diets

February 17, 2011

Neither has my 13yr old with Asperger's or my 10yr old with Asperger's... But my 7yr old Aspie has some sort of conduct disorder or oppositional defiance disorder as well.

Misty

From: MacAllister <smacalli@...> Sent: Thu, February 17, 2011 11:26:41 AMSubject: Re: ( ) diets

BTW, my 14-yr-old son with Aspergers has never "attacked" me. Ever.

From: md l <dontblinkhs@...> Sent: Thu, February 17, 2011 9:47:01 AMSubject: Re: ( ) diets

Wow, I am surprised at the lack of knowledge about this on this group. There is plenty of research done on this. Have you ever tried it yourself or even fully researched it past reading a simple article? Sounds like you are dismissing this without fully understanding the science behind it (and yes, there is science there.. do the research). I apologize for saying "most kids" or whatever I said. But it is not my imagination AT ALL. My child clearly has a reaction to certain foods. The very foods she tested positive for. If she didn't, I certainly wouldn't have kept her on this diet for so long.. I would love for us to all go back to eating regular foods!! I found out that I have celiac disease during all this, which has saved me from a lot of issues. So this definitely runs in my family.

And "running around attacking people" is not what she does.. And that is not what makes her have Asperger's. You are making assumptions and putting words in my mouth and that is not fair. She has aggression issues for sure and maybe I worded that wrong.. She has explosive behavior at times and will attack siblings or even me just as many kids with Asperger's do. But that is not what makes her have Asperger's. Geez.

Misty

From: Roxanna <MadIdeas@...> Sent: Thu, February 17, 2011 9:13:29 AMSubject: Re: ( ) diets

Please understand that this is your opinion and not a fact. Problems with restrictive diet can be any numbers of issues going on and not at all related to this idea of an "allergy" to food. If it is working for you and your kid, great. But that doesn't mean it works for most kids with autism. That is just your opinion. If people want to buy into this theory, they can. There are tons of sites out there ready to tell you all about it! Also, having autism does not mean you are running around attacking people until someone takes you off gluten. My two ds's have HFA and neither one was out there doing that. Stimming went away with growth and maturity over the years and not with any special diet. I know people attribute rapid growth in speech, for

example, to removing gluten from the diet or fish oil pills or other such things. "We removed all milk from his diet and then he began to talk!" My 3 ds's all had severe speech delays and their language all came in without any of those things. My one ds's initial problem with food was just the temperature of the food, we discovered! I remember at the time being so amazed to have figured it out, lol! It had nothing to do with "an opiate response." Once I realized it was the temperature (everything had to be cold!), we started to slowly warm things up over a long period of time. Today, he eats better than most NT people - all variety of food, hot or cold. My other ds is still extremely restrictive with what he will eat and it's a big problem. He is not jumping off of furniture because of what he is eating either. And it has nothing to do with allergies or opiate responses to certain

things. He has severe problems with taste and texture and also is a rigid thinker. When we used to have a local autism group, most of the women in the group believed in the Great Plains lab and had a personal relationship with them. I saw them doing a lot of really weird things - I thought it was weird, I should say. They thought it made perfect sense. Here I was doing ABA therapy, which I am sure they thought was weird. Anyway, I really never saw a big improvement in their kids but they would all constantly insist that the new pill or removing something from the diet had fixed problems. They constantly said, "Look how much calmer he is now" and I'd look and the kid looked exactly the same as before. I couldn't figure it out. But they all agreed with each other that it was working. Anyway, the big story I am trying to tell: One lady was frantic one day when the

family dog died. She apparently decided that her PDD kid had killed the dog. I don't remember why she came to that conclusion. He must have abused the dog in the past or something. Or she found the kid hitting the dog, who was dead. He was probably trying to get the dog to move or wake up really, in retrospect. But at any rate, she went on to discuss how he had recently been given a red Popsicle and she knew that was the cause of his "rage" against the dog. The red popsicle caused the kid to go ape and kill the dog! She must have went on for 10 days to two weeks about this awful experience in our local chat group - really awful experience to be sure! Well, turns out, after testing the dog, they found out he had paint in his system. At the time of his death, they were painting their bathroom. So that is how the dog actually died. And that red Popsicle never caused the rage that

killed the dog after all.

Roxannaâ€œOur lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.â€ - Luther King, Jr.

( ) diets

Ok, so here is my question: I have had my HFA son(9) tested for celiac and yeast imbalance and both came up negative. I tend to feed both my kids a pretty healthy and balanced diet with whole grains, no high fructose corn syrup (except tiny allowances of candy), organic sugars (limited), fruits, veggies (yes, they do eat these!),lean meats, etc. I will often complain about DS's pickiness because he used to eat *everything* except tomatoes and mushrooms and has gradually gotten narrower and narrower and will suddenly hate things for no apparent reason. He also used to throw things up at will until I put the kibosh on that with consequences which (remarkably) worked! After reading posts here about kids who will only eat three foods I will do my best to shut up about that! Seriously, any Mom who can get her autistic son to eat brussel sprouts really has no right to complain, huh? Anyway the point of this post (finally!) is that I know a lot of

people have their kids on GF or GFCF diets and I have resisted this feeling that I wanted to have some basis for a major life change before we did it. I also worry about cutting out huge sources of nutrition like grains and dairy with growing children without due cause. Clearly behavior is an issue- DS has problems with aggression, anxiety, sensory, etc.- but I always try to consider the total health of my child. Someone mentioned sensitivity testing to cassein and gluten. Can these be done through the regular pediatrician or are they specialty lab only? I would appreciate some input so I can make an informed decision for my family. Thanks!-Tania

February 17, 2011

I would like to apologize now to everyone for my point of view and for sharing our experiences. I didn't mean to offend anyone by using phrases like "our kids" or describing my daughter's symptoms on and off gluten. I tend to advocate for this stuff because it has helped us so much and I only wish someone had told me about it sooner. So I was just trying to hep some other families when someone had asked about it.

Misty

February 17, 2011

whoever mentioned "attacking people" I don't think they meant it that way, they probably meant just being aggressive, which some of the AS children are, some are not. From: MacAllister <smacalli@...> Sent: Thu, February 17, 2011 12:26:41 PMSubject: Re: ( ) diets

BTW, my 14-yr-old son with Aspergers has never "attacked" me. Ever.

From: md l <dontblinkhs@...> Sent: Thu, February 17, 2011 9:47:01 AMSubject: Re: ( ) diets

Wow, I am surprised at the lack of knowledge about this on this group. There is plenty of research done on this. Have you ever tried it yourself or even fully researched it past reading a simple article? Sounds like you are dismissing this without fully understanding the science behind it (and yes, there is science there.. do the research). I apologize for saying "most kids" or whatever I said. But it is not my imagination AT ALL. My child clearly has a reaction to certain foods. The very foods she tested positive for. If she didn't, I certainly wouldn't have kept her on this diet for so long.. I would love for us to all go back to eating regular foods!! I found out that I have celiac disease during all this, which has saved me from a lot of issues. So this definitely runs in my family.

And "running around attacking people" is not what she does.. And that is not what makes her have Asperger's. You are making assumptions and putting words in my mouth and that is not fair. She has aggression issues for sure and maybe I worded that wrong.. She has explosive behavior at times and will attack siblings or even me just as many kids with Asperger's do. But that is not what makes her have Asperger's. Geez.

