Do I keep trying or do I stop GFCF diet?

[jacqui in mo]

I started my 10 yo ds on a GFCF diet on April 23 (trying to help his Asperger's symptoms). As far as staying on the diet, we'd been doing fairly well but I wasn't sure if I saw differences in behavior.

 

Yesterday I discovered that ds had eaten several Nutrigrain snack bars which have gluten over the past week. (they were leftovers from a trip my dh and dd had just returned from, otherwise I wouldn't normally have those around). Now I don't know what to do about the diet.

 

I'm trying to school him over the summer to try and help him with basic math facts speed and consistency. He had been doing somewhat better at speed and focusing on drills for 2-3 minutes at a time. This week though he wasn't able to even beat the 3 minute timer on drills that are still pretty simple. Could this be a possible result of the GFCF diet? (i.e. that he had seemed to be doing a little better on speed drills, then after an unintended gluten challenge, he isn't doing as well?) I wonder b/c I could also attribute it to not having practiced consistently over the past 4 days, or that inconsistency is normal for him, or the fact that the newness of earning a reward token for beating the timer has worn off (although he was upset today that he couldn't seem to beat it.)

 

Other than this math possibility, my dh and I haven't seen much that stands out and says GFCF helps ds. My dh would really like us to stop the diet.

 

So:

Do I just stop the diet now and attribute the math to the inconsistency in academic performance my ds has almost always shown?

 

Do I plug on with the diet because it hasn't even been 2 months yet and see if the change in math skills comes back consistently or not?

 

If I do continue the diet, do I have to consider it as starting all over again to clear the system of gluten?

 

I had been thinking of trying a dairy challenge to see if we needed to keep that out, but now should I wait on that too?

 

If you feel like you've had success with a GFCF diet for an ASD child, how long was it before you saw any changes? I've heard anywhere from needing to stay on gfcf from a month to a year. After a longer period of time though, how would you know improvements are attributed to the diet, and not something else like maturity or therapies being done simultaneously?

 

Thanks for reading all this and any information you can share.

[Susan in TN]

We don't have a ASD dx in our household but deal with a host of similar issues and are gluten free (well right now we are gaps too)

 

but I would say stick with it a little longer because even a tiny bit of exposure can keep symptoms going and prevent you from seeing improvements...things like toothpaste ingredients or even a fish cracker let alone a whole snack bar can trigger my kiddos.

 

When you have stuck strictly with it for a few weeks then start looking for changes but yeah after our weekly church potluck I can always tell if one dd cheated or got exposed by accident because he math just tanks:glare:

 

But watch for more broad changes than just behavior/math etc...skin improvements hair, bowels, sleep etc...

 

3 of my 4 kids showed only "physical" improvments for a few months before begining to show behavior/learning strides.

 

Even after a couple of months of following it strictly you don't think you see any changes you will be able to tell right away by slowly reintroducing it.

 

Either he will be obviously fine or your will be thinking WHOOBOY I didnt remember it being this bad;)

 

But you have to give it time and be really strict...which I am very sorry to say is the hard part...

 

Good Luck!

 

MaggieAnnie

 

:iagree:

 

A year ago, my family was on a type of GFCF/low manganese diet for similar reasons. The strict phase was for 8 weeks after which we would gradually add back some foods. It was agonizingly diffictult to follow - way more restricted than GAPS. For some kids, this diet (called the Spectrum Protocol Diet) worked wonders. For others, well, some had been on the diet strictly for a year and hadn't had ANY significant improvements. I mean, they would find hope in such minimal "advances" that were most likely a result of the child being a year older. In those cases, I couldn't help but think those parents just needed to give themselves a break and try something else. For the people that were really helped, it was obvious within 2-3 months.

[Lisa in Jax]

I started my 10 yo ds on a GFCF diet on April 23 (trying to help his Asperger's symptoms). As far as staying on the diet, we'd been doing fairly well but I wasn't sure if I saw differences in behavior.

 

Yesterday I discovered that ds had eaten several Nutrigrain snack bars which have gluten over the past week. (they were leftovers from a trip my dh and dd had just returned from, otherwise I wouldn't normally have those around). Now I don't know what to do about the diet.

 

I'm trying to school him over the summer to try and help him with basic math facts speed and consistency. He had been doing somewhat better at speed and focusing on drills for 2-3 minutes at a time. This week though he wasn't able to even beat the 3 minute timer on drills that are still pretty simple. Could this be a possible result of the GFCF diet? (i.e. that he had seemed to be doing a little better on speed drills, then after an unintended gluten challenge, he isn't doing as well?) I wonder b/c I could also attribute it to not having practiced consistently over the past 4 days, or that inconsistency is normal for him, or the fact that the newness of earning a reward token for beating the timer has worn off (although he was upset today that he couldn't seem to beat it.)

 

Other than this math possibility, my dh and I haven't seen much that stands out and says GFCF helps ds. My dh would really like us to stop the diet.

 

So:

Do I just stop the diet now and attribute the math to the inconsistency in academic performance my ds has almost always shown?

 

Do I plug on with the diet because it hasn't even been 2 months yet and see if the change in math skills comes back consistently or not?

 

If I do continue the diet, do I have to consider it as starting all over again to clear the system of gluten?

 

I had been thinking of trying a dairy challenge to see if we needed to keep that out, but now should I wait on that too?

 

If you feel like you've had success with a GFCF diet for an ASD child, how long was it before you saw any changes? I've heard anywhere from needing to stay on gfcf from a month to a year. After a longer period of time though, how would you know improvements are attributed to the diet, and not something else like maturity or therapies being done simultaneously?

 

Thanks for reading all this and any information you can share.

 

Yes, his slower calculation time could be gluten-related, even several days later.

 

In DS's case, the reaction to gluten starts at about 6-12 hours and lasts for 3-4 days. So, if you son is getting even a little bit of gluten every day or so, you might not see any improvements. Until you're sure he's been 100% off gluten and casein for 6-8 weeks or more, it's hard to say if he's benefitting or not.

 

I'd stick with the diet a while longer and check for unintentional infractions. Check your shampoo, toothpaste, Playdoh, etc., medicines, etc., to see if he's getting small amounts of gluten/casein.

 

One other thing to think about -- some kids do better on the gfcf diet; others do better on the diet and digestive enzymes for gluten/casein, and still others do better on a "regular" diet with enzymes. If, after another 6-8 weeks completely GFCF, he's not noticeably better, continue the diet and try enzymes (Digest Spectrum, for example, or another one for gluten and casein) for another month or so. If there's still no obvious difference, try a "regular" diet with enzymes and see how he seems on that combination.

 

HIH,

 

Lisa