Gluten free diet for Autism?

Question

I know this question has been asked before but I have a co-worker who really think I should try this diet for my son. (Her family is on it for digestive issues.) I just can't find enough information to make it sound worth it. Anymore feedback would be wonderful.

My son (five years old) has great eye contact, is sweet and affectionate, but has no words! He also acts a bit "silly".

Answer 1

We had good success with the gf/cf diet - our son was gluten free for a year and a half and is still casein free.  

It is anecdotal, but I don't know why people say that in such a dismissive fashion.  My husband and I are both intelligent people - we're neither credulous nor stupid - and we wouldn't have stuck with such a difficult diet if we hadn't seen results.

There are physical symptoms you can look for - does your son have chronic loose bowels or constipation?  Skin problems?  Bright red cheeks?  Our boy was plagued with all the above until we removed wheat from his diet.  (We always thought the red cheeks meant he "glowed" with health, but we noticed about a month after we'd removed milk and wheat from his diet the difference in photographs - we can still date them pre and post diet by looking for hectic red spots on his face).  There are also tests that can be done to look for certain proteins in the urine that are not present in non-sensitive children - you're average lab can't do them, but they do exsist.

DAN doctors are medical doctors that specialize in the biomedical treatment of autism.  A consultation with a DAN doctor will give you all the information and support you need if you would feel better having supervision.

The diet can be expensive if you use only processed products, and some of the products are DISGUSTING (bean based "macaroni and cheese", for example...) but if you bake and freeze on the weekends and make your own waffle/pancake mix and find a good natural food store that sells things like rice pasta in bulk you can keep the costs down.  

When it comes down to it it's your choice - try it (one thing at a time - milk is easier to eliminate than wheat), and see what the results are.  If you see nothing, at least you've tried, if you get results than you all win!  

There are so many books and resources - I found Karyn Seroussi's Unravelling the Mystery of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder a perfect start.

Answer 2

First please remember that with autism what may work for one child may not work for another, just like treatments and therapies. It may improve some characteristics of autism in some childern but not all.  Please do as much research as you can before you try it.  Good idea to consult a pediatrician, nutritionalist before implementing any diet.

For a gluten free/casein (dairy) free diet (gfcf diet) it is suggested to remove the dairy first from the childs system. The casein takes less time to be completely removed from their systems. Now with gluten it is suggested to remove it from the diet over a period of time. Gluten can take up to 6 months to be removed from the system. One of the main reasons it is suggested to remove a little at a time is because the child will go through withdrawl. Their charateristics of autism actually worsen before they improve. It also suggested to give the diet a try for at least 6 months since it takes about the same amount of time for the gluten to leave their system. Special care must be taken when checking ingredients lists, gluten may come in forms such as vegetable proteins and starch, modified food starch (when derived from wheat instead of maize), malt flavoring, and glucose syrup. Many common ingredients contain wheat or barley derivatives. Many foods will contain gluten, but not be indicated on the ingredients, because they are not in the formulation of the product, but in the preparation of it. One example of this is the dusting of the conveyor belts in the production facilities to prevent the foods from sticking during processing. The food itself might not contain gluten, but there is gluten in the ingested product. You also want to look at products in your home besides food such as shampoo, lotions, sun screen, toothpaste, etc. They can contain gluten and it can be absorbed into their system.

You may also want to look into vitamins (biomedical/dietary approach link), certain vitamins in some childern with autism have helped in  improving  some of the charateristics of autism.

Answer 3

The thing about having a child with any sort of disability, autism included, is that parents are always looking for that "silver bullet" - that magical "something" that is going to cure or fix all their children's problems.  I have experienced this myself when my daughter was diagnosed with autism.

What I have found is that many of these so-called "cures" are advocated by people who have something to gain from it - either money, because they are shilling some "wonder cure," or maybe just in support, because if they can get more people to "buy in" to what they're doing, it will somehow lend legitimacy to it and assuage their own doubts.  

