Autism is reaching epidemic proportions in this country. In Australia there are some doctors that are exploring new treatments for autistic children. These doctors are approaching autism as a physical disorder rather than just a behavioral one. One researcher has found a high rate of intestinal disorders. Harvard University researchers studied 500 autistic children and found more than half had treatable gut and bowel disorders.
The doctors in Australia (and Britain) have been recommending the following approach: introduce the child to a dairy-free and gluten-free diet; test for other food allergies and eliminate offending foods, test for vitamin and mineral deficiencies and supplement as needed (this is usually zinc, calcium, magnesium, vitamin A, C and some B vitamins), test stools for parasitic organisms such as yeast and bacteria.
Dr. Anthony Underwood has actually found a few of his patients have recovered from autism. While most don't fully recover, he has seen improvements in most of the 80 autistic children he has worked with.
The beauty of this approach is that there is absolutely no damage done if this approach does not work.