My Historical Work With Camel Milk and Children With Autism

For many years, I worked with children with autism and their families, exploring nutrition, gut health, camel milk and other approaches based on each child's individual needs.

Some of this work involved following a group of children over an extended period of time and documenting the changes that parents and families reported to me.

At the time, I described this work as a study. Looking back, because this work was not documented as a formal controlled research study, I believe it is more accurate to describe these experiences as historical clinical observations from my practice.

Over approximately 24 months, I worked with 74 children and their families while exploring the potential relationship between camel milk, nutrition, gut health and the symptoms and behaviors their families were reporting.

During this period, I documented changes among the children participating based on my observations and information reported to me by their families.

Some parents reported changes in behaviors such as imaginative play, communication and eye contact. Others reported changes in sleep, gastrointestinal concerns, behavior, attention and their child's ability to perform certain everyday activities.

A Tale of Two Mothers

Two mothers I worked with have always stayed in my memory.

The first was Ginny.

I remember the day Ginny first visited my office with Jack. Jack was 3½ years old and had been diagnosed with autism approximately six months earlier.

The minute I saw Jack, I fell in love! He was adorable and had such a sweet and gentle nature.

I noticed that Jack stumbled a bit when he walked, would not make eye contact and spoke primarily in one-word sentences.

Ginny was desperate for help. She had tried different approaches and was frustrated by the lack of progress she felt Jack was making.

She described how deeply she wanted to help her child and how difficult it was to watch him struggle.

Ginny also told me that she noticed significant changes in Jack shortly after a vaccination appointment. She reported that he developed a fever and that afterward she observed changes in his speech, eye contact, play and behavior.

This was Ginny's account of what she observed and should not be interpreted as evidence that vaccination caused Jack's autism.

I began working with Jack using camel milk and a nutritional protocol. Approximately two months later, his family also decided, in consultation with his healthcare providers, to pursue a chelation program they felt comfortable with.

I saw Jack every month for approximately five months and then suggested to Ginny that she continue working with his pediatrician, while letting her know that I would remain available if she needed me.

Approximately a year and a half later, Ginny contacted me.

She sounded incredibly happy. She reported that Jack had undergone another evaluation by specialists and that she had been told he no longer met the criteria for an autism spectrum diagnosis.

It was wonderful to hear such good news from Ginny. She was a loving and dedicated mother, and I was very happy for Jack and his family.

Maria's Story

The second call was from Maria.

Maria had come to the United States from Somalia three years earlier. Her first words to me were, “Please, Dr. Hinkle, can you help me?”

She was crying as she told me that her son had been diagnosed with autism within the past week. She said her husband was having difficulty accepting the diagnosis and that she felt very alone in dealing with the situation.

Maria described the hopes she had always had for her son's future and how frightened and uncertain she felt after receiving the diagnosis.

I set up a consultation with Maria and referred her to a specialist I worked with for further evaluation.

Maria was just beginning a journey that I had watched many families navigate.

I wanted Maria to know that she and her family did not have to navigate the experience alone and that appropriate professional support could help them better understand and address her son's individual needs.

What Parents Reported to Me

Throughout my work with children with autism, parents shared many observations with me.

Some parents reported changes in imaginative play, communication and eye contact while their children were participating in the nutritional approaches I was exploring.

One mother reported that her child began communicating more and interacting with her differently. Another described significant changes in her child's language and everyday skills over a period of several weeks.

These were exciting and emotional moments for the families involved, and I was grateful to hear about their children's progress.

However, these parent-reported experiences represent individual observations. They cannot establish that camel milk—or another component of a child's nutritional or medical program—caused the changes.

Looking Back at My Work

My work with these children and families led me to continue asking questions about nutrition, gut health, the microbiome and individual differences in how children respond to foods and nutritional interventions.

During the approximately 24-month period in which I followed the larger group of children, I recorded changes in areas such as communication, behavior, gastrointestinal health and other aspects of daily functioning.

At the 24-month point, I also recorded that five families reported or provided evaluations indicating that their children no longer met diagnostic criteria they had previously met.

Because I no longer have the documentation necessary to evaluate this work as a formal research study, these historical observations should not be interpreted as scientific evidence that camel milk treats autism.

Further controlled research would be necessary to determine whether camel milk—or any other particular component of the nutritional approaches being used—contributed to the changes families reported.

What these experiences did accomplish was to deepen my interest in the relationship between nutrition, gut health, the microbiome and whole-person health.

The families I worked with during this period remain an important part of my professional history and of the questions that continued to shape my work in the years that followed.

Medical Note: This article describes Dr. Hinkle's historical clinical observations and recollections from her work with children and families. The historical 74-child project described here was not documented as a formal controlled research study, and the observations should not be interpreted as scientific evidence of effectiveness. Individual experiences and parent-reported outcomes do not establish that camel milk, chelation, dietary changes, supplements, gut-health protocols or other interventions treat, prevent, cure or reverse autism. Families should work with appropriately qualified healthcare professionals when making medical or nutritional decisions for a child.