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Thanks to everyone who wrote to me on this subject. Since some of the
following will also help Allex and others who have children newly
diagnosed with CD I will summarise below:

My original plea for help was:
My eight year old daughter who has Down Syndrome has just been diagnosed
>with Coeliac Disease (tested because her growth had slowed down). She is
>NOT good at trying new foods. We have yet to officially start the gf
>diet but I would appreciate any suggestions from people who have been in
>a similar situation.Thanks,
>Stella,
>Rotorua, New Zealand.

Replies (edited):

What are her favorite foods?  It takes a little work, but I've found it
often possible to come up with substitutes that look and taste very
similar.  Another thing that you may want to try is a dehydrator - I've
found that if they help me make something, my children are more likely
to try it.  Dried fruit - particularly banana chips - almost always is
popular!

My 17 month-old son was put on a gluten-free diet.  As you know,
toddlers are not much for change...  I kept giving him everything he
liked that was already gluten-free (fruits, chicken, M&M's) and didn't
worry about diet variety for the first few weeks.  I then went to the
health food store to find products that looked like what he was used to
(pasta, crackers, cookies).  Some he eats and some he does not.  The
product list from CSA is helpful in making gf choices of common
products.  I have not started to bake gf yet -- saving that challenge
for later!

Here we have health food stores that specialize in GF products.  We have
GF flour mixes to make biscuits, pancakes, waffles, dough for bread etc
etc.  They have GF boxed cereals, bases for gravies, GF breads etc
etc....  Get on a mailing list here from the states that can get you the
catalogs for ordering and try to find a store in your area.
   We have a health food store called "whole foods" that carries these
products.  If you don't have any, you may want to open one up!  They are
quite profitable here.  Here are the mail order catalogs that can help
get you started.  See if they will mail over seas to you!
   1) Dietary Specialties:( 1-88- 544-0099) P.O. box 227 Rochester, New
York 14601-0227 USA
   2) The Gluten Free Pantry: (1-860-633-3826) P.O. box 840  Glastonbury
,Conneticut USA 06033-0840
   3) Ener-G-Foods: (1-800-331-5222) P.O. box 84487 Seattle ,Washington
98124-5787 USA
   I hope this helps you.Your best bet is to start eliminating GF foods
slowly and start introducing new GF products slowly.  Start out with the
easy things first like a GF snack item from one of the catalogs and work
your way to GF breakfast foods and then GF breads.  That is where I
would begin.  These seem to be areas kids favor the most.

I try a lot of plain food.  Mostly baked or charbroiled stuff.  I know
its hard for a child not to eat cookies etc..  but there are
alternatives.

The whole celiac thing is overwhelming...at first, but you will find
that after a period of adjustment...for everyone...family, friends,
included, you will be able to "live around" your daughter's condition!
   Actually, she won't have to try "new" foods, but those that she now
enjoys will have to be made from different ingredients, and of course
there will be those that she eats now, that she won't ever have again.
She can still have M & M's, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and Jif peanut
butter!  Those 3 things helped my 8 year-old grandson make the
transition.
   Also...there are many! websites with wonderful recipes and shopping
ideas for cooking for someone with celiac. Please do begin to modify her
diet immediately, though!  The longer you wait, the more damage will be
done to her body!

Your daughter may already be eating some foods that may soon become the
staples of her diet:  rice, corn, beans, corn tortillas.  You don't have
to really focus on new foods as much as eliminating those
gluten-containing foods.  In many cases you can substitute rice based
breads and pastas for what she normally eats and since they look pretty
much the same she may not notice the difference too much.  My son lives
on macaroni and cheese (made with soy milk/cheese and rice pasta) and
loves corn tortillas and mexican food.
   If you haven't already discovered the series of cookbooks by Betty
Hagman called The Gluten Free Gourmet (and two other books with similar
titles by her) you should pick them up.  They have all kinds of recipes
for cookies, pancakes, breads and other foods that she is currently
eating but gluten free.  My personal favorite is her third book, the
Gluten Free Gourmet Cooks Light and Healthy.  If you can't find the
books where you are, check with www.amazon.com -- they are an online
bookstore with many cook books for celiacs.

My son was just over 3 years old when he went gf.  He was so desparately
ill that he had self-limited his diet to extremes, and associated eating
with pain.These tactics helped us, and I hope they might help you.  The
whole family went gf for the first six months.  We satisfied our gluten
cravings out in the world, but our kitchen and table were strictly gf.
I began serving one or two dinners a week that were entirely vegetables
presented in familiar and new ways.  This way, he was hungry and there
were many choices, some of which were familiar (baked potato) and
comforting.  For a new (to Henry) food, I cut up zucchini and yellow
squash into lovely thin strips and sauteed them gently in a little oil,
with sauteed onions finely cut, and a few bits of roasted bell peppers
added at the last.  It's quick, but looks festive and appealing.
   One of these meals might include 6 or 8 different vegetables.  After
a while, everyone was used to this routine, and, over time, Henry began
to venture out a bit and try new things for the fun of it.  This was a
big change.  I have to admit, that in the beginning I used peanut M&Ms
as an emotional bridge back to food.  I was ill-educated, and didn't
even check out their gluten status (still haven't, to tell the truth).
But he would eat them, they had some protein and fat so he was getting
calories, and he got to experience pleasure in eating.  This worked for
us because he absolutely would not eat, except for one rice cereal which
we learned later did have some gluten.  I began baking gluten-free corn
muffins and cakes for the family.  The corn muffins are a favorite, and
it's really important for me to have something special, hot from the
oven that just happens to be gf.  I adjusted the cookbook recipe by
using sweet white rice flour in place of the wheat flour.  No other
changes, except I find I need more grease in the muffin tins.  When we
all went gf, I tried to be subtle about it.  (not easy).  I didn't
announce it, but one day the choices had changed.  Over the years, our
family eating has changed percentage-wise to less and less gluten.
Outside the family, the other two kids eat more gluten.

