a diet to help, a child who refuses to eat?

Julie - posted on 11/08/2008

I started the first few days with gfcf junk food. Once they got the gluten-out, it was easier to introduce the good stuff. I recently looked back at my journal for my younger son. Before the diet he ate Cheerios, cheese, and McDs fries - not a healthy diet at all. Now he eats a well-rounded healthy diet. I eventually turned my entire house gfcf. It is much cheaper and easier for us to all eat the same diet.

For us it took my older son from moderately autistic to completely mainstreamed. Our younger son was so severe we were given no hope for him. He is completely mainstreamed with no supports, yet there is still a touch of the autism there. I know the diet does not work as well for all children, but I think that it is worth a try.

Good luck!

Gabriella - posted on 11/07/2008

Hi. the diet is super important! and we are starting it now. I encourage you to go look up the Yahoo groups - There is a TACA yahoo group and GFCFKids group - that one is a bit overwhelming with information at first but both are awesome resources

actually go to www.tacanow.org -- there is a tab at the top about the diet and a whole schedule on how to start so you are not going cold turkey.

Cristina - posted on 11/05/2008

thanks, i think we'll give it a try soon... i'm not expecting a cure... but if there is something going on in his body that can be eased with a diet, it's worth the tantrum effort... now i feel like i'm a lawyer, legislative, psychologist... and soon to be nutristionist... with my mba in google... lol... thank you ladies..

Alicia - posted on 11/04/2008

i tried that with my son at one stage as we thought it was causing his stomach pains.

there is a lot that you can get for him these days one thing i do reccomend is vegie buddies which you should be able to get from a health food store or an organic store.

my family and i all ate our normal meals and we just gave bailey his gluten free or dairy free products which didnt bother him he kinda felt speacial that he has his own "treats" as we called them.

Beverly - posted on 11/04/2008

The GFCF diet has helped so much. I was angry when I first heard about it because I didn't want to do it but it has made all the difference for my son. He is not cured completely but the diet was a turning point. He was potty trained with in weeks. He had only a few words and now after a year he will not shut up. He was addicted to juice, gluten, and casein and it was only after the diet that he started eating real food. Kids eat gluten and casein because it numbs their pain. I think that it is worth a try but if you do it you have to do it all the way 100%. 99% is not enough. Their intestines are inflamed and you have to give them time to heal. If you really don't want to do it. I would at the very least add supplements especially Omega 3. Enzymes are also a good route to take instead of the diet. Good Luck.

Kelly - posted on 11/03/2008

Hello Ladies, I'll sort of incorporate my intro with my post. I am the mother of 3 boys, 12, 9, and 7. The oldest and youngest are "Asperger's-ish" and we have similar diet issues as well. I am a retired physician's assistant (PA-C) and my husband is a clinical psychologist. We live in Georgia. Let me start by saying that disorders on the PDD spectrum are so difficult to treat because as yet, there is no known cause. Identifying the cause is directly proportional to the success of treatment. Without a clearly identifiable cause, treatment modalities are purely theoretical. For PDD/ASD I call it the "cause/treatment de jour" and each author is unwavering in the fact that their cause and subsequent treatment is THE cause and THE treatment. One day everyone is told to stop immunizing their babies, another day they are told to have them undergo chelation for heavy metals in their body, another it's the fact that two highly intelligent parents are predisposed to having children on the spectrum or that dietary allergies to gluten and caesin can be addressed with specialized diets. The medical community is grasping for anything. Incidence appears to be on the rise and the pressure is on to figure out why. I agree with everything Hope has said. I will add that we as mothers are so anxious about what we don't know. We want to know that our children will some how "catch up" with their peers and live what we think of as a "typical" life. We vow to go to any length for our children if someone will just tell us what it is we need to do. I am with you, ladies. But, when I can't solve what I don't know because there is not enough data yet, I try to concentrate on what I do know. I do know that a balanced diet is healthier than an unbalanced diet for anyone so I too am very "creative" with fortifying diet. I have kids who eat no meat, fruit, or vegetables. But they will eat PB. I hide fruits and vegetables in their PB by way of a product called Juice Plus, which is whole food, not vitamin supplements. If you want more information Google it. I know that physical activity is better than no physical activity. I know that less "screen time" is better than more "screen time." I think we should be leery of extremes of any kind. So, my opinion regarding the gluten/dairy free diet that we have all read about is this. I will be honest and tell you that I have been impressed with some of the miracle stories. However, I prefer to stick with what I know and not with a theory. Find doctors/therapists you trust and listen to them. But don't forget to listen to yourself at the same time.

Kathleen - posted on 11/03/2008

we noticed right away that he was calmer without milk in his diet and not as spacy i guess. I do need to mention that he is mild to moderate and we added in calcium and vitamin d on his doctor's recommendation when we removed milk. I can tell when he has had a violation of the diet now by behavior and I am amazed at how well it works.

Kathleen - posted on 11/03/2008

I had the same thoughts before we started our son on the gfcf diet. I moved slowly.. but went cold turkey on the cf portion right away and then gradually removed gluten... by adding suppliments aka vitamins and zinc he has started to expand his diet slowly.

Hope - posted on 11/03/2008

My son has Autism he is 3 1/2 now and was diagnosed before his second birthday. I read everything I could get my hands on about Autism. I think as a mom you feel helpless when your child is diagnosed with this because there is no cure, you can give tylenol for a fever but how do you face this. I was conviced my son needed to go on this diet. I have read alot about it, I have talked to therapist who have worked with children on this diet. Some therapist say they see a improvement in behavior with the diet - alot of parents have noticed a big difference in their child on this diet, some parents put their child on the diet and it did nothing. They have lots of books on how to go about it. I think it is easier these days to stick to it as they have lots of gluten free and soy/rice products available--it is basically no dairy and no wheat, you can have meat, fruit and vegies, soy or rice milk-corn pasta, corn chips--pop corn etc.



My son is also very limited with his diet and just came off baby food at 2 years old. With therapy he has gotten better with his diet and I have learned to be a little sneaky--I put 2 eggs in a pancake, I give him the V8 fusion juice which he loves etc. I would first get educated about the diet and discuss it with the OT working with your child. My therapist told me it would not be reasonable to place my son on this diet because he was so limited with his food. The diet is not for every child, but for some it does help.



To me it only makes sense that these children would feel better on a healthy diet, I know how I feel if I am not eating properly, sluggish and unable to concentrate--a child with Autism not getting enough nutrients would have even a harder time. I try to make sure my son gets enough vitamins by giving him a vitamin every day and I put carnation instant breakfast in his milk at night for extra protien and the trace minerals I know he is not getting in his diet, I also give him whole milk for the extra fat and protien because he does not eat meat..

My son is doing very well with therapy and very high functioning. I will tell you that if his Autism was more severe and didn't progess as well as he has, I would try the diet. My fear was that I would push him and he would regress. I couldn't take that chance.



Good Luck with whatever you choose to do.