Our nephew (age 9), who has autism was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes a few months ago. He has always had a highly restrictive diet because he wont eat anything except fast food fries and onion rings, pizza, soda, and coffee. Maybe at school they can get him to eat other things, I am not sure. His parents say that he can eat anything he wants and they just adjust it with insulin. They have switched to diet soda but that's pretty much it. I thought diabetics were supposed to watch what they ate. Is that only with Type 2?
Thank you for the insights and I agree with you that it really is a balance between two terrible and difficult diseases. I think he drinks coffee because it calms him down. My SIL and her husband are both extremely obese and she has wierd food issues. Every day is a struggle sometimes for them.
No kid should eat that kind of diet, even if they don't have diabetes. Sounds like they might be exhausted from dealing with his issues and have chosen not to fight the battle. Are they receiving adequate professional help? Getting enough breaks from parenting?
My 5 y/o grandson has type 1. He can "eat anything he wants" in that there aren't any foods he isn't allowed to have. The way his parents explain it, is that anything he eats he will need to have a correction for. There are a few "free" foods that he can eat (cheese is the only one that I can think of now). Of course they would prefer that he eats a well balanced nutritional diet (what parent wouldn't), but sometimes the kid wants a happy meal. A lot of time they'll leave it up to him, and say - if you want to eat that, you'll need a shot. Then he'll make the decision. They lived with us for about a year, and I learned a lot! At first I was really nervous about caring for him with all the testing & shots & monitoring of the foods. But it wasn't too difficult after a while, and I actually learned a lot about serving sizes.
Juvenile Type1 diabetes is treated differently in children than in adults. My cousin's 6 year old daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 over 2 years ago. She does eat anything, within reason. They measure what she eats and what types of food she eats at each meal, then using calculations that I do not understand, figure the insulin she needs.
My understanding is that as she ages her diabetic maintenance will change in accordance with her bodies' changes. Of course, the amount of sweets and foods with high natural sugars are more limited and/or simply not offered to her.
I know that with Type II diabetes it can be controlled solely through diet - my Grandmother developed Type II in her 50s do to obesity and age. While she did take a pill form medicine for years, once she lost considerable weight and managed her diet better she became medication free.
God Bless
I think it is a balance between the two diseases of autisim and diabetes, many kids with autisim have serious food issues and are resistant to certain foods and new foods due to the sensory issues that can come with it. I understand the confusion and the want to "treat" it the typical way but sometimes with non typical kids you can not treat typical issues in a typical way.
No one should eat those foods all the time. And...coffee?? THEY had to have introduced coffee to him, since that's not something that's offered to children through school. Why in the world would they find coffee appropriate? I think they are just giving him what he wants, because it makes life easier. It's sad, and setting him up for a lifetime of additional problems. Diabetic or not, they are allowing him to be incredibly unhealthy.
He can't eat whatever he wants and be healthy - none of us can. Sounds like his parents need to be educated about diabetes.
http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/?utm_source=WWW&a...
Something like 1 in 4 diabetics also have celiac markers (which means they should probably be avoiding wheat). I just read that somewhere but I can't think of where I saw it or I would attach a link. Perhaps google it.
My dad has been a type-1 since he was 18. One of my nephews only made it to 6 before he developed it; another nephew (different sib) has made it to 10.
They don't really restrict their diets but the 2nd nephew was told by his endocrinologist to watch gluten. They also try to avoid simple, highly processed sugars.
I have a kid who is severely gluten intolerant (but not diabetic).
With the autism it will be even harder to get control of his food, but it's probably even more important to do so now, just from a purely nutritional standpoint. Have they met with a nutritionist? That might help put a little "fear of God" in them. A good one will explain how vitally important it is.
Good luck.
It sounds like he has 2 different sets of significant, conflicting food issues. I wouldn't even know where to begin getting a handle on that except to try and get a nutritionist and autism therapist to work together on a plan.
this may clarify:
http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/endocrine/treating_t...#
Ditto Ann-Marie completely!
Yes, he should be on a specialized diet and his parents should have consulted with a nutritionist/dietician. My nephew has Type 1 (he is an adult) and SOMETIMES he eats whatever he wants (such as at Thanksgiving) and adjusts his meds accordingly but that's not meant for everyday. Having that much insulin and not eating properly will not be healthy for him in the long run. It sounds like the parents are dealing with a lot of health issues and probably are overwhelmed with managing it all, it's probably easier to let him eat whatever and just give him more insulin, but his doctor should be aware of what his diet is like and how much insulin they are giving him. He doesn't need diet soda, the artificial sweeteners are a health risk and he just doesn't need the soda at all. The kid is eating crappy food, even for someone without a serious condition such as diabetes.