Misty

From: Roxanna <MadIdeas@...> Sent: Thu, February 17, 2011 9:13:29 AMSubject: Re: ( ) diets

Please understand that this is your opinion and not a fact. Problems with restrictive diet can be any numbers of issues going on and not at all related to this idea of an "allergy" to food. If it is working for you and your kid, great. But that doesn't mean it works for most kids with autism. That is just your opinion. If people want to buy into this theory, they can. There are tons of sites out there ready to tell you all about it! Also, having autism does not mean you are running around attacking people until someone takes you off gluten. My two ds's have HFA and neither one was out there doing that. Stimming went away with growth and maturity over the years and not with any special diet. I know people attribute rapid growth in speech, for

example, to removing gluten from the diet or fish oil pills or other such things. "We removed all milk from his diet and then he began to talk!" My 3 ds's all had severe speech delays and their language all came in without any of those things. My one ds's initial problem with food was just the temperature of the food, we discovered! I remember at the time being so amazed to have figured it out, lol! It had nothing to do with "an opiate response." Once I realized it was the temperature (everything had to be cold!), we started to slowly warm things up over a long period of time. Today, he eats better than most NT people - all variety of food, hot or cold. My other ds is still extremely restrictive with what he will eat and it's a big problem. He is not jumping off of furniture because of what he is eating either. And it has nothing to do with allergies or opiate responses to certain

things. He has severe problems with taste and texture and also is a rigid thinker. When we used to have a local autism group, most of the women in the group believed in the Great Plains lab and had a personal relationship with them. I saw them doing a lot of really weird things - I thought it was weird, I should say. They thought it made perfect sense. Here I was doing ABA therapy, which I am sure they thought was weird. Anyway, I really never saw a big improvement in their kids but they would all constantly insist that the new pill or removing something from the diet had fixed problems. They constantly said, "Look how much calmer he is now" and I'd look and the kid looked exactly the same as before. I couldn't figure it out. But they all agreed with each other that it was working. Anyway, the big story I am trying to tell: One lady was frantic one day when the

family dog died. She apparently decided that her PDD kid had killed the dog. I don't remember why she came to that conclusion. He must have abused the dog in the past or something. Or she found the kid hitting the dog, who was dead. He was probably trying to get the dog to move or wake up really, in retrospect. But at any rate, she went on to discuss how he had recently been given a red Popsicle and she knew that was the cause of his "rage" against the dog. The red popsicle caused the kid to go ape and kill the dog! She must have went on for 10 days to two weeks about this awful experience in our local chat group - really awful experience to be sure! Well, turns out, after testing the dog, they found out he had paint in his system. At the time of his death, they were painting their bathroom. So that is how the dog actually died. And that red Popsicle never caused the rage that

killed the dog after all.

Roxannaâ€œOur lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.â€ - Luther King, Jr.

( ) diets

Ok, so here is my question: I have had my HFA son(9) tested for celiac and yeast imbalance and both came up negative. I tend to feed both my kids a pretty healthy and balanced diet with whole grains, no high fructose corn syrup (except tiny allowances of candy), organic sugars (limited), fruits, veggies (yes, they do eat these!),lean meats, etc. I will often complain about DS's pickiness because he used to eat *everything* except tomatoes and mushrooms and has gradually gotten narrower and narrower and will suddenly hate things for no apparent reason. He also used to throw things up at will until I put the kibosh on that with consequences which (remarkably) worked! After reading posts here about kids who will only eat three foods I will do my best to shut up about that! Seriously, any Mom who can get her autistic son to eat brussel sprouts really has no right to complain, huh? Anyway the point of this post (finally!) is that I know a lot of

people have their kids on GF or GFCF diets and I have resisted this feeling that I wanted to have some basis for a major life change before we did it. I also worry about cutting out huge sources of nutrition like grains and dairy with growing children without due cause. Clearly behavior is an issue- DS has problems with aggression, anxiety, sensory, etc.- but I always try to consider the total health of my child. Someone mentioned sensitivity testing to cassein and gluten. Can these be done through the regular pediatrician or are they specialty lab only? I would appreciate some input so I can make an informed decision for my family. Thanks!-Tania

February 17, 2011

I totally agree with you . There are too many people making money off

special diets, supplements and treatments that are totally unproven. I've been

tempted a few times but after research found no real evidence of proven results.

That said, even things like Omega 3 supplements which have health benefits can

impact each person differently. I belonged to a speech listserv and many folks

swore that their child's speech had improved vastly after starting Omega 3

supplements. Well, for my son the supplement made him irritable and whiny and

had no impact on his speech.

So as long as parents search for that elusive magic bullet to help their child

there will be folks trying to sell it to them.

Caroline

>

> I totally agree, . Being a nurse, I am usually the one that gets on my

soapbox about people advocating special diets or treatments that have no

scientific studies to back them up. People can waste tons of money on this kind

of stuff.

>

> From:

[mailto: ] On Behalf Of MacAllister

> Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2011 8:58 AM

>

> Subject: Re: ( ) diets

>

> My son has never eaten " 3 or so " foods. He was pickier when he was younger,

but not to that point. I don't think it's a good idea to talk about " our kids "

when you talk about this stuff that hasn't been scientifically proven. If this

was so true, why aren't their scientific studies backing it up? I've been

trying to hold my tongue but I feel like me not saying something means I agree

and I do not. There is a lot of money to be made by docs/labs in this field and

I don't want someone new on here to invest a lot of time and money on something

that hasn't been scientifically proven. If I'm wrong and there are studies out

there published in reputable journals, please point me in that direction so I

can see for myself.

>

> _____

>

> From: md l <dontblinkhs@...>

>

> Sent: Wed, February 16, 2011 8:18:01 PM

> Subject: Re: ( ) diets

>

> Hi Tania,

>

> Here is a good informative link that may answer some questions..

http://www.newvisionautismcenter.com/page814.html

>

> To answer a few myself.... A negative celiac test does not mean your child is

not reacting to gluten. This is because our kids are usually having an IgG

antibody delayed response to gluten and casein. Celiac testing looks for IgA

antibodies. A pediatrician cannot do IgG testing. They just aren't experienced

with it (yet)..

>

> You can test through Great Plains Labs http://www.greatplainslaboratory.com or

Alletess http://www.foodallergy.com . We tested through GPL and our insurance

paid 100%. My daughters all tested very highly sensitive to gluten and casein.

One of them also tested high for soy. But they all tested negative to celiac

disease and traditional food allergies. All three girls improved dramatically

when those foods were removed. It was really like night and day. In fact, one

of my daughters was given two donuts at school a couple of weeks ago and I am

seeing behaviors now that I have not seen in over a year (Since before we went

GFCF). Her OCD is back, stimming, aggression, jumping off of furniture over and

over again, very oppositional, very irritable, raging, screaming, attacking

people, etc. She was not at all like this all last year when the diet was 100%.

But she WAS like this BEFORE we ever went on the diet over a year ago!

>

> The reason most kids on the autism spectrum will only eat 3 or so foods is

because they are having opiate responses to those 3 foods.. Those foods are

usually a wheat or dairy product. My daughter was down to just crackers and

milk (completely addicted to those two foods) when we went GFCF. It was

extremely difficult, but we had to do it for her health and well-being. Now she

eats more variety and is much more healthy. You might read a little about the

opiate affect in that link I provided above.

>

> There are plenty of books on this subject that are very, very informative.

Right now, I am reading The Kid-Friendly ADHD & Autism Cookbook, which explains

A LOT about how our kids are affected by gluten and casein in the first few

chapters.

>

> Some other good books on this subject would be...

