Eating for Autism: The 10-Step Nutrition Plan to Help Treat Your Child’s Autism, Asperger’s, or ADHD

The information you’ll find in is both accessible and useful for parents who may be dealing with these issues. Ms. Strickland does a wonderful job outlining specific steps for parents to take. She begins by discussing how to transition your child to a healthy diet which is free (or as free as possible) of chemicals and additives. The rest of covers topics such as basic nutrients, vitamins, resolving feeding problems, food allergies, elimination diets and supplements.

I love how she starts the discussion of diet and nutrition by focusing on diet and nutrition. This sounds simple enough, but in many cases parents and interventionists dive into the behavioral treatment without first addressing whether or not the child is eating food that is healthy and free of chemicals which may be impacting them. Our food today is full of additives and preservatives (which she discusses in detail) and although there is not much in the way of research regarding how these chemicals impact development, she suggests that eliminating or reducing these from your child’s diet is the first step to resolving issues. While this in and of itself is not likely to fix issues parents of children with autism are having, it really is a wonderful first step.

The second part of this book is a GF/CF cookbook with many great recipes which will satisfy children and adults alike. She presents recipes which can substitute for things children are already eating but with a nutritious spin. We all recognize that sitting your child down with broiled chicken and steamed green beans isn’t likely to go over well for children who are already presenting with feeding issues, but you can use this recipe book to change out preferred processed foods (i.e. breaded chicken nuggets) with a more healthy alternative. These small changes can go a long way.