We've been GF/CF for one year....Progress Report

[Guest guest]

Hello Everyone!

Well, as of April 19th, our son, , age 9, autistic, has been GF/CF for

one year!

I have to say, this diet does get easier once you get used to it!

When we started, our son had a very short attention span, was always into

things he shouldn't be, seemed hyper, stimmed alot with really odd behaviors

(sitting in front of our dishwasher looking at his reflection while chewing

paper and stuffing it into the wheels of a toy and spinning it...laughing

the whole time) and didn't have much interest in playing with his younger

sister, then four years old.

He did have good eye contact and answered to his name, and he was a very

sweet and loving child. He did use words to try to get things he wanted

although his speech was really hard to understand and still is. But other

than this, was a very distractable child who just seemed kind of

spacey much of the time.

When we started the diet this time, I resolved that we would stick to it.

We had used the diet for three months two years prior to starting this time,

and saw little change. But, after reading an article from a local newspaper

given to us by our son's teacher, we decided to give this diet a second

chance. I am glad we did.

While the diet hasn't done much for our son's speech (its still terrible),

it has helped his attention span a great deal. used to have a hard

time sitting for long periods of time. He couldn't even sit through an

activity for five minutes (unless it was coloring his bedroom window, or

using his plastic toy drill to drill a hole in the plaster of his bedroom

wall!). Today, will sit for up to an hour working (yes, working!) on

the computer unassited, playing sesame street " games " where he is actually

learning phonics! Its incredible! He can use the mouse, and he plays the

games appropriately, and he gets the right answer most of the time! In

fact, in only a week he went from the easiest level to the hardest on the

program (his idea!) and he is still doing very well with it! This would

have not been possible a year ago. wouldn't have had the attention

span to do this. Nor would he have been able to sit at the computer

unassisted. He also would not have made the connection between the mouse

and the cursor on the screen.

has always liked videos, but never used to sit completely through

them. He would always be up and down during a video. Sometimes he still is

if he is bored with the story, but most of the time he sits through a video

now. And, last night I realized he laughed at something funny in one of the

videos he was watching. This is huge!

never used to have much interest in playing with his sister, Kayley.

She, being the feisty little thing she is, always used to make him play with

her whether or not he wanted to. She has been doing this since age two!

She would throw a blanket over him and crawl under it with him, or she would

grab him by his shirt or around his waist and just 'play' with him. He

simply endured her 'torture.' Not anymore!

A couple of days ago we had a beautiful sunny day outside and I let

outside to play with his sister. A little while later I looked out the

window to see what they were up to, and what I saw amazed me! The two of

them were sitting on a Little Tykes alligator teeter toter, and they were

going up and down! was looking at Kayley and smiling and laughing.

He was having fun! And, the two of them played together on the teeter toter

like this for an hour!!! This was a first!

doesn't stim nearly as much as he used to. In fact, most of his odd

behaviors have disappeared. If he gets bored, he will sit and spin some

wheels on a toy, but he no longer chews up paper and stuffs it in the

wheels! He also used to spit on the windows in the car when we would go

somewhere, and he no longer does this either!

is still autistic, but he is so much more mild than before. With his

increased attention span, he will be able to learn more easily. I wish I

could say he did better in school, but this hasn't happened. However this

isn't ' fault nor does it have anything to do with the diet.

started in a new school this year with a new teacher. It hasn't been good.

The classroom is totally chaotic. They put the violent kids in the same

class with my son, who doesn't have a violent bone in his body, and this has

been disastrous. In fact, the teacher is quitting because of it and this

was only her first year in this district! We have decided to homeschool

next year. I think we will see huge improvements in his academics

then.

has come a long way. Just a couple of months ago I was wondering if

the diet had really helped . Then, one day, my mom watched the kids

and while my husband and I were out she gave a piece of toast,

thinking the package with the wheat on it was his. was a very hyper

child for the next two days, and he did nothing but stim. I saw the old

behaviors I had forgotten about. After that, there was no doubt in my mind

that he needs this diet!

Although still shows some signs of autism, its wonderful to have a

calmer child who plays with his sister and has a longer attention span. Its

great to be able to leave him at the computer and watch him as he works at

learning phonics. Its great to watch him play a game with his sister and

play on the teeter toter. While this diet hasn't been THE cure for ,

I believe it is part of the answer for him.

As for his speech, I plan to work on it with him at home and hopefully find

a good therapist to help me.

That's all I can think of for now. If anyone has any questions you can

e-mail me anytime!

Kim

Mom to (9) autistic, and Kayley (5)

[Guest guest]

> Well, as of April 19th, our son, , age 9, autistic, has been

GF/CF for

> one year!

> Kim

> Mom to (9) autistic, and Kayley (5)

Kim,

Congratulations! Yay for , yay for you, and yay to Kayley for

getting a lifelong friend and playmate! I love to hear stories like

yours. Keep up the good work-

Sue

[Guest guest]

Wonderful! What an encouragement to those of us just starting! I am so happy

for you and your sweet children! Big hugs,

H, mom to 3 yrs, PDD; and 23 months, NT; 5 weeks gfcf