SAN FRANCISCO, May 11 (UPI) -- On the question of extraneous physical problems that beset many children with autism, many practitioners and parents are starting to come together.

Mainstream medicine is beginning to pay serious attention to, and act upon, parents' long-dismissed contention that something other than the disorder itself is affecting their children's health.

An increasing number of specialists have started to aggressively treat and study the relevance to autism of medical conditions -- including acid reflux, diarrhea and other gastrointestinal ailments, sleep disturbances, food allergies and metabolic irregularities that make it difficult for the body to adequately break down certain biochemicals.

These maladies are commonly experienced by autistic children and may be contributing to their behavioral problems but often go undetected due to lack of physician awareness and patient articulation, doctors say.

A major move toward correcting that oversight has come with the establishment by six leading hospitals of the Autism Treatment Network.

Among priorities topping its agenda, the group is drawing up national guidelines for providing autistic children with physical examinations complete enough to catch any underlying medical conditions. It also plans to conduct clinical trials to identify problems that are most likely to affect this patient group.

One large and largely overlooked health issue facing children, especially adolescents, with autism is common to most American youth: failure to stay in shape, according to a six-year Indiana University review.

Just like all youngsters, those with autism spectrum disorders can give their bodies and minds a lift by kicking up their activity level. However, they are given an even skimpier possibility than their peers to exercise their right to fitness, the researchers said.

Many districts have eliminated or minimized structured school-based opportunities for burning calories and building muscle, such as recess and physical education. In addition, community-based programs frequently are thin on trained staff and support services needed by autistic youngsters.

Young people with autism spectrum disorders often aren't in the running for team sports which require a quick pickup on social cues to keep the game moving.

What's more, having no physical disability, they do not qualify for such events as wheelchair racing or Special Olympics, although some have succeeded in getting exemptions, the authors noted.

What may fit the bill for these athletes-in-waiting are individual or two-person sports, such as swimming, tennis, running and martial arts, doctors advised. Such activities provide a touch of the social element without making heavy demands for personal contact, they advised.

(Note: In this multi-part installment, based on dozens of reports, conferences and interviews, Ped Med is keeping an eye on autism, taking a backward glance at its history and surrounding controversies, facing facts revealed by research and looking forward to treatment enhancements and expansions. Wasowicz is the author of the new book, "Suffer the Child: How the Healthcare System Is Failing Our Future," published by Capital Books.)

Next: The problem of healthcare access.

UPI Consumer Health welcomes comments on this column. E-mail: lwasowicz@upi.com.