>

> The Autism & ADHD Diet by Barrie Silberberg

>

> Healing the New Childhood Epidemics by Brock

>

> Children With Starving Brains by McCandless

>

> Is This Your Child? by Rapp

>

> I would be happy to answer any other questions.. Removing gluten and casein is

not a cure by any means, but it does eliminate many of the behaviors seen in our

children. Okay, I will say *most* children because I'm sure there are some out

there it doesn't do a lick of good for. My daughter is so much easier to live

with when her diet is 100%. She is almost like a normal child during this time.

It really is phenomenal. When she is on gluten and/or casein, she is impossible

and everyone just wants to scream or die or run away, LOL..

>

> You might also google " leaky gut " or " gut & psychology syndrome " .

>

> Misty

>

> _____

>

> From: sopranotania <sopranotania@...>

>

> Sent: Wed, February 16, 2011 8:18:13 AM

> Subject: ( ) diets

>

> Ok, so here is my question: I have had my HFA son(9) tested for celiac and

yeast imbalance and both came up negative. I tend to feed both my kids a pretty

healthy and balanced diet with whole grains, no high fructose corn syrup (except

tiny allowances of candy), organic sugars (limited), fruits, veggies (yes, they

do eat these!),lean meats, etc. I will often complain about DS's pickiness

because he used to eat *everything* except tomatoes and mushrooms and has

gradually gotten narrower and narrower and will suddenly hate things for no

apparent reason. He also used to throw things up at will until I put the kibosh

on that with consequences which (remarkably) worked! After reading posts here

about kids who will only eat three foods I will do my best to shut up about

that! Seriously, any Mom who can get her autistic son to eat brussel sprouts

really has no right to complain, huh? Anyway the point of this post (finally!)

is that I know a lot of people have their kids on GF or GFCF diets and I have

resisted this feeling that I wanted to have some basis for a major life change

before we did it. I also worry about cutting out huge sources of nutrition like

grains and dairy with growing children without due cause. Clearly behavior is an

issue- DS has problems with aggression, anxiety, sensory, etc.- but I always try

to consider the total health of my child. Someone mentioned sensitivity testing

to cassein and gluten. Can these be done through the regular pediatrician or are

they specialty lab only? I would appreciate some input so I can make an informed

decision for my family. Thanks!

>

> -Tania

>

February 17, 2011

Give it a few years and it will be published in all the scientific journals. These theories and methods are still in their infancy, but that doesn't make them unproven or any less "scientific".

Misty

From: "smacalli@..." <smacalli@...> Sent: Thu, February 17, 2011 10:56:20 AMSubject: Re: ( ) diets

That makes no sense. You don't read things in reputable journals because they wouldn't help your child? Only non-scientific research for you? Okay, then you probably just proved my point. I know celiac disease has been scientifically proven but some of the other stuff you advocate for has not. I'll stick with science based interventions. Sent via BlackBerry by AT & T

From: md l <dontblinkhs@...>

Sender:

Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2011 08:04:05 -0800 (PST)

< >

Reply

Subject: Re: ( ) diets

I have one daughter with Asperger's who also is not picky.. She eats a good variety.. She was not having the "opiate affect".. But she does have a serious gluten sensitivity.. Her bowel issues and constant headaches disappeared along with some of her learning issues and OCD tendencies when we removed gluten.

I apologize for saying "our kids".. I was referring to "our kids who have these issues with gluten" and not necessarily "our kids who have Asperger's".

There is a lot of research on this subject, but I don't know if there is any research published in "reputable journals".. I do not read reputable journals because they do not help me help my children. I only read things that help me help my children. If we only limited ourselves to those things that were published in reputable journals.. We would miss out on so much.

Misty

From: MacAllister <smacalli@...> Sent: Thu, February 17, 2011 8:58:22 AMSubject: Re: ( ) diets

My son has never eaten "3 or so" foods. He was pickier when he was younger, but not to that point. I don't think it's a good idea to talk about "our kids" when you talk about this stuff that hasn't been scientifically proven. If this was so true, why aren't their scientific studies backing it up? I've been trying to hold my tongue but I feel like me not saying something means I agree and I do not. There is a lot of money to be made by docs/labs in this field and I don't want someone new on here to invest a lot of time and money on something that hasn't been scientifically proven. If I'm wrong and there are studies out there published in reputable journals, please point me in that direction so I can see for myself.

From: md l <dontblinkhs@...> Sent: Wed, February 16, 2011 8:18:01 PMSubject: Re: ( ) diets

Hi Tania,

Here is a good informative link that may answer some questions.. http://www.newvisionautismcenter.com/page814.html

To answer a few myself.... A negative celiac test does not mean your child is not reacting to gluten. This is because our kids are usually having an IgG antibody delayed response to gluten and casein. Celiac testing looks for IgA antibodies. A pediatrician cannot do IgG testing. They just aren't experienced with it (yet)..

You can test through Great Plains Labs http://www.greatplainslaboratory.com or Alletess http://www.foodallergy.com . We tested through GPL and our insurance paid 100%. My daughters all tested very highly sensitive to gluten and casein. One of them also tested high for soy. But they all tested negative to celiac disease and traditional food allergies. All three girls improved dramatically when those foods were removed. It was really like night and day. In fact, one of my daughters was given two donuts at school a couple of weeks ago and I am seeing behaviors now that I have not seen in over a year (Since before we went GFCF). Her OCD is back, stimming, aggression, jumping off of furniture over and over again, very oppositional, very irritable, raging, screaming, attacking people, etc. She was not at all like this all last year when the diet was 100%. But she WAS like this

BEFORE we ever went on the diet over a year ago!

The reason most kids on the autism spectrum will only eat 3 or so foods is because they are having opiate responses to those 3 foods.. Those foods are usually a wheat or dairy product. My daughter was down to just crackers and milk (completely addicted to those two foods) when we went GFCF. It was extremely difficult, but we had to do it for her health and well-being. Now she eats more variety and is much more healthy. You might read a little about the opiate affect in that link I provided above.

There are plenty of books on this subject that are very, very informative. Right now, I am reading The Kid-Friendly ADHD & Autism Cookbook, which explains A LOT about how our kids are affected by gluten and casein in the first few chapters.

Some other good books on this subject would be...

The Autism & ADHD Diet by Barrie Silberberg

Healing the New Childhood Epidemics by Brock

Children With Starving Brains by McCandless

Is This Your Child? by Rapp

I would be happy to answer any other questions.. Removing gluten and casein is not a cure by any means, but it does eliminate many of the behaviors seen in our children. Okay, I will say *most* children because I'm sure there are some out there it doesn't do a lick of good for. My daughter is so much easier to live with when her diet is 100%. She is almost like a normal child during this time. It really is phenomenal. When she is on gluten and/or casein, she is impossible and everyone just wants to scream or die or run away, LOL..

You might also google "leaky gut" or "gut & psychology syndrome".

Misty

From: sopranotania <sopranotania@...> Sent: Wed, February 16, 2011 8:18:13 AMSubject: ( ) diets

Ok, so here is my question: I have had my HFA son(9) tested for celiac and yeast imbalance and both came up negative. I tend to feed both my kids a pretty healthy and balanced diet with whole grains, no high fructose corn syrup (except tiny allowances of candy), organic sugars (limited), fruits, veggies (yes, they do eat these!),lean meats, etc. I will often complain about DS's pickiness because he used to eat *everything* except tomatoes and mushrooms and has gradually gotten narrower and narrower and will suddenly hate things for no apparent reason. He also used to throw things up at will until I put the kibosh on that with consequences which (remarkably) worked! After reading posts here about kids who will only eat three foods I will do my best to shut up about that! Seriously, any Mom who can get her autistic son to eat brussel sprouts really has no right to complain, huh? Anyway the point of this post (finally!) is that I know a lot of people

have their kids on GF or GFCF diets and I have resisted this feeling that I wanted to have some basis for a major life change before we did it. I also worry about cutting out huge sources of nutrition like grains and dairy with growing children without due cause. Clearly behavior is an issue- DS has problems with aggression, anxiety, sensory, etc.- but I always try to consider the total health of my child. Someone mentioned sensitivity testing to cassein and gluten. Can these be done through the regular pediatrician or are they specialty lab only? I would appreciate some input so I can make an informed decision for my family. Thanks!-Tania

February 17, 2011

I have to chime in here (with my dulcet tones LOL). This is my personal

experience.

