I came across this on HuffPo a little while ago.
If you hadn’t heard, a gluten free diet can significantly help people with autism to regain functionality. Hyman took this as a sign that he should approach autism differently. Here, he walks through the treatment of one little boy. He ran a slew of tests and discovered that young Sam had a LOT of things wrong with him… a “leaky gut” (which is apparently common among autistic patients), bad flora growing in his gut instead of the good stuff, vitamin deficiencies, and on and on. Hyman treated those problems, and lo and behold Sam’s autism receded.
What struck me is how similar the descriptions are–autism sounds like celiac. Our bodies can’t handle certain substances. If you insist on putting them in, the body begins to react. It may even shut down. My father becomes incredibly irritable, I become depressed, and some people become autistic. Take those things away, and the body picks itself up (assuming the damage hasn’t gone too far).
Hyman’s methods deserve serious research. It just might help a lot of people–like Sam.