They do not like the diet at first, and my child has a lot of food
selectivity problems.  However, I added a few things at once and relied
on stand by items that most kids like --GF spaghetti, mac-n-cheese GF,
frozen waffles (VANS), GF Pizza, etc.  You can even order cake and
cookie mixes through Miss Robens or the Gluten Free Pantry.

My daughter who is five is also a celiac.  She is a very picky eater, so
we try to eat fresh veggies and fruit with meals.  Her favorites are
oven baked fries, and watermelon she could live on them.  Be sure to
check all ingredients including your dairy products.
   Common places to find gluten are
soy sauce, yogurt ( dannon is gluten free, except for the sprinkles)
Distilled Vinegar ( Check your Salad Dressings ( Use red wine, white
   wine, balsamic or apple cider vinegar)
Rice Milks ( some have barley enzyme)
extracts ( It is in the alcohol, look for vanillin, or an alcohol free
   type)
Check all Vitamins and medication for gluten ( Poly- Vi - Sol, Sesame
street vitamins, Bugs Bunny Vitamins and Children's Motrin are all
gluten free)
   I have a web site designed for children if it would help you and it
has new recipes monthly.  It is called Club Celiac at
http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/Glade/2715 It has a list for
food and additives to avoid as well as Safe Foods.  If you do not like
the format for the children's, I have an adult themed page called The
Gluten Free Kitchen at http://home1.gte.net/lbshri

The following advice is in response to a question I asked Kathy about
how to keep sandwiches fresh for school lunches (you can't!):

 I have found the breads and carbohydrates to be very time-sensitive and
get stale quickly.  I buy ENER-G bread (another U.S.  Supplier), but
keep it frozen all the time.  With most breads, cookies, muffins, rolls,
etc.  I find that you must keep them frozen and defrost in microwave
carefully or toast to defrost.  Maybe you could slice it and wrap it
into individual packages for thawing.  None of Amy''s bread is ever out
of the freezer until she is ready to eat it.  The one exception is a day
trip --I make the sandwich that a.m.  (toasted) and place it into a bag
or foil for traveling.  Also, the GF pastas seem to bread down after 24
hours, so Amy will not touch them if they're not freshly boiled.  This
brings added trouble and expense since I've found leftovers go to waste.
I carefully control the amount I make for her each meal and supplement
with other food if she's still hungry.  The rice-based carbohydrates are
very different when they're left over.

Of course, my picky eater is my gf eater.  Many is the time I went out
of my way to make something gf, only to have him taste and reject it.
Eventually, I quit catering to him.  He had a few surprises.  For
example, I made a lovely meal, which his not-picky siblings devoured.
He was disappointed to learn that I had not made a gf variation for him.
I pointed out that he normally rejected those efforts, and that this
meal was something he would not eat anyway.  He decided to broaden his
horizons.  I think my not protecting him from disappointment was an
important step in the process.  Finally, I cleaned up his diet to the
extent of removing anything with the following nebulous ingredients:
spices, flavorings, natural flavorings, starch, vegetable protein.  I
think it was mostly the spices in the flavored chios.  They definitely
don't agree with me, and since he stopped eating them, he has become
much happier, more outgoing, less moody, more adventurous, and hungry!
He eats more, he eats meat, he eats more often, and he enjoys a broader
range of tastes and textures.  I think he was getting enough gluten to
bother his guts and his mood, and that it influenced his personality and
experience of life profoundly.

Now a few words from me, Stella. I'm still waiting to receive the
information pack from the NZ Coeliac Society though the secretary rang
up to assure me it was on the way.
   We have gone gf as a family for main meals, and lunch on weekends which
is quite time-consuming now that a quick sandwich is no longer an
option!
   I've tried adapting muffin recipes, and find that mini-muffin pans and
muffin-face pans are good. The muffins are small and come out easily. We
also have a butcher who makes gf sausages (a favourite food) and I found
a website that has gf bread making hints so at least the toast bread is
turning out fine.Unfortunately I can't remember exactly where I found
the hints, however "The Gluten Free Page" contains connections to lots
of other celiac sites, so happy searching at...
http://www.panix.com/~donwiss/
   I'm making recipes from a NZ book by George Dale: "More Daley Bread:
Hearty Wholemeal and Special Diet Loaves in Your Bread Machine" Pub 1998
by GP Publications, Wellington, New Zealand. I have no financial
interest in this book, just found that the five loaves (out of ten gf
recipes) I've made so far have tasted good. And I've also received
helpful information and recipes by writing to the companies who make gf
flours and bread-mixes in NZ.

Finally thanks to all who replied. It's a stressful time trying to adapt
to previously unheard of ingredients, not to mention tracking then down
in the first place, and having to deny a child so many of the foods I
once urged her to eat up! And although I've left out most of the
personal stories I received I did enjoy reading them. You have
definitely helped ease a difficult time. God Bless You All.
Stella.