The Special Foods Comprehensive Intervention Program
and "The Special Foods Diet"

*The information below is intended for Autistic Children and individuals, however this information can also be applied to everyone. PLEASE use this info untill the "non-autistic" version is updated.

by Karen M. Slimak, MS

It was not so long ago that autism was believed to be a hopeless problem; there was not even the consideration of the possibility of recovery. But in recent years a number of dramatic improvements and recoveries have been achieved with autistic children. Some children have responded to consistent, persistent physical stimulation; some have responded to patterning; some have responded to auditory therapy. In the continuing search for underlying causes the importance of food allergies and sensitivities and chemical sensitivities has begun to be considered with increasing interest. There are reports of dramatic improvements involving the avoidance of glutens and gliadins, avoidance of caseins, and supplementation involving biochemical interventions.

This variety of approaches which has led to recoveries for a few, and moderate to slight improvements for many autistic children, has led to the suggestion by some that autism may have multiple causes. This would certainly on first glance seem to be supported by the variety of approaches mentioned above, and the fact that the onset of autism, or autism-related symptoms has been reported after immunizations, following birth-related traumas, and in other cases seemingly of genetic origins.

We can no longer accept the theory that autism has multiple causes. The results of our success with several hundred autistic children suggest otherwise. The results of our two-year research effort in which we studied 45 autistic children undergoing the SF Comprehensive Intervention Program are in, and have been evaluated thoroughly. The data points with surprising clarity to a unifying, underlying cause for autism. Clearly a response of the immune system occurs in autism, and there are biological mechanisms that involve impaired enzyme systems. However, we have found that none of these problems occur when food and environmental contaminants (volatile organic compounds, plastics, resins, and moldy smells) are removed completely. Within 2-5 weeks of complete diet change and removal of all environmental contaminants, the physical manifestations of the disorder disappear. Further the symptoms return quickly should re-exposure occur. In other words, in our program we can turn symptoms on and off like a caution light. This is not possible unless one is varying the substances responsible for the body's responses and ultimately the autistic symptoms themselves.

We find that food sensitivities together with chemical sensitivities account for autism-related symptoms in every single child we have studied. In our recent research study of 45 autistic children, we found that food, and exposures to volatile organic compounds, plastics, polymerized resins and mold, fully accounted for the autistic symptoms of each child. The question now is, is food and environment the cause in 100% of autistic children or only 99% of cases?

Our study also showed that simultaneously combining our effective diet, the Special Foods Diet, with equally effective environmental intervention is the key. We found, that with diet alone, the immune system of autistic children is still overwhelmed, and the children develop many new food sensitivities and many experience gradually worsening symptoms. We also found that with environmental avoidance alone, the food-related symptoms were so strong that overall improvements were not observed. The desired outcome is only possible when the Special Foods Diet is partnered with comprehensive elimination of environmental contaminants.

In our program, without exception every child has improved. In the 45 children studied, 5 have fully recovered already and their diagnoses have been removed. Half of the children have achieved an 85% or greater reduction in overall symptom levels, and are well on their way to full recovery. The remainder have achieved at least a 50% reduction overall in their symptoms; the difference in this group are the parents, who have been slow to complete the environmental changes so clearly necessary for full recovery.

Our Comprehensive Intervention Program is designed to be fast paced, achieve results quickly, and make the process simple. Recovery is supposed to be quick. Symptoms are reduced slowly over many months only when environmental changes are made slowly; with this approach there is a great risk that the child's increasingly hyper reactive immune system will outpace the environmental improvements and the child's sensitivities will continue to become more severe, albeit more slowly that would have occurred otherwise. This is one of many reasons for our fast paced program.

Our research has clearly demonstrated that autism is a collection of symptoms which are much like allergic reactions. The symptoms only occur when there is an exposure (to food, chemicals or mold), each reaction has a pattern - a beginning, middle and end which lasts generally no longer that about two weeks - and the symptoms are gone when the last exposure is eliminated.

The Comprehensive Intervention Program has two critical parts, dietary intervention through the Special Foods Diet, and our simultaneous program for equally comprehensive elimination of volatile substances and plastics in the child's environment. The emphasis in this booklet is on the first part of the program, complete dietary intervention with the Special Foods Diet. At the time you enter our SF Comprehensive Intervention Program you will be provided the detailed instructions on how to make the environmental changes that are the essential second part of the SF Comprehensive Intervention Program. In addition you will enter our ongoing research program in which the progress of each participant is followed carefully, and you will be provided, at no charge, all of the scientific and technical guidance and personal support necessary to help you achieve these goals.

This booklet, which emphasizes the dietary intervention portion of our program, provides detailed information about our Special Foods Diet. Autistic children achieve the complete elimination of food related symptoms with a comprehensive approach to dietary intervention that starts with a complete change of diet and introduction of the most well tolerated and healthful foods in the world. The complete diet change is necessary to make sure we have eliminated