Paul Shattock (B.Pharm, Dip.Ag.Vet.Pharm, OBE), a pharmacist and parent of an autistic son, was Honorary Director of the Autism Research Unit (ARU), University of Sunderland, UK now called ESPA Research.[1] He is Chairman of ESPA (Education and Services for People with Autism) which provides teaching and residential services for young adults with autism and President-Elect of the World Autism Organisation (WAO) having previously been secretary for Autisme-Europe. His research interests include rights and models of service provision for people with autism, biomedical and environmental factors implicated in autism, and the use and abuse of medication for autism.[2]
The research undertaken by Shattock at the ARU / ESPA Research investigates the theory that autism is a consequence of a metabolic disorder, whereby certain biologically active peptides and other related compounds (derived mainly but not exclusively from dietary gluten and/or casein) are not metabolised correctly, and along with Kalle Reichelt led to the widespread use of the Gluten-free, casein-free diet in treating autism.[3]
Mr Shattock has published in peer-refereed journals, such as Autism, the Journal of Child Neurology, Biomedical Chromatography and the Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology. Studies supporting claims for elimination diets have had significant flaws, and are therefore inadequate to guide autism treatment recommendations.[4] Shattock published the results of a 2-year trial of gluten- and casein-free diets (ScanBrit) in Nutritional Neuroscience. This study is similarly flawed, since it is lacking controls.[5]
In 1998 Paul Shattock was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his more than 30 years of services to the autism community.