Dietary regulation for children with autism: Is it important? -

Autism is a kind of pervasive developmental disorder that is related to many behavioral problems including perception, communication, motor development, and social disorder. World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about six in 1,000 children worldwide are affected by an autism spectrum disorder. Nutritional regulation is one of the main concerns of children with autism due to many problems in the biochemical process, digestion process, and food allergy. Food selection in autistic children is not different from any other normal children, following standard requirement of a balanced diet, by implementing specific elimination and supplementation diet. There are many indications for dietary regulation in autistic children including developmental disorder, obvious digestion problems, and atopic signs. Implementing dietary regulation is not free from problems, inclusive of child factor, parent factor, and external factor.