This assignment gives your first experience of reading and reacting to journal literature in Allied Health Research.  Many students never realize there's a world beyond the textbooks and so it's all new to them.  You learn that in your specialty there are things printed every day that are new.  You will have to keep up to maintain your professional competency.  Journals are a resource that you can use, both here in school and when you get out in a professional situation.  The assignment is carefully sequenced with clear due dates and instructions. 

I believe that all of you, as future health care professionals, should be aware of how you can keep up on new developments in allied health and the issues that surround them.  Therefore, the objectives of this assignment are to familiarize you with the available literature in medicine and allied health.  

To meet the objectives of the assignment, you will:

·         Read and study, in detail, one current article on a topic covered in class from any of the three journals mentioned above. 

·         You will submit two assigned journal articles as Discussion Forums, and you may submit 2 or more of your own for credit in ALHE4060.  Ask the instructor if you wish to submit more than 2.

Details of What You Need To Do: 

1.       Go to the library and check out the issues of the journal.  You can also use the Internet for a resource.

2.       TIP: Most Journals publish a subject index in their December issue.  This is extremely useful and convenient when performing searches on subjects. 

3.       Look through the selected article ass well as the rest of that issue of the journal and several other recent issues to get a clear understanding of:

4.       what kinds of information is published,

5.       what audience it is intended to serve

6.       Whether references for further information are given. 

7.       Complete the Journal Article Review Form and submit by the due date. 

To receive full credit for this assignment, you must answer all questions on the review form and submit it by the due date.  Here is the information you should submit to your Research website:

Title of Journal Article_

______Autism and Food Allergies_______________________________________________

Title of Journal

______Berglund Health and Wellness Center:  A Pediatric and Family Practice______________

Volume_______N/A___________________ Date ______/_____/______ Page Number(s) ______________

·         What organization is responsible for publishing the journal you chose?

        It was written by Dr. Daniel C Dantini and published by Sage Systems, Inc.

·         What is your overall evaluation of this article?

_____Poor          ______Fair            __X__Good        _______Very Good       _____Excellent

·         Why did you choose to review this particular article?

                Requirement for Research in Allied Health class

·         How would you rate this article as a tool for teaching a student about cardiopulmonary physiology, radiography, or another allied health specialty? 

Students:               ____Poor       ____Fair       __X__Good     _____Very Good      _____Excellent

Teachers:               ____Poor       ____Fair       ___X_Good     _____Very Good      _____Excellent

Patients:                 ____Poor       ____Fair       __X__Good     _____Very Good      _____Excellent

·         Comment on the readability of this article. 

                This article is easily understandable and makes the point of the article very clear.

·         Course Topics covered:

        The importance of early diagnosis of autism and the benefits of the Sage test to pinpoint certain foods delaying the child’s development. 

·         Brief Summary:

        Dr. Dantini discusses the importance of diagnosing autism early.  He believes that if caught early enough, autism can be treated and possibly cured with diet alone.  The article states that certain foods can contribute to conditions such as autism, ADHD, and hyperactivity.  By eliminating these foods, it can provide treatment that would be most beneficial. 

·         Identify and attempt to explain three (3) terms, procedures or concepts that were unfamiliar to you when reviewing this article.

        I was not aware that diet could be the trigger for autism.  I am not familiar with this condition and it does seem that diet is such an easy answer for such a complex condition.  Just like the article said “too good to be believed.”  However, that is not a valid excuse not to publish information that could lead to the successful treatment of many children.  Also, I had never heard of the Sage test.  This is a “multi-pathway delayed food allergy test.  With this test, Dr. Dantini is able to pinpoint foods that effect autism.  As a result, the parents will know which foods their child should not eat.  Another fact that was unfamiliar to me was that milk and wheat are the most common allergens that contribute to autism.  The article states that most children undergo significant progress when these foods are limited.  If that fails, the Sage test is put to use.

·         Detail the strengths/weaknesses of this article.

        A strength of this article is its readability.  This article is not filled full of medical terminology that might confuse a person not involved in the medical field.  Instead, it describes in detail what the Sage test is and how it can benefit children diagnosed with autism.  Another strength is that the article gets straight to the point.  If an article is too long and redundant, readers might loose interest and miss important points of the article.  However, this article makes it very clear the point of the article.  Also, Dr. Dantini’s findings are supported by another doctor, Dr. Cindy Schneider. 

        A weakness is the fact that the author only talks about 2 cases in which diet limitation cured autism.  In fact, the article does not talk about any case in which diet alone did not help children with autism.  He talks about earlier in the article that the medical community refused to publish his findings in the 70’s because they were too good to be believed.  Maybe if he included a chart or graph showing all children involved in the study and how many had success from changing diet alone, readers will have a better scope of the actual success of this treatment.

·         How might this article be useful to you in your further studies and career?

        This article shows first hand how the medical community is sometimes close-minded.  It shows that we should always be open to answers that sometimes seem too simple.     

·         Does the article include a list of references/citations that can be used to find more information on the topics they cover? 

        It doesn’t include a list of references.  However, it does list links to other autism sites such as “Reversing Autism with Nutrition,” and “Peroxismal Disturbances in ASD.”

Your Name: ____Amy Phillips___________________________________ Date: __10/__18/_05__