Asperger’s Syndrome – Can A Gluten-free Diet Benefit My Child?

A gluten-free, casein free diet is recommended for Asperger’s
Syndrome children and adults
Often parents feel rather overwhelmed with such a restrictive
diet, and only opt to embrace it as a last resort The results
produced by the diet varies markedly – but the keyword here is
RESULT You can expect some result
Children with autistic spectrum disorders usually have
gastointestinal problems as well, such as reflux, constipation,
diarrhoea, vomiting and hiccups It is known that the proteins
found in wheat, rye, oats, barley and dairy products (gluten and
casein) aren’t completely broken down in children with Autistic
Spectrum Disorders These undigested proteins can leak into the
bloodstream, potentially interfering with neurological processes
by having an opiate-like effect upon their systems
It’s suggested that these undigested proteins (peptides) can
reach toxic levels, with the Asperger child seeming to “crave”
milk and wheat products Symptoms of gluten/casein intolerance
include red cheeks and ears, dry skin, runny nose, headaches,
hyperactivity, tantrums and malformed bowel movements Does this
sound familiar?
So what results can the diet produce? Parents report a variety
of outcomes, including – improved sleep patterns, improved
speech and communication, improved focus or attention span,
improved social skills, improved personal hygiene habits,
improved fine motor skills, improved intestinal function,
increase in affection shown, reduction of tantrums and
irritability
So a gluten-free, casein-free diet is definitely worth
considering for your Asperger child You don’t have to feel
overwhelmed by the restrictive nature of the diet I suggest
simply starting slowly and eliminating one group (either gluten
or casein) at a time Once you’re comfortable without wheat or
dairy products, then you can tackle the next element If you see
a desirable result from eliminating one component, you may
decide not to go any further
For our family simply substituting gluten-free flour in all
recipes I used was a simple but highly effective action I’m a
home-baker, so in any cakes, biscuits, slices and desserts I
just substituted gluten-free flour in my usual recipes I didn’t
add any extras like Xantham gum, and didn’t have any failures
Finding an alternative to bread was our biggest obstacle The
gluten-free varieties just weren’t the same, so instead we
excluded bread altogether The gluten-free pastas on the market
are excellent, but do tend to cook slightly quicker
I suggest you email all the major distributors of snack foods,
such as muesli bars and fruit slices and ask for a list of their
gluten-free products This helps with easy identification at the
store
Eating out is difficult at first, but if you mention you’re
gluten-free most restaurant or cafe chefs will gladly prepare
something gluten-free (Of course, this rules out the fast food
chains who aren’t so obliging!)
For our family the diet finally eliminated all our son’s known
trigger foods such as peanut butter, chocolate and caffeine in
sodas We stayed on the diet strictly for 10 months before
gradually reintroducing gluten We have seen no return of the
eliminated characteristics in our son (all of those mentioned
above) We have continued to use gluten-free pasta and flour in
our cooking
I believe that the gluten-free diet had a detoxifying effect not
only on our Asperger Syndrome child, but on all of us, and the
benefits have been obvious So be adventurous and try a gluten-
free/casein-free diet for your Asperger childyou may be
nicely surprised!
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Tags | casein, diarrhoea, diet, disorders, hiccups, nature, opiate, patterns, personal, processes, products, restrictive, spectrum, tantrums