- With Mayo Clinic emeritus consultant
Jay L. Hoecker, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Jay L. Hoecker, M.D.
Jay L. Hoecker, M.D.
Dr. Jay Hoecker, an emeritus consultant in the Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, brings valuable expertise to MayoClinic.com in general and primary care pediatrics. He has a particular interest in infectious diseases of children.
Dr. Hoecker, a Fort Worth, Texas, native, is certified as a pediatrician by the American Board of Pediatrics and is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He was trained at Washington University's St. Louis Children's Hospital, and in infectious diseases at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He has been with Mayo Clinic since 1989.
"The World Wide Web is revolutionizing the availability and distribution of information, including health information about children and families," Dr. Hoecker says. "The evolution of the Web has included greater safety, privacy and accuracy over time, making the quality and access to children's health information immediate, practical and useful. I am happy to be a part of this service to patients from a trusted name in medicine, to use and foster all the good the Web has to offer children and their families."
Treatments and drugs (2)
- Autism treatment: Can chelation therapy help?
- Autism treatment: Can special diets help?
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Question
Autism treatment: Can special diets help?
Can special diets help children who have autism? A friend told us that his nephew's autism improved when gluten and casein were restricted from his diet. My daughter has autism, and I wonder if the diet would help her, too?
Answer
from Jay L. Hoecker, M.D.
There's no evidence that special diets are an effective autism treatment.
Autism is a complex brain disorder that has no known cure. For this reason, many frustrated parents turn to unproven alternative treatments — such as restrictive diets that eliminate gluten and casein — in an attempt to help their children.
Proponents of restrictive diets believe that casein, a protein found in dairy products, and gluten, a protein found in many grains, affect brain development and behavior — causing autism in some children. However, there's no evidence that diet triggers autism or that restricting gluten and casein improves autism symptoms. And for growing children, restrictive diets can lead to nutritional deficiencies.
If you're considering an alternative autism treatment, talk to your child's doctor. He or she can help you identify the treatments that are most likely to be effective for your child, as well as local resources that may provide additional support. If you decide to pursue a restrictive diet, work with a registered dietitian to create an appropriate meal plan for your child.
Next questionAutism treatment: Can chelation therapy help?
- Augustyn M. Patient information: Autism spectrum disorders. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Oct. 15, 2008.
- Millward C, et al. Gluten-and casein-free diets for autistic spectrum disorder. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2008;(2):CD003498.
- Peregrin T. Registered Dietitians' Insights in Treating Autistic Children. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 2007;107:727.
