Promising Approaches To Autism: What the Experts Are Finding

By Bernard Rimland
Issue 100, May/June 2001

The desire to find and treat the cause of autism was the reason I founded the Autism Research Institute, a nonprofit research and information center, in 1967. In 1995, pediatrician Sidney Baker, chemist Jon Pangborn, and I gathered 30 scientists and physicians with special expertise in autism research and treatment at our first Defeat Autism Now! (DAN!) conference. The group, comprised of experts from the fields of psychiatry, neurology, immunology, allergy, biochemistry, genetics, and gastroenterology, came to a consensus: In genetically susceptible individuals, immunological and/or gastrointestinal dysfunction, as well as viral or fungal infections and metabolic imbalances, interact in intricate but plausible ways to bring about autism.

We began to explore why certain interventions help and why others seem promising. Sidney Baker and Jon Pangborn compiled the recommendations of the group in a Clinical Options Manual, which provides flow charts and discussion of clinical tests that are useful in identifying many of the biological problems that are at the roots of autism. The speakers at our fifth DAN! conference held in November 1999 covered a wide range of treatment approaches. Many are simple, safe, easily implemented, and most do not require a prescription. Some of the most promising approaches follow.

Self-Help And Over-the-counter Treatments
Megadose vitamin B-6 (and magnesium). Eighteen studies published between 1965 and 1996 by researchers in six countries (11 of the studies were double-blind placebo control experiments) have established beyond any reasonable doubt that vitamin B-6/magnesium treatment can significantly help about half of all autistic children and adults. No major harmful effects have been noted, in any case.1, 2, 3 Some studies of autistic and autistic-like children show markedly lower levels of magnesium, calcium, copper, manganese, chromium, and other trace elements, possibly a result of poor digestion; hair analysis may be a useful diagnostic tool for autism, indicating poor absorption of minerals.4

Dimethylglycine (DMG). Formerly called vitamin B-15, DMG is, like vitamin B-6, an extraordinarily safe nonprescription nutrient that has proven to bring about significant improvement in about half of all autistic children and adults who try it. Like B-6 and magnesium, DMG often brings about marked improvement in speech, learning, attention span, and reduces many behavioral symptoms of autism.

There are a number of other over-the-counter supplements (not drugs) that show significant, although not curative, efficacy. Although the following supplements are immeasurably safer than any drug, parents should use them under the guidance of a nutritional consultant, or a nutritionally informed physician: zinc, calcium, folic acid, vitamin A, and coenzyme Q10 all have potential value in the treatment of autism. In addition, researchers are currently investigating others that hold promise.

Special diets. The behavioral problems of many autistic children are due to disorders of digestion, possibly of genetic or infectious origin. Often referred to as "food allergies," these difficulties are not true allergies but rather food intolerances, or brain allergies, if you will. The biggest culprits are the casein in dairy products and the gluten or gliadin in wheat, oats, and barley. Gluten- or casein-free diets, long the prescribed solution, are challenging regimens, but there now exist several good books that provide valuable guidance. (See Resources). At the 1999 DAN! conference, Jon Pangborn gave the first report on the effectiveness of a newly developed digestive enzyme (SerenAid) that helps the body break down and digest the peptides from gluten and casein in the way that nonautistic people do. The preliminary findings are quite promising.

Antiyeast treatments. The overuse of antibiotics, commonly prescribed for ear infections, seems to underlie many cases of autism. Intended to kill the viruses causing the ear infections, the antibiotics instead kill the helpful microorganisms that inhabit our intestinal tracts. In these instances, the harmful yeast Candida albicans quickly occupies the space vacated by the beneficial organisms, and `begins producing alcohol-like toxins that impair brain function. In many cases, these toxins bring about symptoms of autism. Doctors can treat the yeast with antifungal drugs, but finding cooperative physicians can be difficult, given the prevalent reliance on antibiotics by many in the medical profession. There are, however, some yeast remedies that are not harmful.