Where to start with Aspie diet changes?

[2squared]

Dh is finally ready to walk down the path of getting our 7yo diagnosed which should be a good thing.

 

I think dh is ready to support diet changes too. So, where would you recommend we start? This will be really, really hard for us, and I am worried about my ability to be successful in overhauling his diet. My 7yo is so very, very picky already. Is the Fiengold diet a good starting place?

[KirstenH]

:lurk5:

[Critterfixer]

I'll be listening too. I'd like to get my hFA eating something other than grain-derived foods as the staple of his diet. He eats a lot of fruit, which is good, and no meat, and almost no veggies. I can get him to nibble at a carrot and the other day he snacked on baked potato skins shunning the actual potato. (I tried it myself the other night-he was right, it was quite good!)

 

What makes it hard is that he will gag and choke if it is something he just can't stand. And I get that, because I do it too. But I've recently taken the plunge and gone gluten-free out of desperation and I've been so pleased with the results. I don't think he is gluten intolerant, but later on he may get that way, and it would be better if he knew how to eat beyond his comfort zone.

[Crimson Wife]

I just came across a very interesting book the other day at the library called Dietary Interventions in Autism Spectrum Disorders by Kenneth Aitken. I haven't started reading it yet but it looks really good. The author goes through a number of different diets and discusses the scientific evidence for and against them. Might be worth seeing if you can get a copy through ILL.

[Misty]

Yes, basic Feingold is a good place to start.. But many don't see the *amazing* changes until gluten is removed. My 8yr old Aspie daughter was down to eating nothing but crackers and milk before we removed gluten and dairy. She severely self-limited her diet. She would puke and gag on anything else. And her behavior was a mess. And her OCD was severe and debilitating. She was constantly stimming and throwing tantrums.. It was truly a desperate situation, which is why we dove in to the diet changes when we did. It was VERY difficult at first.. We had a lot of tantrums and rages in the first week. My oldest daughter was also in a tizzy over it. But it was the best thing we EVER did and I would do it again in a heartbeat.. We have pretty much ZERO behavior issues today and my kids are off all meds and we do not deal with OCD barely at all anymore.. Though much of the autistic traits are definitely still there (social issues, black & white thinking, literal interpretations, obsessive interests, awkwardness, repetitive movements, learning issues, immaturity).. But honestly.. When I really fine tune diet to NO starches, NO sugars, No soy, and NO dairy (we are ALWAYS 100% gluten free).. Then we really don't see too much of those either.. But it's really difficult to get to that point. Progress, not perfection.. right?

 

I would start with removing dyes, preservatives, refined sugar, etc.. And then move on to dairy free.. Then to gluten free.. We also had to remove soy for my 8yr old. After we removed soy, the aggression, dark circles under her eyes, stimming, and bedwetting went away completely. We also did IgG food allergy testing to confirm these food sensitivities.. gluten, dairy, and soy all came up as highly sensitive for her. My other kids tested sensitive to gluten and dairy only. They do fine with soy (though we still limit it as I believe it is very unhealthy).

 

My son was started on dietary interventions very early and he is my only child not on the spectrum today.. though he was diagnosed on the spectrum at age 2 by a child psychologist.. That label was later removed after dietary interventions had been in place for over a year. My daughters still test on the spectrum, but they have improved more than I ever dreamed possible.

 

Dietary changes will not help all cases of autism/Asperger's. But many kids do benefit from it.

 

You might want to join a support group to learn more about diet changes.. One I really like is http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/GFCFKids/ .

 

Books I like are.. The Autism & ADHD Diet by Barrie Silberberg.. And The Kid-Friendly ADHD & Autism Cookbook

Edited December 31, 2011 by Misty

[Dandelion]

I agree with Misty's recommendations above on where to start.

 

We also did the IgG blood testing for food sensitivities with DS8 and he's been off of his reactive foods (wheat/gluten, dairy/casein, eggs, soy, peanuts, almonds, and a few other more obscure foods), all artificial colors/flavors/preservatives, as well as HFCS and MSG for 1.5 years now. It's made a world of difference for him (many behavioral as well as physical issues have been resolved as a result of diet and supplements).

 

The book I've found most helpful in this process is "Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies: The Groundbreaking Program for the 4-A Disorders" by Kenneth Bock. http://www.amazon.com/Healing-New-Childhood-Epidemics-Groundbreaking/dp/0345494512

[AmyinMD]

My son has ASD and not Aspergers but GFCF did not show any noticeable improvement in him. He slept slightly better while on it but it wasn't enough change for us to stick with it long term. We also tried Specific Carbohydrate Diet and didn't see much change.

 

The only dietary intervention we really saw a big difference on immediately was removing fruit juice. Ds has been off of it for about 3 months now and the rare occasion he does get some causes him to stim like crazy (for him that means jumping repeatedly). We're working with a certified nutrition counselor and it has been the best money we've spent on anything since ds was diagnosed.

 

We did IgG allergy testing and my son only showed slight reaction to a handful of foods. He didn't show a strong reaction to anything. Having that done might be a good place to start. My son did react to all citrus which might be why taking out juice has helped him a lot.

[Misty]

We did IgG allergy testing and my son only showed slight reaction to a handful of foods. He didn't show a strong reaction to anything. Having that done might be a good place to start. My son did react to all citrus which might be why taking out juice has helped him a lot.

