autism

[weemansmum]

is a gluten/wheat/milk/lactose free diet beneficial in cases of autism. I have a 5 yr old son who is tube fed and eats very little orally. He loves milky products but i feel they are detrimental to his behaviour. Wheat deffinetly has an extreme effect . Has anybody any advice.

Thanks

[3Rainbows]

Hi

i haven't personally got any experience to help you but would recommend you have a look on babycentre and netmums.

Look through the boards and forums and i'm positive someone will be able to advise you not professionally but from personal experience. I post on my babies birthboard and a few other boards and so far more helpful than my doc's & Hv. good luck i hope you find the answers you are looking for.x

[cazzz1975]

Hi there,

I have 2 children with autism, my youngest son like yours eats very little, he also suffers from faecal impaction, tho older one suffers from hyperactivity and food allergies.

I changed boths childs diets as a result of the faecal impaction and because my other sons hyperactivity also he has excema all over his body (wears body bandage day and night)

apart from a drop in hyperactivity (caused by artificial colours) there was not a lot of difference, however as you know autism affects each child differently and on the whole my boys do seem calmer, I would say if you have pinned it down to one particular thing (wheat) I would try going wheat free for a while to see if it makes any difference.

its best to do these things gradually, just try cutting out 1 thing at a time, mine found a complete change to much to tolerate

good luck!

[cazzz1975]

btw I will add that it was not only the colours that caused hyperactivity, the wheat based food seemed to give my younger son a lot of cramps and pain, this did reduce when I switched to wheat free.

[Lonnie]

I have a daughter with Autism, and I fully endorse cazzz's answer, youwon't get better.

[weemansmum]

Hi

thankyou all for your advice. I forgot to say he is already been on this diet for months now , i just dont know whither to keep him on it as the food he can /will eat is VERY limited hence his feeding tube. It is a nightmare diet to follow as all these things are generally found in most foods apart from fruit and veg. he doesnt have any "physical" symptoms only behavioural. I introduced milk back to him a month ago . School havent noticed anything different but i think his behaviour got worse at home, i need to add that i didn't tell his school i was back to giving him milk. I am just not sure what to do as i dont know if i am being paranoid. At the momment he is back off milk. Wheat and gluten is a different story i gave him some a while back just a small square of bread and within a few hours he was like a completely different boy screaming non stop . Never again will i give him wheat or gluten.

[cazzz1975]

If he is on a feeding tube then it should be providing his vitamin requirements, have you tried gluten/lactose free milk or milkshake?

my brother also has autism (he is 23 now) when he was young his behaviour was impeccable at school but when he was home he was chaotic, my older son is similar to that. has your son always been like this? this is sometimes caused by the stress of following a school routine which is why they meltdown when they get home.

sometimes changes to routine or a new teacher can cause it, my sons school wont have dress down days because it upsets routine too much

during a school week my older son will sleep for 3 hours a night, for the rest of the night he will be manic, his diet is very dull by most kids standards, he has calmed down a bit but flares up if his excema is bad or like at the moment he is losing his baby teeth and it is really frightening him, unfortunately he has no understanding so it is difficult to reason with him.

I know its very difficult to do these types of diets, sometimes the behaviour could be as a result of lots of different things as well as a food issue, try not to worry about his eating, keep trying different things, kids pick up on your worries, keep the house happy and stressfree (easier said I know) but it makes a big difference

[Bob A Job]

WOW.
I was never aware until now the dietry problems associated with Autism. did a google searchand found this, I know that weemansmum & cazzz1975 may all ready be aware, but others may find it interesting
http://www.nutritioninstitute.com/Autism.html
Ive met people who have Autistic children but never heard of this, i think awareness needs to be raised

[weemansmum]

Hi Cazz

My sons school is also the same they do not have dress down days unless the parents want it. David hates changes to routine school holidays are a nightmare. We have a major change of routine ahead of us . His school (special school) is closing and they are opening up a new mainstream school with a special unit attatched. I am dreading this and dont think it will work. The school is closing as they are trying what they are doing in England ( closing special schools and trying integration into mainstream up here in Scotland.) While i am all for integration there is just some kids this wont work for and mine is one of them. I dont think he will cope and i am very worried about the bullying issue. My son cant talk and have been told he probably never will so i dont know what is going on in school unless his teacher tells me. Why break something that works ie special schools.