Gluten-Free, Casein-Free, does it help?

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Tory, Callista does have a good point. One thing I forgot to add is that I don't neglect eating plenty of meat, though what I eat is lean. A five-year-old could probably make good use of more fatty meat though. Calcium would also be an issue without dairy. I get this from eating greens, such as collards, my personal favorite. I'm not sure what a child would need if you opt to try such a thing on him.

Two aspies producing a child? You've got me thinking that I've never even met another aspie face-to-face

We're now divorced. My ex's meltdowns were scary and he simply couldn't handle a child messing up his routine. Neither of us even knew we had AS. I just knew we were both clumsy dorks. I remember his uncle saying something weird to us once...something like that we must have gravitated to each other because of our conditions. That really struck me as an odd statement because I assumed I was fairly normal. I really have no self perception apparently. I still have to remind myself that I'm not coming across to others the way I think I am.

I've actually had my son on almond milk for 3 years now, I know that has calcium in it but he is also getting it from cheese and yogurt, which don't seem to affect him digestively the way regular cow's milk does. I'm partial to making sure he gets fat for brain development. I don't like all this stuff on TV about giving kids low-fat this and low-fat that. I think grains are what make us fat, not consuming fat.

Tory, I know what you mean about seeming normal to ourselves, though I was told every day when I was growing up how I "wasn't normal" by my parents.

I read something on grains and such. White people of Germanic and southern European origin tend to handle grains--and alcohol--better than Celts, who were herding people up until not too many centuries ago. Other Europeans though have been farming for as long as ten thousand years, and their genes have adapted to grain-based diets. This is why Germanics tend to develop heart problems when they get too much meat, and Celts tend to develop obesity and diabetes when they get too much grain. Of course, this isn't iron-clad, but I understand it is a pattern.

I went grain free a few months ago based on a nutritional recommendation from a Chiro as part of a general wellness plan. It changed my life within days. I felt less fatigued, slept better and my meltdowns/stress diminished tremendously. It was like an immediate calm washed over me - but hard to describe. My regular Doc then checked me for celiac, but I am negative - apparently it is just a really strong intolerance for glutin.

Had it not been for this, I wouldn't have pursued reading on Emotional Quotient - a concept my employer teaches in sales training class. Eye opening to say the least. A few months back, I took the EQ test and failed miserably - which led me to some reflection and self-discovery and eventually this site (been lurking for a while). I just had a neuropsychologist assessment/intake and have my day-long testing in a few weeks. I believe I am on the spectrum and will find out soon enough.

If it wasn't for removing wheat/gliadin out of my diet - my head wouldn't have been in the right place to even entertain this information much less take it seriously.

It isn't for everyone, but in my case - it was life altering. YMMV.

Oh, and hi everyone.

I really don't under the obsession with CF/GF diet for people on the spectrum. I am wheat free because of wheat intolerance. I can't understand why people would go GF when they have no need to.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Not sure about casein -free, but gluten free for sure has helped me beyond belief! I can still not believe how much better my life is.....I probably won't ever eat wheat again

Is there any evidence at all that gluten helps people on the spectrum? Although why you'd want to have such a restricted diet, which means you can't generally eat out (you can't have some salad dressings; so salad is generally off the menu) baffles me.

Stranger, while objective evidence is usually critically important for forming objective judgments, sometimes subjective evidence can be just as important, and this is one of those cases. More specifically, getting on gluten in particular, and a heavy carb diet in general, has done nothing but good things for me.

I must say I find dairy to be worse for me, which completely precludes salads for me, since the only salad dressings I like contain dairy (e.g., ranch and bleu cheese).

It is also the case that I generally cook my own food. When I do go out to eat, it is usually for a steak with vegetables, or stir fry, with no noodles or rice, at a Chinese restaurant.

Again, I can't say such a diet would be efficacious for all aspies, but it does work for me. Therefore, I would counsel any interested aspie to keep an open mind and give it a shot. I never thought I could stick to such a diet, but since I feel so much better, I have no problems staying on it.

According to http://researchautism.net/autism_treatments_therapies_intervention.ikml?ra=1 there's no evidence that a GF / CF free diet helps.

If it works for you, does it really matter what some study says?

I'm wheat intolerant and have been since I turned 18. That's different to putting your child on some really restricted diet for which there's no medical proof that it helps.

My situation is completely different - if I eat wheat, I get stomach cramps and chronic diarrhea.

My Autism (which I was diagnosed with at 23) has nothing to do with me being on a wheat free diet. A wheat free diet was recommended by a GP - that's different to putting your child on a diet based on what someone on the internet says and has no proof that it actually works.

An observant parent should be able to discern what kind of diet their child does best on. I'm not sure why you would disagree.

Because you're unnecessarily restricting the foods they eat? Have you seen the list of foods that contain gluten? Almost everything now contains gluten.

Taking wheat out of a child's diet is not a big deal nutritionally. There's no real nutritional value to wheat anyway. The only issue is whether the kid cooperates, but I know it's easier now than it used to be because of there being so many GF products now available. I don't think you know if it will improve their autism or aspergers until you at least try it. I know the wheat we have today has been hybrid to produce more gluten than wheat used to in the past and that may be the cause of the growing rate of gluten intolerance.
Personally, like I said, I'll probably try going off both myself first but I know I'd feel guilty if I don't give his nutritional intake the same amount of care.

Wheat is the second ingredient in Twizzlers (behind corn syrup) and in most, if not all, soups.

It is doable, but takes label reading and patience.

A gluten free diet is more expensive, but the diet as such is fine whether you need it or not.

Some advantages are:
1/ You have to do a lot more cooking yourself.
2/ It makes shopping take much longer as you have to read the labels.
3/ It saves you from eating most junk food, as they all tend to contain gluten (wheat is cheap)

The range of gluten free food is getting better all the time, and the quality is improving as well.