>Just joined the list ... read Carolyn Saltiel's post with great interest
>as my 3 year old daughter is "developmentally delayed"/"autistic"
>depending on which specialist you talk to.  I'm just starting her on a
>milk free/gluten free diet and anxiously awaiting positive results.  I'm
>almost too afraid to hope for any positive changes as it seems almost
>too good to be true.

Keep this in mind!  When we first got started on alternative therapies,
Pamela was 4.  The first thing we tried was DMG--nothing.  Then,
B-6--nothing.  Then the rotation diet--our first breakthrough.  (We
determined that apples caused night sweats, lack of sleep, teeth grinding,
nausea and thrashing in sleep--these symptoms only returned when she ate
apples.)  The moral of the story is that each autistic child has a unique
biochemistry and what works for some does not work for others.  As a matter
of fact, we tried B-6 again at age 7 and we saw a huge jump in gross motor
skills!

Also, it can take at least 28 weeks for all remnants of gluten to disappear
from the body (casein takes less time) according to what I've read.  So, you
need to give it some time.  In some cases, what you see does not happen over
night and it is sooooo gradual that it's easy to chalk it up to
maturation...until your child eats gluten/casein and all havoc breaks loose.
A friend sent an email yesterday that she wanted to test out her daughter to
see what would happen--her daughter ate one bite of pizza and the change in
behaviors was quite noticeable!!

>Any parents out there see their child "come out of their own little
>world" after starting them on a milk-free and/or gluten free diet?  (I'm
>hoping the same for my daughter).

Yes!  My last post summarized what I think I can attribute to diet.

>Or go from no talking to talking intelligibly?  How about taking away
>the "self stimming" (repetitive) body movements and fidgetiness or
>hyperactivity?

Pamela's articulation improved with AIT.  As far as I can tell, the no
talking to talking intelligibly was a slow process for us.  No talking--age
2; repeated unintelligible sounds--age 3; nouns--age 4; verbs and memorized
two-word phrases, not spontaneous, need oriented--age 5; prepositions,
adjectives, 3-5 words sentences, spontaneous, descriptive--age 6.  We
started the diet...can you guess?  At age 6!

I would strongly encourage you to teach your daughter to read.  You can do
this with non-verbal children (if they can point or respond in some way).
You would not believe how many people see a jump in language once a child
starts to read. For some reason, seeing words helps some autistic children
hear words better and they also see the structure of language.

>I'm hopeful this diet will give my daughter the motivation & ability to
>explore her surroundings rather than just wandering around aimlessly and
>flicking at objects...any success stories out there regarding these
>particulars?

Pamela was very passive and preferred vegging in front of the TV.  She
always had to have an object (little toy figures) in her hand.  She did like
to look at books, but that was the only "constructive" activity.  After the
diet, we began to see a lot of self-directed and pretend play.  She started
getting out paint, on her own initiative and painting.  She started spelling
words with Boggle cubes (for fun).  She started getting out and building
puzzles (and then saying "good job!" when finished <g>).  She started
describing what she was thinking or doing in very simple terms "Pamela is
boy.  Are you Mowgli?" as she's dressed in a swimsuit, climbing a tree with
stuffed animals!  She wanted Barbies for Christmas this year and we had
given up on dolls.  I was leery, but made sure to get her Barbies with an
animal theme (just in case).  But, Pamela does play with her Barbie!  I've
watched her dress Barbie in her scuba outfit, get water animals, put on a
swimsuit and get in the tub to swim with her Barbie and water creatures.
She also asked for a Choosy Baby All Gone (a doll that you feed) and I
thought "no way."  But, it's March and, at least, once a week, Pamela will
get out her doll, food and bottle and feed her doll on her own initiative.
We have done nothing to "teach" her how to play with dolls--we homeschool
and I'm busy enough just keeping up with the basics!!!!

>On the flip side, has anyone tried this diet for their child with
>behavioral problems and not had any improvements?

Some find that either the gluten or the casein is a problem, but not both.
A very small number (I know of one) was able to reintroduce gluten/casein a
year later with no change (this child is not receiving EPD shots).  Several
of us on the autism list have posted your question to the group at large and
very few people who have tried the diet see absolutely nothing.

>Thanks so much for everyone's input and help...
>Oh, one last note...it's quite interesting to me that I myself have
>celiac disease (gluten intolerance)...it seems that I apparently passed
>this on to my daughter...will know for sure when the blood tests come
>back..but I suspect this is so as she has lots of gas and has had hives
>(or could it be the related dermititis herpetiformus??)  Seems these are
>all related in one way or another...

If she comes back negative, still consider the diet.  Some of these children
come up negative for celiac disease and for food allergies (the strict
definition), but test positive for opiodes in the urine.  Now that the test
is not being done in the US (any change in that????), your choice is to
implement the diet and observe or to ship a sample off to Norway!!!!!!  :-)





>Until I hear from y'all (and thanks in advance!)...
>Teresa, Los Angeles, California.
>
Tammy G.

"A parent's love perceives no limitations."