The problem is, very few of these cures actually work.  I have tried diet supplements, vitamin therapy, and gluten-free/casein-free diets, and all I got out of it was more fights with my daughter (who hated the supplements and vitamins and being restricted from her favorite snacks, like cold cereal!), and more stress for me and the rest of the family.  In order to be sure my daughter adhered strictly to the gf/cf diet, the whole family had to go on it, and it was really hard on all of us.

What I eventually decided was, you have to walk a fine line between never giving up hope for a cure, and accepting what you have.  As long as you spend your time searching for something that will make your son (or in my case, daughter) "different," the less time you have to work on being grateful for what you do have in your life.  My daughter, in all of her autistic glory, has taught me WAY more than I could ever hope to repay - and I'm not sure I would have ever learned those lessons she was meant to teach me, had I continually focused on changing (curing?) her instead of learning from her.

I say, your life will be better if you spend your time and money on building a happy relationship with your son, than on chasing after some rainbow cure that, odds are, will only lead to frustration and disappointment.  If you read "Welcome to Holland" (link below), I guess I am advocating learning to be happy in Holland, rather than trying to find a way out to Italy.

Hope this helps.

http://www.our-kids.org/Archives/Holland...

Answer 4

I only have close experiences to share.  My son has been diagnosed with autism 2 months ago.  At 22 months he had only one sound, 'ahhhhhh' and 'mum'.  That was it!!!  2 weeks DAIRY (dairy is a big contributor) wheat and gluten free  he has sounds,  random words,  and AN INTEREST, in learning more.  Also, my friends daughter was diagnosed with a PDD at 3 and had no words.  2 weeks off dairy, wheat, and gluten and she spoke in complete sentences.   What have you got to loose?  I know it's expensive, and it's hard work, but, if it helps your child talk, it would be worth it, don't you think?  You'll know fairly quickly if it's working.  TRY IT!!!  My son also has great eye contact, he has funny quirks that we love, and I pray everyday that the early intervention we've been blessed to receive will help him.  It is very hard.  I have 2 other little girls, and believe me, I'm tired.  But I want my son to keep smiling and I can see him get frustrated because of his lack of communication skills.

Answer 5

Go to www.autism.com It is the web site for the Autism Research Institute.There is a section GF/CF success stories.

They also have info on vitamin therapy you may want to try.It helped my child.Good luck!

Answer 6

I work with two kids  with autism who are on the diet and they are both success stories.  I also work with two kids who saw no improvements after on the diet for 6 months.  My experience says it's worth trying if you have the ability to stick with it, but if not, don't.  It's a hard diet to follow!  And there's no actual research to support it, just random success stories.

Answer 7

success stories are anecdotal.  There is not a good evidence based practice of this.

What you should weigh is what it will cost you to implement.  Not in terms of money but in terms of how hard it will be to do this to your son.  If it is easy enough and will not cause harm then go for a try.  If it looks like more work and hardship (fighting etc) for him, then why bother when you have a sweet affectionate child.

Has he been diagnosed as autistic?  Did he stop speaking after starting or has he never spoken?  You should consider early intervention services and or speech therapy.  If you haven't already.

Answer 8

I just started considering this myself for my son yesterday, here is what I have found on it.

http://www.glutensolutions.com/autism.ht...

http://www.autismweb.com/diet.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluten-free...

http://www.autism.org/leakygut.html

http://osiris.sunderland.ac.uk/autism/di...

http://members.aol.com/lisas156/gfpak.ht...

http://www.talkaboutcuringautism.org/gfc...    This last one was an awesome resource!!!

Hope these help.  We plan on speaking with our doctor about this diet and are considering trying it!!

Good Luck!

Answer 9

I have worked with students with autism 10+ years now and have only met 2 kids who I felt the diet actually was beneficial for. There is not a lot of evidence from reputable sources (peer reviewed journals) most evidence is anecdotal.

Also kids with autism tend to be picky eaters and further narrowing their diets can make eating issues even more significant and there is some emerging research that is indicating may lead to real eating disorders in the future. I would be really careful and consult a doctor.