Encouraging progress with the diet

May 4, 2001

To the group -

I appreciate reading stories of long-term progress on the list and wanted to

include ours:

Our son is now 6, diagnosed with PDD-NOS. At his 5 year checkup, I told his

pediatrician I was going to try the diet while consulting with a DAN doctor.

He was wary but not dismissive. We knew we had nothing to lose. We've been

dairy free for one year, gluten free for 10.5 months. We initially

experienced across the board regression, including speech. We did all the

tests and treated for yeast through the summer. By September things started

to look up -- we regained all of the lost ground we had lost and began to see

progress into new areas (talking about emotions, giving up the weighted

vest). We consulted a pediatric GI to affirm the leaky gut diagnosis and get

allergy testing, which confirmed the multiple food allergies the diet taught

us how to discover. The slip ups were ugly, but we've been able to shorten

the recovery time significantly.

By April of this year, we started to feel like all of the tiny steps had

built into something significant, and his 6 year checkup and most recent IEP

report confirmed it. At the checkup (in which he was not nearly at his best

because we had to wait so long) the pediatrician congratulated us, saying we

had discovered how to " pull him out of the hole. " He was truly impressed,

noting that he had been worried when we had the regression last summer. A

few days later the most recent IEP report showed incredible gains in

behavioral and preacademic skills, due in part to a new teacher and to more

effective ABA strategies, but all agreed that the diet has played a

significant role in his improvement.

It's been a long hard road and we have a long way to go. I would not have

had the courage to try it if I had not read about it in Karyn's book and this

list. I am fortunate that we have been able to maintain the diet and still

keep some non- GFCF items in the house.

The diet is not for everyone, but it has worked for us and renewed our hopes

for our son, and we offer our story as encouragement to others who may need

it.

CC

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