| It appears that the basis of this story traces | | | | a pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) that is |
| back to a 1998 medical paper that suggested that | | | | generally manifested in the first 3 years of life |
| autistic children often suffered from a problem | | | | and characterized by dysfunction in social |
| called "leaky gut" / "autistic entercolitis". | | | | interaction and communication AND although not |
| The idea was that opiates found in gluten and | | | | included in the diagnostic criteria, there have been |
| casein (dairy) were released when gluten food | | | | many reports describing gastrointestinal |
| was improperly digested. This happened when the | | | | symptoms in 9% to 84% of children with autism. |
| GI tract was damaged by such things as celiac | | | | However the very latest papers released in |
| disease. The opiates then supposedly were | | | | January 2010 suggest that "care providers should |
| released into the bloodstream causing or | | | | be aware that problem behavior in patients with |
| increasing obvious autistic like symptoms. This | | | | ASD's may be the primary or sole symptom of |
| paper is now widely discredited and retracted. | | | | the underlying medical condition, including some |
| The current concern is that the 'bounce back | | | | gastrointestinal disorders. |
| effect' from such a retraction is the discrediting of | | | | CONCLUSIONS |
| celiac disease in healthy and autistic children. For | | | | The American Association of Pediatrics reports |
| those unaware of 'Developmental disorders' in | | | | clarify that children with autism and other |
| children they cover five main categories. These | | | | Developmental disorders often do have untreated |
| are: | | | | gastrointestinal issues. However they stress that |
| Autism | | | | there is no higher rate of GI disorders in children |
| Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) | | | | with autism than any other children. |
| Attention deficit disorder (ADD) | | | | Further to this they add the caution that a central |
| Non-verbal learning disorder (NLD) | | | | difficulty in recognizing and characterizing gastro |
| Pervasive development disorder (PDD) | | | | intestinal dysfunction with ASDs is the |
| COELIAC DISEASE SYMPTOMS IN CHILDREN | | | | communication difficulties experienced by many |
| Some of the symptoms of celiac disease and/ or | | | | affected individuals. That is, GP's and parents |
| milk intolerance on the Gastro Intestinal (GI) tract | | | | often fail to recognize the symptoms of GI |
| in children are: | | | | because they are handling some greater |
| - Bloating/swollen tummy | | | | behavioral disorders and hence GI disorders, |
| - Breaking wind frequently | | | | including celiac disease, can easily go undiagnosed |
| - Constipation | | | | for even longer than the regular population (which |
| - Craving/ dislike for certain foods | | | | can take ten years). |
| - Dark shadows under the eyes | | | | One can draw the conclusion from this latest |
| - Diarrhea | | | | research that just as easy as it is for celiac |
| - Eating non-food items e.g. earth, paper, sand, | | | | disease to go undiagnosed in healthy children and |
| soap | | | | adults, gluten intolerance would very easily be |
| - Excessive sweating, especially at night | | | | ignored in symptoms of a child with strong |
| - Giggling/ screaming for no apparent reason | | | | behavioral disorders such as autism. |
| - Gut disorders in the family | | | | If you are at all concerned with whether |
| - Inability to control body temperature | | | | someone you know with autism or a related |
| - Pale skin/pasty face | | | | disorder may have a GI such as celiac disease, it |
| It appears that the most rigorous research into | | | | is best discussing this with your doctor. However |
| the possible links between celiac disease (or other | | | | do remember, that for a full confirmation of the |
| GI disorders) and autism (or other related | | | | disease a biopsy will usually need to be taken |
| Developmental disorders) are coming from | | | | which requires that the person is still ingesting |
| American PEDIATRICS department studies. | | | | gluten at the time. |
| One definition of Autism is that that it is that it is | | | | |