In my 20s I suffered from some sort of gastrointestinal upset that lasted

several weeks, prompting a variety of blood work and other tests. I was found

to be severely anemic but the anemia didn't respond to iron supplements

(profound anemia). Several months later I had an endoscopy done and the biopsy

showed villous flattening, or celiac sprue.

After being gluten free for years, whenever I accidentally ingest gluten, I know

right away. Yes there is some GI upset (gas, bloating, mild cramps) but the

real tell is I become what my husband lovingly refers to as " wheat crazed " . It

is hard to describe but the best I can do is this. I develop brain fog and have

difficulty concentrating. I become moody, irritable, stubborn and

argumentative. I will get sucked into a debate or argument about an issue

(often an issue that is not important to me) and I will pursue it and argue it

to death. While this is happening, I usually don't realize it's not an

important issue to me or that I'm over-reacting. It has the pervasive feel of a

hormonal change, which so alters your perception and experience. It feels so

real because it is real, but then again it isn't. I also think that I trend

toward depression, that is my baseline mood is lower than average. My mom has

suffered from depression and panic disorder her whole life too.

Looking back, I recognize these feelings in a large part of my childhood and

adolescence. Although I think I'm relatively neurotypical (no ADHD or

Asperger's), I was always especially moody and stubborn, and I think I was

depressed for much of my childhood. In the past, when I've felt down, I've

suffered from insomnia and also tended to overeat carbohydrates. I don't know

about an " opiate " reaction but there is something about eating carbs and the

resulting insulin bath that dulls my anxiety and depression. Now that I'm aware

of these connections I manage my life differently.

Again this is just my personal experience, but for me there is absolutely a

connection between gluten, mood and behavior.

Both of my children have tested negative for gluten intolerance through a

traditional antibody test. I don't have a wheat allergy so I would probably

test negative too even though I'm clearly gluten intolerant.

Do I think everybody should go GFCF or send off for this lab test? No.

Similarly, my husband takes multiple allergy medications for his sensitivities

but I don't think everyone should be on Advair and Zyrtec because not everybody

has his sensitivities. However if your child is struggling with a mood disorder

or behavioral problem, I think it's wise to do your research. An elimination

diet is a good place to start.

in Colorado

>

> ( ) diets

>

> Â

> Ok, so here is my question: I have had my HFA son(9) tested for celiac and

yeast

> imbalance and both came up negative. I tend to feed both my kids a pretty

> healthy and balanced diet with whole grains, no high fructose corn syrup

(except

> tiny allowances of candy), organic sugars (limited), fruits, veggies (yes,

they

> do eat these!),lean meats, etc. I will often complain about DS's pickiness

> because he used to eat *everything* except tomatoes and mushrooms and has

> gradually gotten narrower and narrower and will suddenly hate things for no

> apparent reason. He also used to throw things up at will until I put the

kibosh

> on that with consequences which (remarkably) worked! After reading posts here

> about kids who will only eat three foods I will do my best to shut up about

> that! Seriously, any Mom who can get her autistic son to eat brussel

sprouts

> really has no right to complain, huh? Anyway the point of this post (finally!)

> is that I know a lot of people have their kids on GF or GFCF diets and I have

> resisted this feeling that I wanted to have some basis for a major life change

> before we did it. I also worry about cutting out huge sources of nutrition

like

> grains and dairy with growing children without due cause. Clearly behavior is

an

> issue- DS has problems with aggression, anxiety, sensory, etc.- but I always

try

> to consider the total health of my child. Someone mentioned sensitivity

testing

> to cassein and gluten. Can these be done through the regular pediatrician or

are

> they specialty lab only? I would appreciate some input so I can make an

informed

> decision for my family. Thanks!

>

> -Tania

>

February 17, 2011

This is one of those sensitive subjects because the parents that swear by GF/CF diets are very strong in their opinions and in my experience, very close-minded to anyone who doesn't share their opinions. Please note this is just my opinion. I say to each their own and do what works best for your child(ren). I think everyone would benefit from a healthy diet, but to date I haven't seen any scientific evidence to make me believe GF/CF diets help true Autism symptoms. I am also apprehensive of diets, strategies, 'cures', resources that cost a lot of money and make certain people and business rich off the desperation of loving parents. If your child's behaviour improves with a special diet, that's awesome, but please don't tell others that they are: a) wrong for not doing the same for their child; or helps

recover a child with Autism because as more information becomes available we find that some children were misdiagnosed or in some cases parents chose to believe it was Autism, etc. I tried the diet with my son for over 2 years although he raarely ate anything with gluten to begin and never had casein due to a sensitivity. There was no significant change in his Autism symptoms. His diet at this time is healthy, fruits, veggies, protein, etc. with very little sugar, artifical flavours, additives, dyes, etc. This diet does seem to help, then again, there are many other factors so scientifically there isn't a clear casual link. The best things that have helped my son: stability, routine, repetition of social skills (we didn't find the classes helpful, read How To teach Life Skills to Kids with Autism or Asperger's by McIlwee Myers to understand why), life skills, understanding, compassion, empathy, consistency, Mind Reading CD-ROM, cognitive

behaviour therapy, parental education of actual facts to do with Autism, exercise, games, patience and unconditional love. Again, this is just one child. Just my opinion. I think we have to find things that help each child and find ssome unity in the Autism community.

Donna

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." ~Maya Angelou

February 17, 2011

I have been a little out of the loop and have been reading several posts in an attempt to catch up. I felt compelled to respond to this topic.

My son who will be 14 in a few weeks has definitely had/has issues over the years, some sensory, some physical, emotional, developmental etc. And we are still dealing with issues daily. However, my son has never been aggressive. He has never hit, kicked, or hurt anyone unless he was hit first and even then he didn't use to hit back until my husband taught him to defend himself years ago. He did this to help him from getting beat up all the time.

All autism spectrum disorders manifests itself differently in different children as does anything we as humans experience. My son has been dx with "moderate" level of AS. Some children may have a "severe" or 'mild" level.

I can tell you from my experience raising three kids, two of which are now grown, NO special diet has ever helped any behaviors per say. Yes, if you don't give your children a lot of sugar they will be calmer. DUH! But (and this is just my opinion) to me anything is fine in moderation. That I believe is the key.

I never restricted anything in particular from my kids diet except caffeine. They would have candy in the cupboard left over from Halloween on Easter. We would then throw that away and it was replaced by whatever they got for Easter which would last forever as well.

The age old saying "Too much of a good thing is bad"....to me holds true in most cases. ne

From: MacAllister <smacalli@...>Subject: Re: ( ) diets Date: Thursday, February 17, 2011, 12:54 PM

A poster said this: "She has explosive behavior at times and will attack siblings or even me just as many kids with Asperger's do. "

I'm just stating that my son doesn't attack me or his siblings. He's been angry before and has been in fights with his little sister, but nothing out of the ordinary sibling stuff. I don't want to perpetuate the idea that many kids with Aspergers attack siblings and/or parents. It's not true.

