GFCF

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
GFCF
5
Sun, 12-25-2005 - 5:16pm

Anyone doing the GFCF diet?

I plan on starting it in Jan. My son was tested last year and he came up positive for Casein and eggs. WE weren't very strict and eliminating eggs is really hard. He is on soy milk, but we still give him ice cream, etc. I called this week to get him in again. They never tested for wheat/gluten last year. So---I have a feeling it will come up positive and we will be doing a very strict diet.

Anyone with success with ASD symptoms on this diet? How about language skills?

Holly
Jacob--5y
bipolar
HFA
anxiety

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
In reply to: hollym4k
Mon, 12-26-2005 - 10:05pm
Nobody does the gluten-free/casein-free diets????????
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-19-2005
In reply to: hollym4k
Tue, 12-27-2005 - 3:23am

Hi Holly,

With the holidays, it's been hard to keep up online. I do GFCF diet and so do a few others here. We all have our own variations. Some are on SCD diet, others on the Feingold. We also do various supplements too.

I promise tomorrow I will write a longer post, just wanted you to know you are not forgotten. In the meantime, you can look back at the older posts here to see some information.

Briefly, though, my son became less "spacey" on the diet. He is especially sensitive to wheat. We saw improvements to his responsiveness after one week of going no-dairy. I did not see any effect on language, but Eric was already fairly verbal when we started. However, it helped with him answering when you talk to him instead of sometimes spacing out. Also, after about two months gluten free, I could tell he was happier. I think his tummy felt better, so he was happier.

Look back to the old posts and I'll try to re-post some info tomorrow.

Katherine

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
In reply to: hollym4k
Tue, 12-27-2005 - 8:19am

hi there, btdt, no longer do it.

spent alot of money on testing for peptides of casein and gluten. the problem is that you can eliminate those things from the diet and it works great for awhile, but then the progress stops. so then you take out soy, and corn, and rice, and the poor child is left with nothing. and can't eat normally when around other kids. and you are spending your whole life going to the natural food stores and cooking a certain way. forget going out to eat. then they have to eat differently around other kids, which doesn't exactly help in the social department. so on and so forth.

sorry to sound negative. i did try it a little over a year ago and it made us all miserable. many people have found it to be worthwhile. i did not for the little bit of progress we saw. i have used digestive enzymes instead to help compensate for the possible peptide issues. i try to serve organic and healthy when i can. i use omegas, probiotics, enzymes, vitamin c.

in the area where i live, there are a number of die hard parents who stick to this diet and swear by it. on the board, there seem to be very few.

valerie

~Valerie
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-19-2005
In reply to: hollym4k
Tue, 12-27-2005 - 10:57am

Hi again Holly,

I looked back to an older thread of messages and I think you will find a lot of good information if you do this:

Go to the section of the board called "Question of the week" then at the very bottom click "more." You should see a thread called, "dairy free, gluten free, worth a try?" and there are many varied responses there.

I think GFCF is something almost every ASD parent considers or tries at one time or another. But is very individual with each child.

We have worked with a nutritionist and settled into a less-strict version of GFCF. No casein, no wheat, but some oats. Soy is ok too. Go organic when we can, try to cut down on stuff with preservatives etc. We do more with supplements now and are currently starting out on the BrainChild Nutritionals "Spectrum Support" II. We also try to add omegas, both through food and supplements. We are experimenting with enzymes too, and my one day do just that, but we are still testing the waters. Like Valeris said, they are easier in many ways.

Read the thread I mentioned above and come back with any questions you may have! I'd be happy to share more.

Katherine

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
In reply to: hollym4k
Tue, 12-27-2005 - 1:51pm

Thanks!!! I will check that thread out!!

Holly