 

This is very interesting, Amy, and really is very evident that each ASD kid is unique in every way.. What sort of fruit juices set him off? I wonder if he has a PST (phenol sulfur transferase) defect? http://www.allnaturaladvantage.com.au/Phenol%20Sensitivity.htm

Edited December 31, 2011 by Misty

[Tiramisu]

This is very interesting, Amy, and really is very evident that ASD kids are so unique in every way.. What sort of fruit juices set him off? I wonder if he has a PST (phenol sulfur transferase) defect? http://www.allnaturaladvantage.com.au/Phenol%20Sensitivity.htm

 

Misty, this information is really interesting, especially the part about problems with p5p. I seem fine with B6 but had a weird reaction to p5p. Within an hour of taking it, I had to lie down and couldn't get up for hours. It was at the start of a virus going through the family so I wasn't sure if it was that or the p5p, but I'm almost afraid to try it again. I wish they were specific about what kind of reactions people with this problem can have with p5p. Please share if you have any more information. Your posts are always very helpful.

[Misty]

Misty, this information is really interesting, especially the part about problems with p5p. I seem fine with B6 but had a weird reaction to p5p. Within an hour of taking it, I had to lie down and couldn't get up for hours. It was at the start of a virus going through the family so I wasn't sure if it was that or the p5p, but I'm almost afraid to try it again. I wish they were specific about what kind of reactions people with this problem can have with p5p. Please share if you have any more information. Your posts are always very helpful.

 

I wonder if your P5P has magnesium in it? Ours does.. I don't know a lot about this issue. I don't think any of my kids have an issue with phenols that I have noticed. But I do hear it is a very common problem and frequently discussed on the GFCFKids yahoo group that I mentioned in my above post.

 

The digestive enzyme that we use contains Xylanase, which takes care of phenols from certain fruits and vegetables. http://www.houston-enzymes.com/store/product.php?c=1&p=4 . It's broad spectrum so it also takes care of casein, gluten, soy, and lactose.. I keep it in my purse for when we have to eat out.. Just in case of cross contamination of gluten or if we get something with butter or a soy ingredient, etc.

[sbgrace]

Some spectrum kids will respond to removing gluten and casein. Others won't be helped. It wasn't the issue for my son. I will say that Feingold and gfcf (gluten and casein free) together doesn't leave enough foods for a healthy diet in my opinion. Feingold can help with hyperactivity. I see it more often for ADHD kids for that reason.

 

My actual recommendation is try enzymes first. Houston's Enzymes linked in a post above have enzymes to deal with gluten and casein (gfcf) as well as the phenol stuff (the feingold). It's not a replacement for diet but I would expect a child who is going to benefit from the diet changes to show benefit from the enzymes. Enzymes, then, are a nice way to trial food changes in my opinion to see if they are likely to help. Sometimes they are a better option than diet for various reasons even long term. This has a lot of enzyme information http://www.enzymestuff.com/.

 

I knew something about food was hurting my spectrum son. We tried (strict, long term) gluten, casein, soy, and phenol/artifical colors/etc free diet. That didn't help so then we did Specific Carbohydrate Diet (including dairy free) even longer term. He actually declined with that one in retrospect. It turns out my son's food issue had to do with fat metabolism. He had/has underlying mitochondrial issues though we didn't know that until he was almost four. Treating those including low fat diet did a lot of good for him. I never saw improvement with the other diets. We also didn't see benefit from enzymes which we began because we were stopping the other diets but he's small and I think they must help some so we do them anyway. I really would expect a child who would respond to diet changes in those areas to respond to enzymes too.

 

Be willing to look broadly, even beyond diet, to find what might help a particular child and of course don't stick with what isn't helping.

Edited January 1, 2012 by sbgrace

[Finnella]

Be willing to look broadly, even beyond diet, to find what might help a particular child and of course don't stick with what isn't helping.

 

:iagree: While we haven't tried gluten free yet because my husband doesn't want to, we stumbled onto something accidentally. My son responds very poorly to sugar. The less sugar he eats, the better he is. Fewer migraines, better sleep, and fewer problems with his ADD. I can't say it changes anything with his Aspergers. The improvements are significant enough that it's worth the trouble to keep him away from sugars and simple carbohydrates.

[lifesajourney]

:bigear:

We actually just went gfcf starting last week. Artificial colors, etc have always been a problem but with the mood swings and behaviors we are still seeing, I know there is something else there. I'm not sure if we're on the right track, so I called our old ND, and she said she could send us a finger prick test in the mail that I could do at home for food allergies. Just wondering if this is how you guys obtained your IGg food intolerance results?

[Misty]

:bigear:

We actually just went gfcf starting last week. Artificial colors, etc have always been a problem but with the mood swings and behaviors we are still seeing, I know there is something else there. I'm not sure if we're on the right track, so I called our old ND, and she said she could send us a finger prick test in the mail that I could do at home for food allergies. Just wondering if this is how you guys obtained your IGg food intolerance results?

 

It probably is an IgG test.. I know Great Plains Labs offers a dried blood spot IgG test.. https://www.healthlinkpartners.com/testkits/product_info.php?cPath=1&products_id=64

 

That might be what she is sending you.. I would ask her to be sure.

[Misty]

I will say that Feingold and gfcf (gluten and casein free) together doesn't leave enough foods for a healthy diet in my opinion.

 

I would probably agree with this. That's why I say start with *basic* Feingold and just remove the horrible stuff (preservatives, dyes).. But don't go full Feingold if you are planning to do GFCF.