From: chris Dunn <christineshello@...> Sent: Thu, February 17, 2011 11:35:20 AMSubject: Re: ( ) diets

whoever mentioned "attacking people" I don't think they meant it that way, they probably meant just being aggressive, which some of the AS children are, some are not.

From: MacAllister <smacalli@...> Sent: Thu, February 17, 2011 12:26:41 PMSubject: Re: ( ) diets

BTW, my 14-yr-old son with Aspergers has never "attacked" me. Ever.

From: md l <dontblinkhs@...> Sent: Thu, February 17, 2011 9:47:01 AMSubject: Re: ( ) diets

Wow, I am surprised at the lack of knowledge about this on this group. There is plenty of research done on this. Have you ever tried it yourself or even fully researched it past reading a simple article? Sounds like you are dismissing this without fully understanding the science behind it (and yes, there is science there.. do the research). I apologize for saying "most kids" or whatever I said. But it is not my imagination AT ALL. My child clearly has a reaction to certain foods. The very foods she tested positive for. If she didn't, I certainly wouldn't have kept her on this diet for so long.. I would love for us to all go back to eating regular foods!! I found out that I have celiac disease during all this, which has saved me from a lot of issues. So this definitely runs in my family.

And "running around attacking people" is not what she does.. And that is not what makes her have Asperger's. You are making assumptions and putting words in my mouth and that is not fair. She has aggression issues for sure and maybe I worded that wrong.. She has explosive behavior at times and will attack siblings or even me just as many kids with Asperger's do. But that is not what makes her have Asperger's. Geez.

Misty

From: Roxanna <MadIdeas@...> Sent: Thu, February 17, 2011 9:13:29 AMSubject: Re: ( ) diets

Please understand that this is your opinion and not a fact. Problems with restrictive diet can be any numbers of issues going on and not at all related to this idea of an "allergy" to food. If it is working for you and your kid, great. But that doesn't mean it works for most kids with autism. That is just your opinion. If people want to buy into this theory, they can. There are tons of sites out there ready to tell you all about it! Also, having autism does not mean you are running around attacking people until someone takes you off gluten. My two ds's have HFA and neither one was out there doing that. Stimming went away with growth and maturity over the years and not with any special diet. I know people attribute rapid growth in speech, for

example, to removing gluten from the diet or fish oil pills or other such things. "We removed all milk from his diet and then he began to talk!" My 3 ds's all had severe speech delays and their language all came in without any of those things. My one ds's initial problem with food was just the temperature of the food, we discovered! I remember at the time being so amazed to have figured it out, lol! It had nothing to do with "an opiate response." Once I realized it was the temperature (everything had to be cold!), we started to slowly warm things up over a long period of time. Today, he eats better than most NT people - all variety of food, hot or cold. My other ds is still extremely restrictive with what he will eat and it's a big problem. He is not jumping off of furniture because of what he is eating either. And it has nothing to do with allergies or opiate responses to certain

things. He has severe problems with taste and texture and also is a rigid thinker. When we used to have a local autism group, most of the women in the group believed in the Great Plains lab and had a personal relationship with them. I saw them doing a lot of really weird things - I thought it was weird, I should say. They thought it made perfect sense. Here I was doing ABA therapy, which I am sure they thought was weird. Anyway, I really never saw a big improvement in their kids but they would all constantly insist that the new pill or removing something from the diet had fixed problems. They constantly said, "Look how much calmer he is now" and I'd look and the kid looked exactly the same as before. I couldn't figure it out. But they all agreed with each other that it was working. Anyway, the big story I am trying to tell: One lady was frantic one day when the

family dog died. She apparently decided that her PDD kid had killed the dog. I don't remember why she came to that conclusion. He must have abused the dog in the past or something. Or she found the kid hitting the dog, who was dead. He was probably trying to get the dog to move or wake up really, in retrospect. But at any rate, she went on to discuss how he had recently been given a red Popsicle and she knew that was the cause of his "rage" against the dog. The red popsicle caused the kid to go ape and kill the dog! She must have went on for 10 days to two weeks about this awful experience in our local chat group - really awful experience to be sure! Well, turns out, after testing the dog, they found out he had paint in his system. At the time of his death, they were painting their bathroom. So that is how the dog actually died. And that red Popsicle never caused the rage that

killed the dog after all.

Roxannaâ€œOur lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.â€ - Luther King, Jr.

( ) diets

Ok, so here is my question: I have had my HFA son(9) tested for celiac and yeast imbalance and both came up negative. I tend to feed both my kids a pretty healthy and balanced diet with whole grains, no high fructose corn syrup (except tiny allowances of candy), organic sugars (limited), fruits, veggies (yes, they do eat these!),lean meats, etc. I will often complain about DS's pickiness because he used to eat *everything* except tomatoes and mushrooms and has gradually gotten narrower and narrower and will suddenly hate things for no apparent reason. He also used to throw things up at will until I put the kibosh on that with consequences which (remarkably) worked! After reading posts here about kids who will only eat three foods I will do my best to shut up about that! Seriously, any Mom who can get her autistic son to eat brussel sprouts really has no right to complain, huh? Anyway the point of this post (finally!) is that I know a lot of

people have their kids on GF or GFCF diets and I have resisted this feeling that I wanted to have some basis for a major life change before we did it. I also worry about cutting out huge sources of nutrition like grains and dairy with growing children without due cause. Clearly behavior is an issue- DS has problems with aggression, anxiety, sensory, etc.- but I always try to consider the total health of my child. Someone mentioned sensitivity testing to cassein and gluten. Can these be done through the regular pediatrician or are they specialty lab only? I would appreciate some input so I can make an informed decision for my family. Thanks!-Tania

February 17, 2011

Misty,

Don't feel like you should not share your opinions or experiences. That is what this group is for. We don't always agree and we sometimes don't like the way someone said something, but sometimes it's just a play on words and at other times it's what makes us individuals.

I am really happy for you that changing your daughters diet has made your family's quality of life better. Everyone has to figure out what works best for them.

My son is on meds and there are plently of parents that would disagree with me on that. But will I let it change what I know works for us...no. Sometimes you just have to be careful when you "generalize" certain things. ne

From: md l <dontblinkhs@...>Subject: Re: ( ) diets Date: Thursday, February 17, 2011, 12:33 PM

I would like to apologize now to everyone for my point of view and for sharing our experiences. I didn't mean to offend anyone by using phrases like "our kids" or describing my daughter's symptoms on and off gluten. I tend to advocate for this stuff because it has helped us so much and I only wish someone had told me about it sooner. So I was just trying to hep some other families when someone had asked about it.

Misty

February 17, 2011

I wouldn't apologize, Misty. Just my opinion.

We ALL advocate for what has worked for us or what he HOPE will, as well as condemn what hasn't worked for us, personally.

I think people can tend to take things soooo personally when all that's happening is a conversation.

We should all just read and move on when a subject that's being discussed doesnt' necessarily "agree" with us. Not that we shouldn't add our "2 cents",,,,,but people, all people, should be allowed to praise what has worked for them.

I have never been a proponent of SOCIAL SKILLS GROUPS - my son hated/hates being treated like he's an idiot. He talks when he wants and when he needs to. But, he likes being along. Period.

We've never really been impressed with a therapist/psychologist. We see a Psych for his OCD meds and he's really cool. But, as far as talking about "if he sits with anyone at lunch, or how does he think he could make a friend" is annoying to him and myself, because he is happy and capable, in his own way, of "being".

