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Hi Listies!
The question I posted was is there need/proof of going gf for aspergers as
well as autisics? The responses were OVERWHELMING and all in favor of going
on both a gf diet as well as a lactose free diet. Although these foods may
be craved, once the child is off them, their symptoms dramatically improve,
if not disappear.
The following are a few of the testimonials:
I discovered that I have had Asperger's since I was a child. The only
thing that works is extremely strict adherence to a gluten-free and
casein-free diet. If I ingest any gluten or dairy the old symptoms
return. Both foods give the same reaction. Some professionals also say
not to ingest apples or grapes or their juices, and others say no fruit
at all. Through food challenges I have found that no fruit is best. I
also decided to cut out everything in the grain family as a test and was
amazed at the terrific results.
The best website is gfcfdiet.com. It will link you to the websites you
need and to research papers. Before you go to the links, it's worthwhile
reading the success stories parents have posted on the website. Results
for Asperger are similar and the diet is the same. This website also
recommends following the book "Eat Right 4 Your Type" by Dr. D'Adamo
which I do. Dr. D'Adamo was president of the Holistic Medical
Association. He tested various foods against blood samples and come up
with 3 categories of food for each blood type - beneficial, neutral and
avoid. Gluten and casein are both avoids for those with blood types A
and O. He is also right on the button with his other avoids. The
beneficial and neutral foods have to be tested individually to see if
currently allergic. Some allergies will go away with time so they can be
re-introduced every 6 months or so. It takes about 8 months for gluten
to get out of one's system; much less time for casein. Please be careful
to have the cafeteria read the labels on tuna since most contain casein.
*****
Good sources on going gluten-free
1. CDF , www.celiac.org
www.celiac.com
www.gfcf.com (autism org)
*****
I am a celiac and also work with autistic children (in home ABA therapy). I
have worked with numerous kids on the diet. I have found that the only
kids who improve are the ones who have blood work that indicate a need for
the diet. But if you want some support for it, look at gfcfdiet.com- this
is a site specifically for parents with kids on the diet to improve autism.
I'm sure there is research sited there as well references to other
locations. I have also heard about research studies in the Chicago and
Colorado areas that support my above comment. These studies looked at the
combination of Secretin and gf/cf diet and found that the kids with improved
language/ behavior were the ones with blood work supporting it. The ones
with negative blood tests showed no improvement.
There is new research out of California that highly suggests the possibility
of a decreased level of certain proteins at birth results in the development
of autism or MR (or both). EVERY child with these levels developed one/both
condition while NO child without these decreased levels developed either
condition. Pretty convincing results. Also, there are new studies showing
that the symptoms of mercury poisoning are exactly the same as the symptoms
of autism. As you probably have heard, the levels of mercury in the
combination of all vaccines is the equivalent of mercury poisoning levels.
(they no longer put mercury in vaccines). The combination of these two
studies strongly suggests that the decreased proteins makes children
susceptible to the conditions and the mercury poisoning makes the conditions
develop. It will be interesting to see if over the next few years there is
a decrease in autism rates. That could help support the above theory.
However, if the rates do not decrease we will know that there is something
wrong with the theory and will be able to go about finding another cause.
Feel free to e-mail me if you have any more questions/comments, this topic
is very interesting to me because of my work.
Theresa Huss
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
********
There is a lot of support for this diet by parents, but it is ancedotal,
i.e., not scienfically double blind studied, which isn't accurate anyway for
auties because all of these kiddos are so different. There are urine tests
that you can run to see if your child is excreting dairy or gluten peptides,
but there are accounts of kids who don't have these undigested proteins
present that still benefited from the diet. Visit www.gfcfdiet.com which is
a site developed by parents of autistic kids following the dairy free and
gluten free diet (gluten free casein free). There is a section on the types
of tests you can have run. There are related articles too. The true test
is trying the diet to see if you notice behavioral or attentive type changes
and you have to be gfcf without hidden sources.
My son is age 10 (PDD/NOS) and on the gfcf diet. We removed dairy at age 4
& saw increased attention span, alertness, & increased language as well as
elimination of the constant ear infections. At age 8, we removed the gluten
and noticed cognitive type changes when we weren't doing anything different
in therapies or vitamins or anything. Many kids benefit also from the vit
B-6 and Magnesium supplementation. Our son showed great language spurts
with this at age 4.5.
The website has the link to join a listserv of over 1500 members that have
kids on the gfcf diet and can answer questions too. Parents of autistic,
PDD/NOS, and Aspergers are on this list and claim the benefits they & other
personnel (teachers, therapists, etc.) have seen. But, the diet does not
help everyone, just as no one therapy helps all autistic spectrum kids. It
is certainly a non-invasive intervention to try compared to playing
medication roulette.
*****
I am not sure where you are located, but in the Seattle area, there is a
group that seems to fully recommend autistic children go on the GF diet.
I am sorry that I do not know the name of a person to contact directly,
but perhaps someone at the Gluten Intolerance Group office might help
you.
Contact Gluten Intolerance Group (GIG) in Seattle, WA for information.
Gluten Intolerance Group
15110 10th Ave SW, Suite A
Seattle, WA 98166-1820
Telephone: 206-246-6652
Fax: 206-246-6531
Website: www.gluten.net
Email: [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]
Executive Director: Cynthia Kupper, C.R.D.(Certified Registered Dietitian)
(and she has Celiac Disease) is very willing to work with anyone that calls.
Cynthia also has credentials as a former C.D.E. (Certified Diabetes
Educator).
*****
What I've collected I have on this page. Especially see the Reichelt page.
