knew. A cheese quesadilla was a “Mexican grilled
cheese” and ravioli was “flat spaghetti”! Bribes helped too. Receiving a new matchbox car after
I had so many bites of a something surely motivated me to try new foods, until I liked them so
much that I no longer needed the rewards!

To help me grow accustomed to eating in restaurants, Mom and I played a game called
Rosie’s Bearry Fine Restaurant, where we pretended to eat in an imaginary restaurant
called “Rosie’s Restaurant” where a teddy bear named Rosie served us food. Menus were made
up, and I earned certain amounts of “Mikey Money”, imaginary money that could be spent
on various toys and games, for eating different foods. For example, brussel sprouts were 50
cents in “Mikey Money” and lo mein was 75 cents. After playing this game many times, I could
tolerate eating in restaurants just fine; I knew exactly what to expect when eating there. Now, I
like eating in restaurants. Sometimes, I even ask my parents if we could have lunch at El Rodeo,
Jumbo or one of my other favorite restaurants!

After eating Mexican burritos at El Rodeo for a couple years, Mom convinced me to try
McDonald’s breakfast burritos. Even though these burritos were from McDonalds, and nothing
like the hot, spicy burritos from Mexican restaurants, I still really liked them!

Some parents think that simply forcing their children to try new foods will work! If Mom
would have done this, the experience would have been a whole lot worse. “Why is Mom
forcing me to try these new foods?, Why does she see it as something I have to do? I don’t
see anything wrong with having peanut butter and banana sandwiches everyday”, I’d think
to myself. These thoughts would make me feel very upset. I’d probably have a meltdown! I
think the best way to get your child to try a new food, or anything else new and different is to
relate it to something they already know. If it’s something completely different, try playing a
pretend game of eating the food, doing the activity, etc. Or simply bribe your child for trying the
new thing. Even though this may seem expensive, it will really pay off in the end. These tactics
worked for me, and they just might work for you!

Mike Chabanik is a young man on the autism spectrum who resides in Central Pennsylvania. He is the student editor of the Autism Society, Greater Harrisburg Chapter newsletter and hope to pursue a career in writing. He writes from the perspective of a person with autism in the hopes of helping families dealing with autism spectrum disorders.

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