ASAT Responds to NY Times story 'Regimens: Restrictive Diets May Not Be Appropriate for Children With Autism'

Dear Editor:

On behalf of the Association for Science in Autism Treatment (www.asatonline.org), we would like to commend Ms. Roni Caryn Rabin for her recent article entitled “Regimens: Restrictive Diets May Not Be Appropriate for Children With Autism” (July 27, 2009).

Parents of children with autism are bombarded with treatment options, often to the point of confusion. Rabin’s piece correctly informs the reader that gluten-free and casein-free diets have no scientific evidence supporting their effectiveness. This article underscores how important it is for parents of children with autism to rely on treatments such as applied behavioral analysis (ABA), that have copious scientific evidence – including several hundred peer-reviewed research studies – to support their efficacy.

Geoffrey DeBery, M.A., BCBA
Media Review Committee, Association for Science in Autism Treatment

Barbara Jamison
Board Member, Association for Science in Autism Treatment

ASAT Responds to NY Times story “Regimens: Restrictive Diets May Not Be Appropriate for Children With Autism”