DUBAI // The role of food in causing and treating autism is one of the main topics of discussion by experts on the disorder in Dubai this week.
While much about autism is a mystery, some are certain food lies at the centre of it.
"Diet plays a very important part in treating autism," said Dr William Shaw, the director of The Great Plains Laboratory in the US and a board member of the National Academy for Child Development.
Dr Shaw said more than 90 per cent of children with autism suffer milk and wheat allergy. If not diagnosed it could hamper their treatment and lead to stunted growth and development.
He will be giving workshops to parents during the Autism Around the World conference, which ends tomorrow at Zayed University.
Cutting out problem foods can help in key areas such as speech and self-harming tendencies, Dr Shaw said. "Parents who have made these dietary changes have seen those autism-related issues reduce considerably," he said.
But a small, intensive study in the US published last year found removing wheat and dairy from an autistic child's diet did not help.
The adjusted diet "did not demonstrate a change in sleep habits, bowel habits, activity or core symptoms of autism", said the lead researcher, Dr Susan Hyman of the University of Rochester.
For many parents solutions remain elusive and they are left with hunches and hopes.
Lara Mouawad, whose son Ryan, 4, has mild autism, could not understand why he was a picky eater.
"He hates pasta, does not like anything that is sticky and sometimes has meat," Mrs Mouawad said. "It's worrying because when he returns from school his lunchbox is untouched." That apparent fussiness could be a sign of a zinc deficiency.
"That needs to be identified and then an addition to the diet will bring changes," said Dr Shaw.
Mrs Mouawad recently had Ryan tested but remains unsatisfied.
"I was told he does not have a casein or gluten allergy but I am not convinced," she said.
Casein is a protein found in the milk of mammals. Gluten is a protein found in wheat products.
Addiction to some foods is common among autistic children and often the result of food intolerance.
"In this case, the source should be found and stopped immediately," said Dr Melissa Olive, a specialist in early childhood special education and a behavioural consultant.
"If this is ignored then it could cause cancer in the long term, inflammation that prevents them from absorbing nutrients and undernourishment leading to a failure to thrive."
Dr Olive said a reinforcement method could be used.
"So the child can be told that if they eat a certain food then they will be given what they like, for example, being allowed to play on the iPad," she said. "Over time they learn that food is not scary and it is tasty."
Experts said there was a general lack of knowledge about autism in the UAE. Even the extent of the problem was not well recorded.
"We know it is a problem but we have no statistics to determine how many children are autistic," said Dr Ali bin Shakar, the president of the Emirates Medical Association.
"A survey … and collaborative work by the ministry of health, education and social services is necessary to ensure they are included in schools and all aspects of society."
Schools have begun to accept children with special needs as authorities enforce regulations to promote their education in the mainstream.
But the lack of qualified special education teachers and therapists remains a challenge.
One educator said it was sometimes hard to convince parents their children should be assessed.
"They are not ready to accept that their children might have autism," said Smitha Kodoth, a special educator at Pristine Private School in Dubai, which conducts counselling sessions with parents.
"Their eating is an essential part of the treatment and parents often ignore that, so we try to work with them and encourage them for further investigation."
Mrs Mouawad says schools rarely have the expertise to successfully include special-needs children.
"I had a hard time finding a school with a special needs department," she said. "They are trying their best but the shadow teachers are still not fully aware of how to take care of my child."
aahmed@thenational.ae
Misconceptions about autism can often lead to later interventions
DUBAI // By his first birthday, Jack Timewell knew five words: hi, bye, mum, dad and nan.
But by the time he had reached 18 months his mother, Kelly Webb, noticed her son starting to lose his limited vocabulary. He showed very little inclination towards social interaction and avoided eye contact.
“We had no idea what was going on,” says Ms Webb. “I made the mistake of asking friends and family. They told me not to worry, he’s a boy; that it was normal for him to develop slower.”
What she did not know was that her son had regressive autism, a form of the disorder that does not begin to show its signs until a child is between 15 and 18 months old.
As he passed his second birthday, Jack grew more withdrawn. He was crying more and began having serious problems with constipation.
Ms Webb surfed the net for doctors who specialised in speech delay.
“In my head, autism was something you were born with and something that you spotted from birth,” she says.
“I didn’t think that it was something that could occur later.”
Dr Bariah Dardari, a paediatrician at the American Hospital Dubai who was Jack’s initial doctor, says parents often make the mistake of attributing developmental delays in their sons to gender.
“In fact, autism is much more common in boys,” Dr Dardari says. “So you cannot disregard the signs just because the child is a male.”
