<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> 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