Do We Have Evidence for Dietary and Nutritional Interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorder?

* Abbreviation: ASD — : autism spectrum disorder Primary care physicians are often in the unique position of not only acting as the first point of contact for families with concerns about children’s development or behavior but also then being able to provide ongoing guidance, support, and care to youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families over time.1,2 In this capacity, providers increasingly find themselves fielding questions related to the safety and efficacy of a wide variety of interventions. A growing evidence base supports the benefits of specific behavioral, educational, and, to a limited extent, certain pharmacologic interventions for individuals with ASD.3–5 Unfortunately, because of the difficulty in obtaining effective treatments (because of factors such as limited availability, high cost, or extensive waiting lists), the modest benefit of available interventions, the lack of medications that address core symptoms, and the chronic, sometimes significant impairments associated with ASD itself, families often search for more widely available and more powerful ways of helping their children.6 It should not be surprising that many, if not a substantial majority of families, not only have questions about but actually pursue and implement a … Address correspondence to Zachary Warren, PhD, Vanderbilt Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders, Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, PMB 74, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, TN 37203. E-mail: zachary.warren{at}vanderbilt.edu