We never eliminated dairy, but I've heard amazing things about GFCG. We've never done this, either. We do buy as much organic and "dye free" as we can, though. But for the most part, it's too expensive for us. he he.

So..........please don't apologize. Hugs to you.

Robin

"I'm singing....

I'm in a store and I'm singing..........

I'm in a store....

and I'm singing..............."

From: md l <dontblinkhs@...>Subject: Re: ( ) diets Date: Thursday, February 17, 2011, 11:33 AM

I would like to apologize now to everyone for my point of view and for sharing our experiences. I didn't mean to offend anyone by using phrases like "our kids" or describing my daughter's symptoms on and off gluten. I tend to advocate for this stuff because it has helped us so much and I only wish someone had told me about it sooner. So I was just trying to hep some other families when someone had asked about it.

Misty

February 17, 2011

There is nothing wrong with sharing your story. It's just so much of it is not proven or applicable to a majority of these kids and it seemed like you were saying that it applies to most of the kids who have autism. That is the part that I disagree with. If it works for you, then you should definitely keep it up and you are welcome to say, "This worked for us!!" Sounds like you have some kind of food allergy within your family or extra sensitivity. A lot of people out there get very into this diet stuff. The science is just not there to support it. But I am sure for people who have food allergies, this is a problem - i.e. eating foods that cause behaviors.

Roxanna

â€œOur lives begin to end the day we

become silent about things that matter.â€ - Luther King, Jr.

Re: ( ) diets

I would like to apologize now to everyone for my point of view and for sharing our experiences. I didn't mean to offend anyone by using phrases like "our kids" or describing my daughter's symptoms on and off gluten. I tend to advocate for this stuff because it has helped us so much and I only wish someone had told me about it sooner. So I was just trying to hep some other families when someone had asked about it.

Misty

February 17, 2011

I know I am strong opinionated cause I want to help the kids.I tried it before too but gluten is everywhere.....u really need to cook homemade to see. And it takes 6 to 8 mos to get a good idea.HthRSent from my Palm Pre on the Now Network from SprintOn Feb 17, 2011 4:50 PM, Donna <donpark@...> wrote:

This is one of those sensitive subjects because the parents that swear by GF/CF diets are very strong in their opinions and in my experience, very close-minded to anyone who doesn't share their opinions. Please note this is just my opinion. I say to each their own and do what works best for your child(ren). I think everyone would benefit from a healthy diet, but to date I haven't seen any scientific evidence to make me believe GF/CF diets help true Autism symptoms. I am also apprehensive of diets, strategies, 'cures', resources that cost a lot of money and make certain people and business rich off the desperation of loving parents. If your child's behaviour improves with a special diet, that's awesome, but please don't tell others that they are: a) wrong for not doing the same for their child; or helps

recover a child with Autism because as more information becomes available we find that some children were misdiagnosed or in some cases parents chose to believe it was Autism, etc. I tried the diet with my son for over 2 years although he raarely ate anything with gluten to begin and never had casein due to a sensitivity. There was no significant change in his Autism symptoms. His diet at this time is healthy, fruits, veggies, protein, etc. with very little sugar, artifical flavours, additives, dyes, etc. This diet does seem to help, then again, there are many other factors so scientifically there isn't a clear casual link. The best things that have helped my son: stability, routine, repetition of social skills (we didn't find the classes helpful, read How To teach Life Skills to Kids with Autism or Asperger's by McIlwee Myers to understand why), life skills, understanding, compassion, empathy, consistency, Mind Reading CD-ROM, cognitive

behaviour therapy, parental education of actual facts to do with Autism, exercise, games, patience and unconditional love. Again, this is just one child. Just my opinion. I think we have to find things that help each child and find ssome unity in the Autism community.

Donna

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." ~Maya Angelou

February 17, 2011

I added a lengthy post to this thread earlier today but I think I'm still on

moderated status since I'm new... so not sure when it will show up. In it I

forgot to mention that my kids do not have a behavioral reaction to sugar, but

there is a definite problem with red food dye. Red tootsie pops seem to be the

worst-- I think the number one ingredient must be red #40.

in Colorado

>

> Well I respect your opinion and I hope you respect mine.Â I think your

popsicle

> story was amusing and sad at the same time.Â I think some parents do tend to

go

> overboard with the associations, which was clearly the case with the mom in

your

> popsicle story.. I have not noticed an increase in behaviors with dyes in my

> kids.Â But we avoid them anyway just because they are unhealthy.Â

>

> Misty

>

> Â

>

> ________________________________

> From: Roxanna <MadIdeas@...>

>

> Sent: Thu, February 17, 2011 10:59:03 AM

> Subject: Re: ( ) diets

>

> Â

> I don't think you will advance your cause by telling us we are all ignorant.Â

> lol.Â There are not a lot of scientifically valid studies out there at all.Â

> That's the problem.Â I've seen people doing " the diet " and not getting

anywhere,

> let alone " amazing stuff. " Â You've seen amazing things.Â This doesn't mean

that

> I am just ignorant and you're not.Â I don't agree with your conclusion.Â

That is

> what my popsicle story was meant to illustrate - that the cause/effect

> relationship is not always what you first think it is.Â If your kid has a

> reaction to foods, then it is probably a good idea to work on her diet

issues.Â

> That is common sense.Â It isn't that people can't have food allergies.Â

>

> What I meant by the fact that my kids are not running around attacking people

is

> that this is not what AS kids do.Â You said, " many kids with AS do " this and

I

> disagree.Â To relate attacking people to having AS, then to the diet a person

is

> following is what I am disagreeing with.Â Your own child does this, I get

that

> part.Â But I haven't met anyone else who is out there attacking people at

large

> - no news reports, no friends whose kids have AS doing this.Â You are talking

> about this feature as if it's very common when I don't feel it is very

common.Â

> Then you attribute it to eating certain foods and I would not agree that this

is

> why either.Â For you, perhaps that is the cause of the problem.Â I wouldn't

> pretend to know.Â But you can't assume this is the cause for everyone else or

> even that all our kids are out there attacking people because they have AS and

a

> food allergy.Â

>

> Hopefully, I explained that more clearly.Â I did not intend to put " words in

> your mouth " but am trying to disagree with exactly what you are saying.Â

>

> Roxanna

> â€œOur lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that

matter.â€ -

> Luther King, Jr.

>

> ( ) diets

>

> Â

> Ok, so here is my question: I have had my HFA son(9) tested for celiac and

yeast

> imbalance and both came up negative. I tend to feed both my kids a pretty

> healthy and balanced diet with whole grains, no high fructose corn syrup

(except

> tiny allowances of candy), organic sugars (limited), fruits, veggies (yes,

they

> do eat these!),lean meats, etc. I will often complain about DS's pickiness

> because he used to eat *everything* except tomatoes and mushrooms and has

> gradually gotten narrower and narrower and will suddenly hate things for no

> apparent reason. He also used to throw things up at will until I put the

kibosh

> on that with consequences which (remarkably) worked! After reading posts here

> about kids who will only eat three foods I will do my best to shut up about

> that! Seriously, any Mom who can get her autistic son to eat brussel

sprouts

> really has no right to complain, huh? Anyway the point of this post (finally!)

> is that I know a lot of people have their kids on GF or GFCF diets and I have

> resisted this feeling that I wanted to have some basis for a major life change

> before we did it. I also worry about cutting out huge sources of nutrition

like

> grains and dairy with growing children without due cause. Clearly behavior is

an

> issue- DS has problems with aggression, anxiety, sensory, etc.- but I always

try

> to consider the total health of my child. Someone mentioned sensitivity

testing

> to cassein and gluten. Can these be done through the regular pediatrician or

are

> they specialty lab only? I would appreciate some input so I can make an

informed

> decision for my family. Thanks!

