<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> I posted this on the autism list, thought perhaps some of you might find it interesting... Occasionally I post on my son Andrew's progress on the gluten/casein free diet which now he has been on for over one year. I thought this might be a good time to do this again, in light of some list members pooh-poohing the idea that this could possibly be of any value. When I started my son on the diet we were at the bottom of a down hill behavioral slide with no where else to turn. Andrew had been excluded from school for aggressive, uncontrollable behavior and I was with him the majority of the day, 1:1, just to keep him from hurting himself too badly. He was at a point that he could maintain some semblence of composure only in the security of his own room. He was 14 years old, 185 pounds at 5'8", a big boy who sometimes would go over the top of whoever was standing in his way. He had wide, wild mood swings, would become panicked easily and was generally very difficult to handle. I had stopped taking him out except when absolutely necessary for fear that he would get the urge to leave the car while it was rolling down the street, not to mention having to frequently sprint after him in parking lots, stores, etc. The school was recommending a hospitilization in a children's psychiatric ward. He was on Mellaril and had been on Prozac prior to the Mellaril. He was miserable, and I was in agony over not being able to find a way for him to lead a life with even a marginal quality of existence. We were pretty low, all alone, with no help in sight. I read about the diet here, on the list. Jean Jasinski...bless her kind and caring heart...sent me copies of Reichelt's 1991 article out of _Brain Dysfunction_, as well as urinary peptide testing info. Lisa Lewis sent me her personal archive of the previous discussions in 1993 of the diet and some notes of encouragement. I read this stuff, decided that it was worth a try, and went all out. The first thing that happened was my poor boy, already distressed, went into a ferocious withdrawal. We were 1:1 in his room for about a week. He tore himself up, tore me up and it was horrid. I'd read that this happened about half the time with Reichelts subjects so I was not surprised (only very haggard) and was actually heartened by the knowledge that I had probably hit on SOMETHING, There had to be some reason for a withdrawal that fierce, so Reichelts excess opioid theory became even more rational to me. After about a week he started to calm, down, down, down, he came. He slowly but surely became calm, cool, collected and such good company. Within the space of two months he was more level, more attentive, more social than I had seen him ever before. During all of this I utilized the due process procedures to put together an educational program that would benefit my boy. I developed a job for him, hired a job coach, and then had the hearing officer order the school to follow my program for him. (It was working after all) I picked a great teacher and a supportive school to move him to. Yesterday we had his summer IEP meeting. Everything is going along so well. This has been by far the best year ever for Andrew and his progress astounds even me. He has learned to swim laps in the pool, has started a new job recently (wrapping silverware at a local nursing home), can go anywhere in the community safely with an adult, patiently pushes the shopping cart for me in the store stopping when I ask, seeks out the company of both me and his sisters at home...in short, he's doing marvelous. He definitely is not CURED. He still has autism. He has tactile defensiveness (much less severe now), he remains functionally non-verbal (dramatic increase in appropriate non-verbal communication skills though), still gets anxious when routines are disturbed (although he is much less dependent on routine now), and he has a processing delay. The quality of his life has increased dramatically with the removal of the stress that the gluten/casein was putting on him though. He appears happy,even playful at times, he no longer aggresses towards others, he no longer tears his fingernails off or even picks at his fingers, he no longer has nocturnal feces smearing, he is no longer incontinent of urine during the day (a periodic problem before), and he no longer eats compulsively. He also has no need for any medications of any sort. The only thing he takes are gluten/casein free calcium/magnesium supplements, a B-6 supplement and a multivitamin. He is growing. He has lost 45 pounds. He is a tall, lean 140 lb, handsome young man. The quality of life for the whole family has taken a dramatic turn for the better. I was able to leave him with a respite provider for 11 whole days last month to go to Hawaii to get married. I was able to return to work last fall to pursue my career as an advocate for community supports for people with disabilities. My daughters can bring friends over and they're not terrified of what their brother may do. Most importantly, Andrew feels better than ever before. I finally found a way to help him. Our challenge now is different. Andrew is now 'available' to learn for now he can sit and attend. He doesn't know how though, he's never been able to before, so we are truly at the beginning. We've brought in some specialists on autism who are doing some extensive school observations and hopefully we can build some sort of learning protocol for Andrew. He's got so much potential now! Its a far cry from the looming spectre of the in-patient unit full of lost souls doing the Haldol-shuffle! This is Andrew's story. I realize that only a portion of children with autism will probably benefit from this diet for it would have to be part of their particular problem. Autism is so diverse in its etiology. My deepest regret is that I didn't find out ten years earlier and halted the inexorable damage done as opiates wreaked havoc in my beautiful son's brain. So I urge all of you to at least investigate this as a possibility for your own children. Chris Braffet Delnat, [log in to unmask]