Brief Report: Scurvy as a Manifestation of Food Selectivity in Children with Autism.
Scurvy can look like a sore leg in autistic kids who skip produce—give vitamin C fast and then teach them to eat fruits and veggies.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Doctors looked at seven autistic kids who came in limping and refusing to walk.
All of the children ate almost no fruit or vegetables.
The team gave them vitamin C shots and watched what happened.
What they found
Within days the kids walked again and the pain left their legs.
Their gums stopped bleeding and they felt better.
The limp had been scurvy hiding behind food refusal.
How this fits with other research
Vietti et al. (2026) later saw the same pattern in nine kids and added that gait trouble can be the first clue.
Flanagan et al. (2021) and Peterson et al. (2016) show you can stop this before it starts by using ABA to teach kids to eat produce.
The three papers together say: treat food refusal early with behaviour tools, but if a child suddenly limps and eats no fruit, check for scurvy and give vitamin C right away.
Why it matters
A limp can look like a sprain, but in a picky eater it may be scurvy. Ask parents what the child actually puts in his mouth. If produce is missing, order a vitamin C level and start supplements while you arrange feeding therapy. Quick action ends pain in days and keeps the child walking.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Scurvy was diagnosed in seven children at Boston Children's Hospital. All of the children had a developmental disorder and autism was the most common. They had a long-standing history of food selectivity with diets devoid of fruits and vegetables, and none of the children were supplemented with a multivitamin. They presented with limp, and an elaborate panel of tests and procedures were undertaken before the diagnosis of scurvy was made. Treatment with vitamin C led to rapid recovery of symptoms. This report emphasizes the importance of considering nutritional causes of musculoskeletal symptoms in children with autism and restrictive diets.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2016 · doi:10.1007/s10803-015-2660-x