Autistic Spectrum and Diet: http://www.PaleoDiet.com/autism/
*****
gfcf information
http://www.gfcfdiet.com - instructions for starting the diet, survey and
graph of results, acceptable food list that is updated weekly (of course
always read labels yourself and call manufacturer to verify) message board
gfcf support email lists
http://www.egroups.com/group/GFCFKids 1300+members
http://www.egroups.com/group/autism-diet 104 members
http://www.egroups.com/group/autism-fbi 213 members
gfcf recipes email list
http://www.egroups.com/group/GFCFrecipes
also use celiac lists and resources, but use milk substitutes
This is a 1978 study and it is sad that not much more is known today. This
type of study would be considered in human if attempted today.
J Autism Child Schizophr 1978 Sep;8(3):325-37
Disruptive behavior: a dietary approach.
O'Banion D, Armstrong B, Cummings RA, Stange J
The effect of particular foods on levels of hyperactivity, uncontrolled
laughter, and disruptive behaviors was studied in an 8-year-old autistic
boy. The floor of the child's room was taped off into six equal-sized
rectangles to measure general activity level. Frequency data were recorded
on screaming, biting, scratching, and object throwing. A time-sample
technique was used to record data on laughing. Data were gathered during
four phases. During an initial 4-day period the child was fed a normal
American diet. A 6-day fasting period followed, during which time only
spring water was allowed. The third phase lasted 18 days and involved the
presentation of individual foods. During the final phase of the study the
child was given only foods that had not provoked a reaction in the third
phase. Results showed that foods such as wheat, corn, tomatoes, sugar,
mushrooms, and dairy products were instrumental in producing behavioral
disorders with this child.
*****
This site is excellent for the diet:
http://forums.delphi.com/celiac/messages
*****
Look at http://www.megson.com . This is the site of dr. megson, a leading
pediatrician and researcher in aspergers and autism(specificially relating
to GF, secretin, and omega 3 fatty acids). She is based out of richmond.
*****
I just thought I'd drop you a quick line to let you know that there is
a definate link between the Asperger's syndrome and the gluten
intolerance. Actually from most of the info I have gathered it is a
casien/ gluten intolerance that affects people with Autism or
Asperger's Syndrome. My seven year old son was diagnosed with
Asperger's Syndrome last March. He had quite an extensive list of
diagnosis' before this diagnosis in March. He has always been a sickly
child, so when he received this official diagnosis in March I did as
much researching as I could on this syndrome to see if there were any
connections to his health status. I was very surprised to read that
about 87% of people with Asperger's or Autism have a gluten/casein
intolerence. I found a natural path physician who did sensitivity
testing on my son. I was very surprised at his list of allergens. !
nbsp;They included bananas, cheese, cow's milk, goat's milk, almonds,
peanuts, soy, sesame, eggs, and wheat. He has been on an elimination
diet since his diagnosis. You would not believe the difference in his
behavior. He is much calmer! The biggest difference has been in his
sleep patterns. He no longer has night sweats or night terrors. He
used to have one or two per night. He has also stopped grinding his
teeth, bed wetting, and sleep walking. I always know if he has eaten
one of his allergens during the day (sometimes he tries to sneak them,)
because he'll have a bad night of sleep with one or all of the above
described conditions. Any of the autism websites will link you to info
about gluten intolerence. I'll have to look up some of the links that I
have and send them to you. By the way, my son was given an antigliadin
antibody test to see if he ha! d celiac disease and the results were negative.
He just has a very strong sensitivity to wheat. Sorry for babbling about my
child, but this is the first posting to the list that I have seen regarding
this topic since he was diagnosed, and I just had to share it with someone!
Thanks for listening! Good luck gathering info.
*****
I believe the Feingold Association has done research or tracks research in
this area. Their website is www.feingold.org
*****
www.gfcfdiet.com
This is the diet page...It has links to all kinds of other things.
There is a book by Lisa Lewis. It's available from g.f. foods mail order
places like Miss Robens and GlutenFree Pantry.
*****
Autism Network for Dietary
Intervention (ANDI)
P.O. Box 17711
Rochester, NY 14617-0711
609.737.8453 fax
http://members.aol.com/autismndi/
PAGES/index.htm
Cure Autism Now
5225 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 226
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323.549.0500
1-888-8AUTISM
email [log in to unmask]
www.canfoundation.org
Center for the Study of Autism
P.O. Box 4538
Salem, OR 97302
www.autism.org
Feingold Association of the U.S.
P.O. Box 6550
Alexandria, VA 22306
800.321.3287
www.feingold.org
National Attention Deficit Disorder Assn.
1788 Second Street, Suite 200
Highland Park, IL 60035
847.432.2332
www.add.org
ANDI specifically addresses dietary intervention in autism and other
behavioral and learning disorders, as does the Feingold Diet. Feingold
actually goes further to recommend removal of artificial flavors and
colors. At any rate, there's plenty of good reading, resources and
links at all of these sites, and you should be able to get a fairly
balanced view of the pros and cons of dietary intervention. If you
really need support for the view that a GF diet is helpful, Lisa Lewis
at ANDI is your best bet though, as is her very compelling personal case
study called, " An Experimental Intervention For Autism: Understanding
and Implementing a Gluten & Casein Free Diet,"(c) 1994, 1997. which you
can read at http://members.aol.com/lisas156/gfpak.htm . She also has a
book called "Special Diets for Special Kids."
*****
Here is a link to a wonderful article written by Lisa Lewis, a researcher on
the forefront of treating autism with a gluten-free/casein-free diet:
http://www.princeton.edu/~serge/ll/gfpak.html
*****
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