Gluten-free, casein-free and monosodium glutamate-free diets should be implemented first to improve behaviors in persons with autism, before other therapies are implemented.
Paragraph from Paper Three:
While Dr. Reid is convinced removing MSG can cure autism, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) links no known diseases, behaviors, or autistic symptoms to MSG. They explain that MSG occurs naturally in many food products that are processed and do not admit to any negative links between MSG and side effects (FDA, 2014). A mother of a son who was originally diagnosed with severe autism but is now “cured” and working as a professor at University of Virginia, says that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is behind on their scientific research. Her son and her whole family eat only organic food and drink filtered water. “We didn’t realize before how toxic our world is.” She explains that she cured her son’s autism through diet, vitamins, and heavy metal detoxing (Reagan, 60).
Works Cited:
“Questions and Answers on Monosodium Glutamate (MSG).” FDA-Food-Ingredients-PackagingLabeling-FoodAdditives. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 22 July 2014. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/FoodAdditivesIngredients/ucm328728.htm>.
Reagan, Lisa. “Autism Is Treatable: Hope That Is Real, Treatments That Heal.” Townsend Letter Group (2004): 58-63. Print.
Analysis:
Including recognizable sources was important to make the paper more relatable to the reader and to compare less notable sources to. Several sources I used were specific case studies or books that might be known in the autism community but not as easily recognizable as the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Starting with these two Federal organizations gave me a backbone to compare research to. Scholars in the medical field would look to these organizations for national standards, and up to date information regarding autism. While smaller research sources may provide contrasting information, ultimately organizations such as these set the standard for relative information. Scholars in the field would not use single-study case designs, with no baseline or controls. Many of the successful testimonials I used were individual cases that were not scientifically documented, and would not be considered as valid research or experiments by scholars. Many articles I reviewed reiterated the hardships of implementing diet research studies, because they are hard to control over long periods of time. I did however, include a study at Penn State University, which included multiple-subject design and would be valid to scholars and researchers.
I chose to focus on autism because “its prevalence has increased drastically in the last twenty years and effects one in sixty-eight children” (CDC, 2015). It also has no known cure, despite the results I relayed in my paper. Choosing to focus specifically on how diet could improve maladaptive behaviors in children with autism, made the sources I chose more specific and my research processes clearer. The research I reviewed concluded, to some degree, which maladaptive behaviors improved and for how long. Focusing on the most challenging behaviors in children with autism was important to me since in their family’s life, the classroom, and therapy, those “behaviors demand the most attention and prove the most challenging.” Comparing results based on specific improved behaviors, appeals to scholarly readers. Results that can be observed and measured such as “increased verbal language, social skills, and decreased tantrums” are important to a behavior scholar, not results such as “they got better.” In general, I used specific results that could explain which behaviors decreased or improved. This also aided in comparing results, since specific maladaptive behaviors were consistently reported as decreasing or going away entirely. Improving severe/maladaptive behaviors in children with autism is a top priority in the autism community, for families, therapists, and in the medical field. Focusing on this aspect of autistic characteristics, heightened the importance of continued research and the possibility that food may serve as a solution for improved behaviors, and potentially a cure.
Eliminating gluten and casein from children with autism’s diets is a current hot-topic that is constantly in the autism community’s news. Taking out monosodium glutamate (MSG) however, is not. By including the work of Dr. Katherine Reid and the testimonials of her success, I suggested that MSG should be equally looked at as a culprit to maladaptive behavior in children with autism. Her research was the first I have ever seen claiming she cured her daughter’s autism, along with over seventy others. She should be given funding or similar studies should be conducted to duplicate these results. Maybe the FDA is “behind on their scientific research” and should prioritize small successes, such as Reid’s, accelerating their research process when such positive results have been made. Throughout the paper I refer to how there is not enough research to support implementing diets to improve behavior. I included a brief statement about where the research for food comes from: “the majority of funding for such studies is through private corporations, like food industries that produce processed foods.” This opens a new discussion as to how food research is funded, why more of it is not being done, and if they are reporting the truth?
Works Cited:
“CDC; Treatment; Autism.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 24 Feb. 2015. Web. 29 Mar. 2015. <http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/treatment.html>.
Penn State. “Gluten-Free, Casien-Free Diet may Help Some Children with Autism.” States News Service (2012). Print.
Reid, Katherine. “Home.” Unblind My Mind. Web. 29 Mar. 2015. <http://unblindmymind.org/>.
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