Digestive enzyme supplementation for autism spectrum disorders: a double-blind randomized controlled trial.
Digestive-enzyme supplements do not improve core autism traits—skip them and teach skills instead.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Jones et al. (2010) ran a double-blind trial of digestive-enzyme pills for children with autism.
Kids got either the supplement or a look-alike placebo every day.
The team then checked language, behavior, tummy trouble, sleep, and how many foods the child would eat.
What they found
The pills did not help talking, behavior, stomach pain, or sleep.
The only change was a tiny bump in the number of foods kids would taste.
In short, the product worked no better than candy.
How this fits with other research
Connell et al. (2004) already showed that secretin shots, another gut-based fix, flopped in 12 out of 13 studies.
Bent et al. (2011) later found omega-3 fish-oil pills also did nothing for hyperactivity.
Yet Chakraborty et al. (2021) remind us that real GI pain can still fuel repetitive behaviors, so keep screening for constipation even though enzymes are useless.
Why it matters
Families often buy enzymes hoping for a quick fix. You can now show them solid evidence that the pills are a waste of money. Spend your time on proven teaching tools instead, and save supplements for the rare child with a true enzyme deficit diagnosed by a doctor.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →If a parent mentions enzymes, share the A et al. (2010) null result and pivot to an evidence-based language or play program.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
To examine the effects of a digestive enzyme supplement in improving expressive language, behaviour and other symptoms in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial using crossover design over 6 months for 43 children, aged 3-8 years. Outcome measurement tools included monthly Global Behaviour Rating Scales, Additional Rating Scales of other symptoms by parents and therapists, and monthly completion of the Rescorla Language Development Survey. Compared with placebo, treatment with enzyme was not associated with clinically significant improvement in behaviour, food variety, gastrointestinal symptoms, sleep quality, engagement with therapist, or the Language Development Survey Vocabulary or Sentence Complexity Scores. A small statistically significant improvement on enzyme therapy was seen for the food variety scores. No clinically significant effect improvement of autism symptoms with enzyme use was shown with this trial, however, possible effects on improvement in food variety warrants further detailed investigation.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2010 · doi:10.1007/s10803-010-0974-2