Looking for Info on Gluten and Casein Free Diets for Child with Autism

dietians at HyVee stores are very helpful -- also look for the book Grandmas' guide to Gluten Free Cooking

Hi,

This lady has helped me with a lot of diet issues and I know that she has helped her stepson and other kids w/ autism.

Nikki Reed <____@____.com>,

Hi J.,

My son was on the GF/CF diet several months ago. Go to Yahoo Groups and search for GFCFkids and join that group. The mothers/fathers on that group have a wealth of knowledge. Another website is http://www.danasview.net/. Good luck.

Hi J.
I do not have a child with autism either, but I am a chiropractor that sees children with this condition. I commend you for changing your child's diet. This is a great place to start. Also, I want to extend you the invitation to have us examine your child. We see many, many children with autism in our office. 7 out of 10 children will dramatically improve using the type of care that we practice. 3 out of 10 slightly improve, but all of them do improve. Please see the member perks for a gift certificate to come in and get an examination. We'll examine Anastasia, give you our best recommendations, and let you make an informed decision about care.
Please let me know if I can help you.
Dr. Jeannette

Hi J.:

I have a son with autism and work with children on the spectrum. I would suggest ordering a book about the diet. There are several ones out there. If you just put gluten casein free diets in the barnes and noble search engine or you could even search under autism and it will bring some up. The diet is a full time committment and can be hard to follow since a lot of products contain gluten and cassein. However, with more organic stores springing up there are a lot of snacks you can buy now to make it easier. A lot of the books also have recipes for breads and cookies that you can make.

Good luck!
R.

I know this might sound silly but there is an all herbal drink called Limu. I was not a believer in it until my mom had a lady at work who had tried everything for her son from medicine to special schools, who has autism. Then she heard of Limu and decided to try it since nothing else worked. He is now a functioning boy who attends school. I was simply amazed and they were too! It might be something to look into. It took them one month to see small improvements, two months a little better, and three months he was not having his "melt downs" as they called it. I wish you the best. I would normally not recommend something but I have seen it with my own eyes. I too now take it and usually am sick 3-4 times in the winter and have not been sick at all.

J.,

Good for you for exploring other options. My 5 y/o son was diagnosed with autism last summer. We never put him on medicine. The first thing we did was get him metabollically tested. As us turned out for him, he was allergic to milk but instead of showing the obvious signs it was causing him to not absorb any good stuff (vit, antibodies, etc.) We did see a big difference after he was off milk. Since then, we have taken him off gluten also. We have not seen much of a differnece yet but still doing it. The Jenny McCarthy book (Louder Than Words) would be a great book for you to read. The best website I have have found is tacanow. It is a wealth of information. Good Luck.

Hi, I just wanted to tell you their is a Chiropractor that works alot with Autism and he is really good. My sister takes her daughter to him and he has helped her alot. He also usually works with the autisic children for free. His name is Dr. John Dinkelman, Dinkelman Health Center, Wood River IL, ###-###-####. Good luck.

I have been following a gluten and casein free diet for about 3 years now. It is a challenge for sure because the ingredients are hidden in everything. For me, I have found the easiest way to follow the diet is to go with organic unprocessed foods. Even as a vegetarian, your daughter should be able to make the transition. I have found the Dierbergs has the largest selection of items that are gluten and casein free. They even have some good items to satisfy that sweet tooth! The best advise I can give is to READ READ READ everything you can get your hands on and especially read and re-read food labels.

feel free to email me for more friendly food ideas. ____@____.com

At St. Louis Children's Hospital there is a Family Resource Center. They have information on virtually everything from pottytraining to diet information to disabilities. If you don't live in the St. Louis area you can request information packets which you can pick up or they can mail. Or you can go in and request books like any public library. The whole service is free and this particular resource is not well known. They receive funding based on how many people actually use the service. So the more people that use it the longer this wonderful resource will be here. Here's the information:

Family Resource Center
(Your Information Place)
###-###-####
____@____.com (e-mail)

My son has mild Asberger's, and I have done a lot of research on this, and found the following two websites that have some pretty good information on them. Hope they help.

http://www.artzoo.com/health/autism.htm
The above is an web address that has information about nutritional recommendations for children with Autism and Asberger's Syndrome.
http://www.righthealth.com/Health/aspergers%20children-s?...
This website has some good information also about diet recommendations.

