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Submitted by PatientsEngage on 29 June 2017

Saswati Singh, Trustee member with Navprerna Foundations, a welfare organisation for the training and rehabilitation of persons with Autism and other developmental disabilities, talks about how important food intake can be for people with autism as well as other disabilities

Autism is a developmental disorder, which affects social skills, communication, thought and behaviour. This is more of a neuro-physiological disorder and affected persons have difficulty in processing and integrating sensory information.

Misconceptions about Autism

It is not a mental retardation. Commonly referred to as The Mystery Syndrome, there are many theories and even more myths associated with the disorder. There is a great need to spread awareness about this, and encourage research. Since diagnosis of autism is very much on the rise in India as in other parts of the world, it is now time to rethink and change our attitude towards it, and demystify the myths, which surround this condition. It is time for all concerned to find out the solution to many of the issues associated with this condition.

There is a lot of stress in families due to ignorance about how to handle a child with autism and train him/her in activities of daily living. This often leads to general avoidance in family members, who would rather choose to pass on the responsibility to either schools or caregivers. By the time the parents realise their shortcomings, the educable age of the child is already lost in “ifs” and “buts”.

Importance of Proper Diet

At present, as I work with young adults with aggression and challenging behaviours, I realise how my own experience has come of use. When I did the Option Institute’s Sonrise Start up Program from Massachusetts, USA, they advised the elimination of dairy products and wheat from the diet. So when I tried it on my 29-year-old son, who has Autism and other Gastro Intestinal issues, I got very promising results. Today, I am known for the dietary interventions that I use extensively, on any child having attention deficit and hyperactivity. It has a calming effect, and I have seen changes in behaviour, speech, thinking, cognition and various areas of learning. “ Mens sana in corpora sano- A healthy mind in a healthy body” is a quotation which has been my punch line for years.

The concept of a balanced diet is still lacking in majority of areas, since 80% of our country’s population live in rural areas. Quite ironically the affluent category is guzzling on junk food and fizzy drinks on almost a regular basis. As a result today’s youth is suffering from a lot of conditions related to obesity and hormonal imbalance. So if we know that a sound mind can only reside in a sound body, what could be the consequences of such eating habits? I even dread to think. In fact, we are actually jeopardising the health of the future generation.

It is essential for the youth of today to avoid such food habits, which are presently prevalent. There are already a lot of toxins in the environment, due to indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. These remain in the soil and air, and enter the food cycle, ultimately undermining the health of the citizens. So we should be more careful, and find out more about what we are stuffing into our systems. This has an indirect effect on the attention, intelligence, memory and other faculties of the brain.

 There is a very famous quotation which says “What is food to one man may be fierce poison to another”- Lucretius, 5 BC. So this idea of the gut – brain connection has been around for many years -  it is not a new theory. The fast food culture has swept the country like a plague. I am saddened to see so many college going young women with obesity and PCOD. Conditions like this in a mother increase the risk of the child having medical conditions like diabetes and even autism according to an initial study.

The overuse of refined flour products, preservatives, high sugars, dyes, MSG, dairy products all enhance the hyperactivity and other symptoms of autism, like sensory issues. So elimination of high sized proteins from the diet shows promising results when followed stringently.

The pic below is of Saswati Singh receiving  "Best Parent of a person with Disability Award of 2007" from National trust. Award presented by Mrs Meera Kumar- the then Minister for Min. of SJ & E  

 

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