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Hello,
I would like to ask for opinions on the self-limited diet as it applies
to my son Ben,  almost 3 years old, who has celiac disease and autism.
His language is progressing nicely since inundating him with therapy,
but he is still not at age appropriate levels, therefore I cannot ask
him why he limits his diet so.  He is in a period of growth in all
areas, and that includes dietary repertoire, so I should be happy, but
his doctors are still concerned with the "excessive liquid intake" and
narrow range of foods he eats.  I do know that he ate only Cheerios,
Nutri-Grain bars, pasta, mac and cheese, and milk/juice before going GF
last August, and ate less than 10 foods before I removed casein (milk
protein) from his diet this April.  For him it seemed that removing
casein caused him to "wake up" and notice food, or at least be
interested in it, rather than eating it against his will.  But he still
is very picky about foods, and I have heard various schools of thought
as to why.  Some say the foods they eat are foods they are addicted to -
in the case of gluten, I can see that quite clearly.  He refused to eat
anything for a few days when I stopped allowing him gluten foods.  Same
with milk, he refused the milk alternatives I offered him until DariFree
- the only one he likes.  But some say if a child refuses foods that
means it is because there is something in it that hurts them, or is bad
for them.  Yet until going GFCF, my son ate no meat, now he loves it and
asks for my GF chicken nuggets and ground beef all the time!  So it
couldn't have been bad for him before, could it have?  And that would
mean that veggies are bad for every child on earth, right :) ?  Still
further down the list of things I like to believe is "behavioral
polydypsia" as the doctors put it, that is, it is a "behavioral
problem".  Not that I am unaware of the behavioral problems associated
with autism, but this truly does not seem, to me, to be one os his
autistic behaviors, especially the extreme thirst.  What puzzles me is
that in autism circles, the GFCF diet seems to alleviate the thirst,
bloating, gas, diarrhea/constitpation, selective diet, but in my son it
has left some problems (numerous and pasty stools, better, but still
selective diet, thirst).  Any thoughts you have regarding this would be
much appreciated.

Thanks!

Catherine