Go to Hy-vee in Gladstone, MO. They have a great Health food section. They also have a dietitian to help you finds things. Also Green Arces Market is a good store too. We have a friend of the family and your son has Autism. She did the diet and it has help alot. My son is allergic to milk and soy. So letting you know there is no cheese out there with out casein.
Good luck.

I'm not sure what kind of grocery stores you have in your area, but most stores (HyVee is a great one) have health food sections now and you can usually find gluten free items grouped together. Health food stores also are a great place. If you don't live near one, you could go maybe once a month and stock up on things to keep in the house. Meeting with a dietician or natural-medicine doctor that knows a lot about this might also help.

My son has food allergies so we are on a similar diet. The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network has some good resources. I've been pleasantly surprised in that our local grocery stores (Dierberg's and Schnuck's) have a pretty decent selection of allergen free foods in their organic aisles. There are lots of great substitutes out there. Also there is a line of foods by Cherrybrook Farms that are allergen free as well as the Bob's Red Mill mixes. A good allergen free cookbook is a godsend for figuring substitutes. You'll probably spend a long time reading labels in the grocery store at first to figure out which brands are "safe". We tend to do a lot of cooking from scratch so we control the ingredients.

My mother along with a couple of members of family are GF and I belong to a club that sends me GF recipes. I also do experiments on converting my old recipes to GF (interesting around holiday as my mom also can't tolerate sugar or dairy). I can send you some of the GF ones if you would like along with the site. I also went out and purchased a book called "The Gluten Connection". It is a great book and I recommend it to any one that even thinks there may be a problem. You might also do a web search for suppliments and natural remedies for ADHD as well. I heard the some of the same problems with the brain are seen in both ADHD and Autism. My son is ADHD and we have him on a low dosage of his meds with Ammino Acids along with working on his diet (which is hard with him being a teen).
Anyway just let me know if you would like the recipes and the site link.
Good luck.

Have you looked at the website www.talkaboutcuringautism.org? It has a link that discusses GFCF diet. Hope this helps. S. M

You will find a ton of these specialty foods at Whole Foods in Brentwood, as well as Wild Oats in U City (on Ladue Road just east of I-70). Also, check out Amazon for good books on the subject. Meanwhile, studies have shown that Cod Liver Oil (I know, it sounds just awful, but try Carlson's .. no FISHY taste whatsoever! None!) is so very helpful for children with autism/asperger's. Google it for more info. Also check out a bakery named Baby Cakes in New York City. They specialize in cupcakes and other bakery goods that are allergen-free (gluten, dairy, etc.), and I believe they have just recently begun shipping. I've had their brownies and they are awesome! I also have two or three recipes from them should you be interested. The ingredients are available at Whole Foods and Wild Oats, as well as some of the larger grocery stores now carrying more of these items. All the best ...

Hi J.,

I have a 6 year daughter who has Celiac Disease (which means a gluten free diet). I received a book when she was first diagnosed with it from a dietician. She has had this condition since she was a year and half. I have found that Hyvee has a real good section of gluten free products. They have rice, potato and corn pasta. It is very good. They a gluten free preztels that taste like ours, cookies are really good. I also received alot of information on the internet.

Basically you have to use very bland products. If she likes chips lays potatoe chips are all very good. Cool Ranch doritos, swanson chicken broth, if you use bread crumbs use corn flakes. I have alot of information on gluten free products. Let me know if you would like to talk more.

C.

