Dietary restriction brings positive results

April 6, 2010 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: I read with interest the column that was recently posted about food issues with kids with autism.

My son is 17 and has severe autism. For many, many years, he suffered terribly with failure-to-thrive issues because of his aversion and bizarre sensory issues to many things, including food. He would go on what we called starvation diets; for days, he would eat absolutely nothing. I can remember giving him just about anything just so that I could get him to eat something.

When he was 14, out of complete desperation, we placed him on a restrictive diet. We removed gluten, casein, corn, soy, all sugars and dyes. [Read more...]

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Parent takes Gott to task

February 20, 2010 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: My father called and told me about your views on picky eaters. You said not to let them rule you. How arrogant could you possibly be? Have you ever treated a child with autism? They would rather starve than eat offending foods. And, if you were to force them to eat it, most likely they would vomit like my daughter. You need to have a reality check, doctor. Your post has just given hundreds of family members ammo to belittle us moms with special-needs children who have food aversions. Shame, shame, shame on you.
DEAR READER: I must confess I have never personally treated a child with autism, and I respect the additional care and attention parents and caregivers must provide. I am sure that you do everything within your power to keep consistency in each day if things are to remain on an even keel, and part of that consistency is likely mealtime. [Read more...]

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Sunday Column

September 28, 2008 By

DEAR DR. GOTT:
I have a 13-year-old son with autism. He is very pleasant, tries real hard at everything, does well in school, and never complains. Although he is verbal, he has great difficulty expressing his thoughts. He’s 5’4”, maybe 100 pounds, and is a big eater. He’s going through puberty.

About 8 months ago he began having difficult and painful swallowing, indicating pain from his neck, along the esophagus, to his stomach. It was torture for him to eat and torture for us to watch him. He lost 10 pounds over Christmas break. Our family doctor put him on Prevacid 30 mg daily. Within two days he was able to eat. He’s also been on a multi-vitamin, amino acids and digestive enzymes for years. Although he is now eating, he still experiences pain in his throat for up to 2 hours after each meal. [Read more...]

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