Q: I have a three-year-old client with apraxia. The mother recently has put the child on a fish oil regiment. I was wondering what your take was on this and if you have had experience with diet modifications.

In 33 years as an SLP, I have seen many diet fads come and go – fish oil, whip cream, no potatoes and tomatoes, excess protein, limited protein, vegetarianism, veganism, increased electrolytes, no sugar, no food dyes or additives of any kind, and so forth. Honestly, I have never seen a child change because of diet modifications. However, I have heard many parents claim their child changed.

I am not against these things, nor do I advocate them. My rationale is that I have no business discussing these things with parents because my expertise is in speech-language pathology only.

I usually tell parents that I am glad they are seeking more information on their child. I tell them that I do not keep abreast of this material because it is outside of my areas of expertise. I tell them that this is something that they should discuss with their pediatrician and nutritionist. And I leave it at that.