>

> -Tania

>

February 17, 2011

And here is where I'll disagree with you, Robin =)

There are thousands of social skills groups out there so insinuating that they all treat kids like they're idiots isn't really fair. I can't speak to all social skills groups, I'm sure some of them suck beyond suck, but we were very fortunate to find a great group. Dylan attended 3 different weeks of social skills camp and it was really great. If we had found them when he was younger and they were closer, we would've attended more. They used one of Winner's curriculums and I was so impressed with the staff and what they did. I think the key is finding out more about the group before you hand your money over because they can be expensive.

We also had a psychologist who did a world of good for Dylan and our entire family from Kindergarten-3rd grade. I really can't express how much she help me set better boundaries, understand how/when to discipline and how to do it effectively. I also think she helped introduce cooperative concepts to Dylan in terms he could understand and then practiced with him. Dylan wasn't cured after he saw her or anything, but it did help build his foundation. She was great. I've also had experiences with psychologists though that weren't so good. So again, it's probably good to get some referrals from people you trust and/or do research on qualifications/experience before you fork over any cash.

From: and/or Robin Lemke <jrisjs@...> Sent: Thu, February 17, 2011 4:16:41 PMSubject: Re: ( ) diets

I wouldn't apologize, Misty. Just my opinion.

We ALL advocate for what has worked for us or what he HOPE will, as well as condemn what hasn't worked for us, personally.

I think people can tend to take things soooo personally when all that's happening is a conversation.

We should all just read and move on when a subject that's being discussed doesnt' necessarily "agree" with us. Not that we shouldn't add our "2 cents",,,,,but people, all people, should be allowed to praise what has worked for them.

I have never been a proponent of SOCIAL SKILLS GROUPS - my son hated/hates being treated like he's an idiot. He talks when he wants and when he needs to. But, he likes being along. Period.

We've never really been impressed with a therapist/psychologist. We see a Psych for his OCD meds and he's really cool. But, as far as talking about "if he sits with anyone at lunch, or how does he think he could make a friend" is annoying to him and myself, because he is happy and capable, in his own way, of "being".

We never eliminated dairy, but I've heard amazing things about GFCG. We've never done this, either. We do buy as much organic and "dye free" as we can, though. But for the most part, it's too expensive for us. he he.

So..........please don't apologize. Hugs to you.

Robin

"I'm singing....

I'm in a store and I'm singing..........

I'm in a store....

and I'm singing..............."

From: md l <dontblinkhs@...>Subject: Re: ( ) diets Date: Thursday, February 17, 2011, 11:33 AM

I would like to apologize now to everyone for my point of view and for sharing our experiences. I didn't mean to offend anyone by using phrases like "our kids" or describing my daughter's symptoms on and off gluten. I tend to advocate for this stuff because it has helped us so much and I only wish someone had told me about it sooner. So I was just trying to hep some other families when someone had asked about it.

Misty

February 17, 2011

My son's pediatrician told me that there is no scientific research to support

the claim that sugar makes children hyperactive.

I have heard - I don't know if it's true - that proportionally little research

is done on diets/food issues in general, because there is little funding

available. Most research is done on the effect of drugs on various conditions,

because that's where the money is.

>

> Thatâ€™s exactly what I meant. There is no scientific research to back up

these claims. Now, I am not saying the professionals that are advocating diets

and alternative treatments canâ€™t show you â€œresearchâ€ that backs up their

claims but when you look at it you will see that it is research done without

using the scientific method. People have the right to do whatever diet they

think works for their child. But, if diets, chelation, and other alternative

treatments really did reduce symptoms or â€œcureâ€ autism there wouldnâ€™t be a

need for this group. AS would be a thing of the past and we wouldnâ€™t be on

here discussing it. Now, regarding diet: my 20 year old Aspie son absolutely

bounces off the wall with too much sugar intake. But, my NT children were the

same way when they were younger. So, I restricted their sugar intake. The

difference is that as they grew older they learned to limit their sugar intake

themselves. My Aspie didnâ€™t and we still have to remind him to watch his

sugar intake. But, I donâ€™t think too much sugar increases his AS symptoms or

limiting it decreases them. Excessive sugar makes many people hyper.

>

February 18, 2011

I think there are too many people making money off therapies.My son's diet is proven. If you visit Autism Reseach Institute (ARI) you can get parent surveyed info.I was so happy to be apart of the high number of parents to say GF/CF/SF have helped along with Feingold. Goodbye therapies.Sent from my Palm Pre on the Now Network from SprintOn Feb 17, 2011 4:48 PM, Catcelia <c2cats@...> wrote:

I totally agree with you . There are too many people making money off special diets, supplements and treatments that are totally unproven. I've been tempted a few times but after research found no real evidence of proven results.

That said, even things like Omega 3 supplements which have health benefits can impact each person differently. I belonged to a speech listserv and many folks swore that their child's speech had improved vastly after starting Omega 3 supplements. Well, for my son the supplement made him irritable and whiny and had no impact on his speech.

So as long as parents search for that elusive magic bullet to help their child there will be folks trying to sell it to them.

Caroline

>

> I totally agree, . Being a nurse, I am usually the one that gets on my soapbox about people advocating special diets or treatments that have no scientific studies to back them up. People can waste tons of money on this kind of stuff.

>

> From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of MacAllister

> Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2011 8:58 AM

>

> Subject: Re: ( ) diets

>

> My son has never eaten "3 or so" foods. He was pickier when he was younger, but not to that point. I don't think it's a good idea to talk about "our kids" when you talk about this stuff that hasn't been scientifically proven. If this was so true, why aren't their scientific studies backing it up? I've been trying to hold my tongue but I feel like me not saying something means I agree and I do not. There is a lot of money to be made by docs/labs in this field and I don't want someone new on here to invest a lot of time and money on something that hasn't been scientifically proven. If I'm wrong and there are studies out there published in reputable journals, please point me in that direction so I can see for myself.

>

> _____

>

> From: md l <dontblinkhs@...>

>

> Sent: Wed, February 16, 2011 8:18:01 PM

> Subject: Re: ( ) diets

>

> Hi Tania,

>

> Here is a good informative link that may answer some questions.. http://www.newvisionautismcenter.com/page814.html

>

> To answer a few myself.... A negative celiac test does not mean your child is not reacting to gluten. This is because our kids are usually having an IgG antibody delayed response to gluten and casein. Celiac testing looks for IgA antibodies. A pediatrician cannot do IgG testing. They just aren't experienced with it (yet)..

>

> You can test through Great Plains Labs http://www.greatplainslaboratory.com or Alletess http://www.foodallergy.com . We tested through GPL and our insurance paid 100%. My daughters all tested very highly sensitive to gluten and casein. One of them also tested high for soy. But they all tested negative to celiac disease and traditional food allergies. All three girls improved dramatically when those foods were removed. It was really like night and day. In fact, one of my daughters was given two donuts at school a couple of weeks ago and I am seeing behaviors now that I have not seen in over a year (Since before we went GFCF). Her OCD is back, stimming, aggression, jumping off of furniture over and over again, very oppositional, very irritable, raging, screaming, attacking people, etc. She was not at all like this all last year when the diet was 100%. But she WAS like this BEFORE we ever went on the diet over a year ago!