After the diagnosis, Ms Webb took her son to the Child Early Intervention Medical Centre where he still receives four-hour daily sessions for applied behavioural analysis.
At the sessions, experts look at the way children respond to different types of stimulus.
They also try to correct unusual behaviour such as hand flicking and lack of eye contact. The sessions are usually coupled with speech and occupational therapy.
But they are “very labour intensive and expensive”, and most insurers do not cover the fees, says Dr Shola Faniran, a developmental paediatrician at the centre.
A month of 10 hour-long sessions a week costs Dh7,000, and children often need double that.
Hiring people to assist children outside the centre costs between Dh145 to Dh235 an hour. Case managers and supervisors also need to be paid.
The cost forces many parents to compromise and they often employ a shared helper, says Dr Faniran.
Dr Dardari says many insurers are under the false impression that autism is only a “psychiatric problem”.
“After much research, it has been found these children have several issues biologically, including problems with their gastrointestinal tract, issues with their immune system, and oxidative stress, meaning that they cannot clean their systems of toxins and heavy metals,” she says.
The result is huge bills – an average of Dh70,000 a year to treat an autistic child, according to Dubai Healthcare City, which has four private treatment centres. But Dr Abdul Kareem Al Olama, an executive director at Dubai Healthcare City, says parents should never lose hope.
“There are many [public] facilities, such as Rashid Hospital and the Dubai Autism Centre, that parents can approach,” he says.
“Parents shouldn’t panic, there is help available.”
That help includes AutismUAE, an initiative in Dubai that aims to provide inexpensive support services, charging as close to cost as possible.
And parents do sometimes manage to persuade insurers to pay. After a long battle with the her insurance company, Ms Webb finally convinced it a year ago to cover Jack’s treatment, which was a huge relief.
“He’s a very happy boy now,” she says.
“He knows what he wants and he’s also much more affectionate with other people.
“There have been many improvements, but he’s still autistic and there are many barriers to overcome in the next few years.”
* Manal Ismail
@ For more on CHILD NUTRITION, visit thenational.ae/topics
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Company%20profile
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Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
If you go
The flights Etihad (www.etihad.com) and Spice Jet (www.spicejet.com) fly direct from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Pune respectively from Dh1,000 return including taxes. Pune airport is 90 minutes away by road.
The hotels A stay at Atmantan Wellness Resort (www.atmantan.com) costs from Rs24,000 (Dh1,235) per night, including taxes, consultations, meals and a treatment package.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final, second leg (first-leg score):
Manchester City (0) v Tottenham Hotspur (1), Wednesday, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
MATCH DETAILS
Barcelona 0
Slavia Prague 0
Zayed Sustainability Prize
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday (All UAE kick-off times)
Lecce v SPAL (6pm)
Bologna v Genoa (9pm)
Atlanta v Roma (11.45pm)
Sunday
Udinese v Hellas Verona (3.30pm)
Juventus v Brescia (6pm)
Sampdoria v Fiorentina (6pm)
Sassuolo v Parma (6pm)
Cagliari v Napoli (9pm)
Lazio v Inter Milan (11.45pm)
Monday
AC Milan v Torino (11.45pm)
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
The%20specs
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David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
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ALL THE RESULTS
Bantamweight
Siyovush Gulmomdov (TJK) bt Rey Nacionales (PHI) by decision.
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) bt Hussein Fakhir Abed (SYR) by submission.
Catch 74kg
Omar Hussein (JOR) bt Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) by decision.
Strawweight (Female)
Seo Ye-dam (KOR) bt Weronika Zygmunt (POL) by decision.
Featherweight
Kaan Ofli (TUR) bt Walid Laidi (ALG) by TKO.
Lightweight
Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW) bt Leandro Martins (BRA) by TKO.
Welterweight
Ahmad Labban (LEB) bt Sofiane Benchohra (ALG) by TKO.
Bantamweight
Jaures Dea (CAM) v Nawras Abzakh (JOR) no contest.
Lightweight
Mohammed Yahya (UAE) bt Glen Ranillo (PHI) by TKO round 1.
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) bt Aidan Aguilera (AUS) by TKO round 1.
Welterweight
Mounir Lazzez (TUN) bt Sasha Palatkinov (HKG) by TKO round 1.
Featherweight title bout
Romando Dy (PHI) v Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) by KO round 1.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
The%20specs
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The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
Mountain%20Boy
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Scoreline:
Everton 4
Richarlison 13'), Sigurdsson 28', Digne 56', Walcott 64'
Manchester United 0
Man of the match: Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton)
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