Hi J.,
I do not know anything about your situation or how to help you, but I have a friend who does. Her name is Jenny Walker and she has been through all that you have described. She asked me to pass along her email to you and say that you are welcome to contact her at any time. She would be glad to visit with you and help any way that she can. Her email address is ____@____.com is the note that she sent to me:
HI A... I would love to contact her maybe you could give her my email address and an intro? My daughter that died has aspergers and of course I have done lots with kids with autism,, I also have a lot of info on gluten free eating!!
God bless Jenny walker
Hope that you two can get together some time.
A. Quigley
____@____.com

My daughter is gluten sensitive and is on a gluten free diet, her digestion was the last system it effected. She gets extreme headaches, dizziness, swollen joints, mood and behavior changes, and other symptoms. Since she has been gluten free and caffiene free (she is sensitive to this also) she no longer has the physical symptoms, her behavior and mood is drastically improved and she sleeps better which in turn helps with everything. I went to glutenfree.com and just began going on line for articles for info. Gluten comes in many disguised names so go to a site with a list of gluten cans and can'ts. There are many and we use a lot of different ones. I avoid the shop here ones. My daughter is 15 now and is doing well...feel free to email me at ____@____.com or her at ____@____.com for lastes info...she has her favorite sites and could probably give you more info on how it effects her physically, mentally and emotionally.
A. c

I would definitely check out Jenny McCarthy's book "Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism." I have heard nothing but good things about it - and I'm pretty sure that she talks pretty extensively about the gluten-free diet.

You may want to check out drmcdougal.com
My friend swears by it.

Here is a link to a website that may help you.

http://gfcf-diet.talkaboutcuringautism.org/gfcf-diet-intr...

Good Luck!

My neighbor has a child with Autism and she has found alot of really good information in Jenny McCarthy's newest book. I can't remember the title but it is all about how she changed her son's diet and now he is high functioning autistic.

Have you heard about LIMU? My best friend has a child with Aspreger's and is seeing PHENOMENAL results. I have heard many other stories as well. It has done wonders with my ADD daughter as well. Check it out at www.easylimu.com

My friend has a son that is autistic and the doctor told her not to give him any wheat products.

Natural food stores and the health section of regular grocery stores usually have gluten free food. My favorite is whole Foods at 95th and Metcalf. I go to Nature's Pantry at 40 Highway and 291 because it is close. HyVee also has a good selection.

this website might be helpful
http://www.generationrescue.org/

Hi J.,

Sounds like you know what to do. Remove all gluten and casein from her diet. This is much easier now than a few years back. Try rice products. They even make a rice milk that tastes great! Go to your nearest health food store and they will be the best help for you. If you do not have a health food store in town, check online for gluten-free and casein-free foods. There are several out there!

Best Wishes,

J. H.

I would consult a doctor/dietitian on this. Sometimes people can have allergic reactions to foods that cause behavior problems instead of outward/physical reactions. If your daughter is affected by wheat gluten, she may be affected by other things as well, such as possibly corn or other things. Also, there may be foods that she responds particularly well to. The doctor should have you do a several week long test eliminating different foods each week and adding them back the next while you keep a detaled report of her behaviors. It's not really as complicated as it sounds though. Also, if you determine to go through with this, spelt flour makes a great substitute for wheat flour. My parents just used to buy it at their local health food store by the pound. Good luck to you!

While, I am not a parent of a child with Autism, I teach children with autism and have seen children that seem much better without wheat and cassein in their diets. I know that Dierberg's carries a huge selection of foods. While it takes a lot of effort on the parent's part to limit their child's food intake, for many children, I can see a difference. It might be more challenging with a 5 year old, who has never had a limited diet before. You'll have to involve her in a lot of the shopping and cooking, so hopefully, she'll embrace the idea.

Call up Children's Mercy's nutrition department. They are incredibly helpful over the phone. I've never had to make an appt. to come in, but have received help. They have lots of info to offer as far as their care cards and flyers, etc...

I hope you live south of the river. It's very hard to find any Wild Oats type stores up here. You pretty much have to rely on the "health" or "organic" sections of the big grocery stores up here. There is a Wild Oats near the plaza and a Whole Foods in OPKS. These stores are great for finding gluten and casein free items. You can also find a lot of those specialty items online.

hope you can find the help you need and that this diet works. I've never heard of this, but I'll mention it to a precious lady at my church. She was widowed this fall, and then her first grader was diagnosed with Ausberger's, as she had been suspecting. So anything that could make her life easier would help... Thanks for sharing and asking for help because you may have helped someone just by reaching out!

If you google celiac disease, you'll get lots of sites about living gluten-free. One of my friends just had her three-yr-old diagnosed with celiac disease, and I've been reading up on it a bit for the times when he might be in my house and want something to eat.
Good luck!!