>

> The reason most kids on the autism spectrum will only eat 3 or so foods is because they are having opiate responses to those 3 foods.. Those foods are usually a wheat or dairy product. My daughter was down to just crackers and milk (completely addicted to those two foods) when we went GFCF. It was extremely difficult, but we had to do it for her health and well-being. Now she eats more variety and is much more healthy. You might read a little about the opiate affect in that link I provided above.

>

> There are plenty of books on this subject that are very, very informative. Right now, I am reading The Kid-Friendly ADHD & Autism Cookbook, which explains A LOT about how our kids are affected by gluten and casein in the first few chapters.

>

> Some other good books on this subject would be...

>

> The Autism & ADHD Diet by Barrie Silberberg

>

> Healing the New Childhood Epidemics by Brock

>

> Children With Starving Brains by McCandless

>

> Is This Your Child? by Rapp

>

> I would be happy to answer any other questions.. Removing gluten and casein is not a cure by any means, but it does eliminate many of the behaviors seen in our children. Okay, I will say *most* children because I'm sure there are some out there it doesn't do a lick of good for. My daughter is so much easier to live with when her diet is 100%. She is almost like a normal child during this time. It really is phenomenal. When she is on gluten and/or casein, she is impossible and everyone just wants to scream or die or run away, LOL..

>

> You might also google "leaky gut" or "gut & psychology syndrome".

>

> Misty

>

> _____

>

> From: sopranotania <sopranotania@...>

>

> Sent: Wed, February 16, 2011 8:18:13 AM

> Subject: ( ) diets

>

> Ok, so here is my question: I have had my HFA son(9) tested for celiac and yeast imbalance and both came up negative. I tend to feed both my kids a pretty healthy and balanced diet with whole grains, no high fructose corn syrup (except tiny allowances of candy), organic sugars (limited), fruits, veggies (yes, they do eat these!),lean meats, etc. I will often complain about DS's pickiness because he used to eat *everything* except tomatoes and mushrooms and has gradually gotten narrower and narrower and will suddenly hate things for no apparent reason. He also used to throw things up at will until I put the kibosh on that with consequences which (remarkably) worked! After reading posts here about kids who will only eat three foods I will do my best to shut up about that! Seriously, any Mom who can get her autistic son to eat brussel sprouts really has no right to complain, huh? Anyway the point of this post (finally!) is that I know a lot of people have their kids on GF or GFCF diets and I have resisted this feeling that I wanted to have some basis for a major life change before we did it. I also worry about cutting out huge sources of nutrition like grains and dairy with growing children without due cause. Clearly behavior is an issue- DS has problems with aggression, anxiety, sensory, etc.- but I always try to consider the total health of my child. Someone mentioned sensitivity testing to cassein and gluten. Can these be done through the regular pediatrician or are they specialty lab only? I would appreciate some input so I can make an informed decision for my family. Thanks!

>

> -Tania

>

February 18, 2011

Well, that depends on who is paying for the research. If it's a drug company, then obviously they want to test for drugs that help/work. Autism speaks raises money for a lot of scientific studies on all sorts of areas related to autism. You can go there and look to see what they are doing, they have a list of studies.

Roxanna

â€œOur lives begin to end the day we

become silent about things that matter.â€ - Luther King, Jr.

Re: ( ) diets

My son's pediatrician told me that there is no scientific research to support the claim that sugar makes children hyperactive.

I have heard - I don't know if it's true - that proportionally little research is done on diets/food issues in general, because there is little funding available. Most research is done on the effect of drugs on various conditions, because that's where the money is.

>

> ThatÃ¢Â€Â™s exactly what I meant. There is no scientific research to back up these claims. Now, I am not saying the professionals that are advocating diets and alternative treatments canÃ¢Â€Â™t show you Ã¢Â€ÂœresearchÃ¢Â€Â that backs up their claims but when you look at it you will see that it is research done without using the scientific method. People have the right to do whatever diet they think works for their child. But, if diets, chelation, and other alternative treatments really did reduce symptoms or Ã¢Â€ÂœcureÃ¢Â€Â autism there wouldnÃ¢Â€Â™t be a need for this group. AS would be a thing of the past and we wouldnÃ¢Â€Â™t be on here discussing it. Now, regarding diet: my 20 year old Aspie son absolutely bounces off the wall with too much sugar intake. But, my NT children were the same way when they were younger. So, I restricted their sugar intake. The difference is that as they grew older they learned to limit their sugar intake themselves. My Aspie didnÃ¢Â€Â™t and we still have to remind him to watch his sugar intake. But, I donÃ¢Â€Â™t think too much sugar increases his AS symptoms or limiting it decreases them. Excessive sugar makes many people hyper.

>

February 18, 2011

Part of the problem of course is that kids get extra sugar in certain

settings. For example, kid goes to a birthday party. Lots of cake, ice

cream, juice, soda, etc. It isn't the boatloads of sugar that's causing

the problem, it's the party! One other factor to look at is caffeine.

Some kids are getting a lot more caffeine than we realize. Check those

sodas, some of which (even the NON cola ones) have added caffeine,

including things like Mountain Dew and I think it was Sunkist Orange.

Eleanor, San , CA

Aspie son Isaac, 10.5 years old

On 02/17/2011 21:23 , W wrote:

> My son's pediatrician told me that there is no scientific research to

> support the claim that sugar makes children hyperactive.

February 18, 2011

If scientist haven't bothered doing research about sugar that does not mean is not true, it just means that it has not be proven. From: W <jennywatson@...> Sent: Fri, February 18, 2011 12:23:14 AMSubject: Re: ( ) diets

My son's pediatrician told me that there is no scientific research to support the claim that sugar makes children hyperactive.

I have heard - I don't know if it's true - that proportionally little research is done on diets/food issues in general, because there is little funding available. Most research is done on the effect of drugs on various conditions, because that's where the money is.

>

> Thatâ€™s exactly what I meant. There is no scientific research to back up these claims. Now, I am not saying the professionals that are advocating diets and alternative treatments canâ€™t show you â€œresearchâ€ that backs up their claims but when you look at it you will see that it is research done without using the scientific method. People have the right to do whatever diet they think works for their child. But, if diets, chelation, and other alternative treatments really did reduce symptoms or â€œcureâ€ autism there wouldnâ€™t be a need for this group. AS would be a thing of the past and we wouldnâ€™t be on here discussing it. Now, regarding diet: my 20 year old Aspie son absolutely bounces off the wall with too much sugar intake. But, my NT children were the same way when they were younger. So, I restricted their sugar intake. The difference is that as they grew older they learned to limit their sugar intake themselves. My Aspie

didnâ€™t and we still have to remind him to watch his sugar intake. But, I donâ€™t think too much sugar increases his AS symptoms or limiting it decreases them. Excessive sugar makes many people hyper.

>

February 23, 2011

Robyn, sorry I missed your message last week. Yes, I was tested for it.

in Colorado

>

> & nbsp;

>

> I have to chime in here (with my dulcet tones LOL). This is my personal

experience.

>

> In my 20s I suffered from some sort of gastrointestinal upset that lasted

several weeks, prompting a variety of blood work and other tests. I was found

to be severely anemic but the anemia didn't respond to iron supplements

(profound anemia). Several months later I had an endoscopy done and the biopsy

showed villous flattening, or celiac sprue.

>

> After being gluten free for years, whenever I accidentally ingest gluten, I

know right away. Yes there is some GI upset (gas, bloating, mild cramps) but

the real tell is I become what my husband lovingly refers to as " wheat crazed " .

It is hard to describe but the best I can do is this. I develop brain fog and

have difficulty concentrating. I become moody, irritable, stubborn and