Diet and disabilities

[tinkerbelletreasure]

Has anyone ever been told that they should take thier children off any food or add or add foods because of their disability? My 2.5 year old son is barely talking, avoid eye contact and has other sensory issues. He's been seeing an OT since right before Christmas. His older sister has SID and he's been evaluated for Autisism and Aspergers with no difinitive conclusion. He has made tremendous progress just from his dozen or so visits with the OT.I used to job coach people with disibilies, and I also spend some time working for a company in a hospital helping people get signed up for SSI, so I am somewhat knowledgable on disabilities and I don't get hung up on the labels and stigmas the way my husband does.
Unfortunatly because of our work schedules, he usually ends up getting to be the one home during the therapy visits and I have only managed to make a couple.
All of that to say, one the first visit the therapist told us we should take our son off dairy because ti has a "traquilizing effect" on some kids. She also recommended giving him grape seed extract or something like that. Dh was very dismissive and thought she was a quack. I have been trying to reduce the amount fo dairy he gets, but he still prefers milk to any other beverage, and my husband is against cutting it out altogether. My question is, has anyone else been told this for a sensory child, and did it make a big difference?

 

[kirstenb1]

Within the ASD community, there's a lot of debate about going gluten-free, and casein (dairy) free. When our younger dd was 2 and receiving PT and ST through Early Intervention, I decided to take her off of dairy. I didn't tell anyone other than dh and her older sister.

The following week, the speech therapist remarked how attentive Zoe was, and how much more willing she was to follow directions. I told her we'd taken Zoe off of dairy. The ST's middle daughter had SID, and she had tried different food removals as well.

If we're all eating pizza, Zoe definitely gets her share. But I have her drinking soy milk, and try to very much limit her dairy.

In the reading I've done about food trials, they seem to help children most dramatically when the child has digestive issues. Some ASD kids have a lot of diarrhea, and the theory goes that dairy and wheat are like drugs that they crave. Dairy and wheat make them sick, but they're addicted. I'm over-simplifying, but that's the gist.

Zoe has no gut issues. But dairy makes dh very sick, so that's what got me thinking about removing it.

Other than the hassle factor, I can't really think of a downside to going dairy and gluten free. Give it a try for a few weeks. You should see a change by then, and if no change, you have your answer.

 

[deerhart]

a lot of parents with kids who have an ASD or ADHD will try special diets. This stems from the idea that the behaviors being exhibited can also be caused to allergies to things like dairy, food dyes (feingold diet), glutten, etc..

Statistically, about 5-7% of children who attempt the diets find that the behaviors are truly an allergy versus the actual condition. Some do find that there is some allergy, but the behaviors just lesson not disappear.

We kept pretty much both our boys off a lot of the foods with yellow #5 in it (which is in lots of red products) because I have a food dye sensitivity (which was also a sign of my sulfate allergy *sigh*) for most of the first 3-4 years of their lives. It made no difference in their behaviors and we don't believe that any food plays a part in either of their diagnosis. We just don't see any major changes after eating certain foods with them (unless its pure sugar and then my youngest bounces like crazy hehe)

If you do do a special diet, be prepared to radically change both your eating and buying habits for the next 4-6 months.

 

[tinkerbelletreasure]

I don't think we could do gluten free unless it became necessary like with a Celiac Disease diagnosis. I really don't think he has a food allergy. My stepdaughter was lactose intolerant when she was younger, so she never had a lot of dairy and she still had delays and issues. My son is so attached to milk, I can't imagine making him give it up. We also usually use whole milk and I can't imagine that soy milk would have the same consisteny, so I am not sure he would drink it as well.

 

[Brightsy]

We tried putting our son (8 with autism) on a dairy free diet. It worked for a short time, meaning we were able to get my son to drink Soy... it didn't last. One day he told us he was "llergic to soy" and he won't touch it now. He was off dairy for almost a month. It didn't seem to affect him either way. So, we put milk back in our lives.

 

[LindaBabe]

Please read the Kid Friendly ADHD-Autism Cookbook by Compart. It made a heck of a lot of sense!

I picked it up in the book store the other day because after 1 year on a carb restricted diet which has severely limited the amount of wheat and milk products we consume, we have noticed a marked improvement in attention and mood for both my husband and myself. I have diagnosed ADD and my husband has many indicators of Aspregers although never diagnosed.

Changing one's diet is an inexpensive thing to try - so if you ask me it's worth trying. At the very least, you'd be improving the family nutrition.

 

[dzorn]

Within the ASD community, there's a lot of debate about going gluten-free, and casein (dairy) free. When our younger dd was 2 and receiving PT and ST through Early Intervention, I decided to take her off of dairy. I didn't tell anyone other than dh and her older sister.

The following week, the speech therapist remarked how attentive Zoe was, and how much more willing she was to follow directions. I told her we'd taken Zoe off of dairy. The ST's middle daughter had SID, and she had tried different food removals as well.

If we're all eating pizza, Zoe definitely gets her share. But I have her drinking soy milk, and try to very much limit her dairy.

In the reading I've done about food trials, they seem to help children most dramatically when the child has digestive issues. Some ASD kids have a lot of diarrhea, and the theory goes that dairy and wheat are like drugs that they crave. Dairy and wheat make them sick, but they're addicted. I'm over-simplifying, but that's the gist.

Zoe has no gut issues. But dairy makes dh very sick, so that's what got me thinking about removing it.

Other than the hassle factor, I can't really think of a downside to going dairy and gluten free. Give it a try for a few weeks. You should see a change by then, and if no change, you have your answer.

Gluten takes at least 6 months to leave the system. DD is gluten free has been for about 5+ years. Often behavior may be worse when you take them off because they are going through withdrawl. Good luck with your decision. It is not an easy diet to stick with especially with a special needs child that has texture issues and very regimented(sp?)

Denise in MI

 

[1stluvispooh]

I don't think we could do gluten free unless it became necessary like with a Celiac Disease diagnosis. I really don't think he has a food allergy. My stepdaughter was lactose intolerant when she was younger, so she never had a lot of dairy and she still had delays and issues. My son is so attached to milk, I can't imagine making him give it up. We also usually use whole milk and I can't imagine that soy milk would have the same consisteny, so I am not sure he would drink it as well.

My DD who is HFA was as you would say "attached" to milk. Like I couldn't go anywhere without having a 20 oz thermos full of chocolate milk in case she ran out. But I did take her off milk when I read about the gluten free / casein free diet for Autism. Was it easy?? NO In fact I called my DH and left him a message of her screaming because she wanted yogurt. But that first day she was without DH came up behind me after dinner and said "Is it just me or can you tell a difference?" It was the single thing we have done for our DH that has made the biggest impact! She is now 9 and has been GF/CF for over 5 years. Just so you know she drinks Rice milk. There are other alternatives than just soy.

 

[persimmondeb]

I've never been entirely convinced. I've asked DS14 (Aspergers) if he wanted to give it a try and he was horrified by the idea. He does avoid blue food dye since it seems to be a migraine trigger for him. He does not seem to have any digestive issues.

Some of my skepticism stems from a neighbor who swore by the GFCF diet, despite the fact that she was not administering it strictly (partly out of lack of knowledge of what foods contain casein/gluten and partly out of economic necessity, I think). I saw her children eating both commercial chicken nuggets and milk chocolate, not to mention a buttery pasta dish I had made for a party. DS also reports that other children at his school who are on the diet "cheat".

I am never really comfortable with the idea of highly restrictive diets, particularily for growing children without demonstrable digestive issues. I've also never had a doctor recommend it to me, and I have had doctors recommend non-traditional strategies of various kinds (dietary supplements, mostly).