GFCF Diet... anyone try HLC MindLinx Probiotic?

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I've had my 11 year son on a GFCF diet since April '11. He has Asperger's, HIGH anxiety, suffers from bouts of rage, and has IBS

This diet has helped him with his loose stools and rage, but lately he's been cheating on his diet. He'll be starting middle school in August and the idea of him at school with the kind of rage and bowel problems he's had this summer terrify me.

A few weeks ago my son actually broke his arm during one of his fits of rage. I'm rightfully concerned about his well-being and quite honestly the well-being of my family. I didn't catch him eating dairy yesterday, but I suspect he's been sneaking again as a few moments ago he tried to overturn the dining room table and then proceeded to throw his shoe at me from across the room.

Have any of you had any experience with HLC MindLinx? It claims to help the system with small amounts of gluten and casein and states it's specifically formulated with autism in mind. I'm new here so can't share a link, but if you do a search on HLC MindLinx, you can find it.

I don't want to fall for false promises, but if there is any truth to the claims of this product, I'd like to give it a try.

TIA,
~Wendy

no answers but I JUST started everyone on GF/DF diet, in hopes it helps his behaviors and attention. Have you noticed an improvement in those areas?

I am sorry your son is having issues and I hope others can chime in on the Q you had!

We did see improvements with behavior... but more so with stomach issues... or at least that was our initial conclusion I didn't initially appreciate the way dairy affected his behavior until we had him dairy free for a full year, then let him try it for a few days (as an experiment) at the end of May. We quickly realized that was a huge mistake. Now he's sneaking cheese. It would be cute if the consequences weren't so horrible.

He told me a year ago May that he felt clearer headed (less foggy brained) on the diet too. I've heard that from a lot of people, even off the spectrum. I've been tempted to try the diet myself, but it's so expensive. It would be great if we could just keep the gluten and dairy out of our home completely, but my husband isn't on board with that idea... not yet anyway. There's always hope I guess.

It can take weeks to see the results of removing gluten and dairy from the diet, so be patient! I hope it works for you.

~Wendy

I would suggest that you take another run at getting your husband on board and all of you sticking to the same diet. I could easily see how he might think it is REALLY unfair that he can't have something and you and your husband can. Plus, it would reduce the chances for him to "cheat" if there aren't any unacceptable choices in the house. Obviously you can't be with him 24/7 but I think if he is struggling so much with sticking to the diet you would be showing him a lot of support if you were all in it together.

Oh, I wish it were that easy! lol I'm married to a very stubborn man. Maybe someday.

I think this fall with "J" in middle school will prove difficult as well. I work at the school he'll be attending and see all the food the school brings in for various occasions... even treat bags for testing/finals and rewards. It's going to be a long year and I'll have to be on top of things in a big way.

Just returned home from the market where I spent $80 on ingredients for recipes I found in a gluten/free casein/free cookbook. Ouch!

~Wendy

I worry that you may be forgetting about all the things that happen outside of the GFCF box. It isn't like G or C caused your son rages; most likely, they made him feel like crap, and because he felt like crap the little things in life got to him faster than they otherwise might have. But the key to the rages probably actually rests in those other things.

- He will be starting a new school. Super scary; ASD kids don't handle change well.
- He is entering puberty. Oh we'll all @ahem@ love what those raging hormones do to our kids.
- He is forced onto a special diet that makes him different not only from other kids, but also from his own family.
- Summer vacation takes him out of the routine he has gotten used to.

Sure, the intangibles are difficult and, well, intangible, but they must get dealt with.

The diet is only going to work (to the extent it can) at his age if he buys into it. My son can't be forced into much of anything successfully, but he is very logical and he can be convinced. Sell your son on it, on how it makes him feel and how it helps him cope. Encourage him to share his frustrations about the diet and everything else, and encourage him to work with you on brainstorming solutions. One thing he probably very much needs right now is a sense of empowerment and control.

We had a nutritionist come to the house yesterday, she explained in a fun way about foods, Red light, Yellow light and Green light foods, and he got a poster with them on it. He has been very interested in making sure we are eating maily green light and some yellow light foods, and avioding red light foods that he LOVES. He is telling ME that he cant eat certain things casue its a red light food!

My son has been extermely cooperative with the foods today, and has been completely gluten and dairy free all day. The evening he was in a great mood, cooperative and not whiny or complaining. Could be a placebo effect, ot just a good evening, I dont know. Will see how tomorrow goes