BFamily Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 I posted back in the summer that my DS3 was being referred for testing for autism. What was suppose to be a 6-month wait has turned into a year-long wait. I was thinking of trying the GFCF diet with my son, but decided to try eliminating the dairy first, since it seemed the easiest to remove. Within a few days of starting, a large patch of rough skin that had been on his lower back for over a year disappeared. Within a week of eliminating all dairy, he seemed to calm down quite a bit. We are now three weeks in, and he has been socializing with kids at the park - like having real conversations with them - which he has never done. He waves and tells people hi and bye when they speak to him. He answers and responds to others (for the most part). He has not been having meltdowns at therapy. He's been sleeping through the night, and his sensory issues seem to be waning. We even made it through church services the past two weeks - morning and night - for the first time since he was 6 months old! Has anyone heard of a dairy allergy causing autistic/adhd-like symptoms? He is like a completely different child. His speech is still behind where it should be, but most people can understand him now (thanks to an awesome speech therapist), and he does cover his ears some still, but not over every. little. thing. It seems almost too good to be true, and I'm afraid to get my hopes too high, but this is like an answer to endless nights of tear-filled prayers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missiemick Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 I think food is the cause of a whole lot of problems. So happy that you were able to find the source of yours so quickly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 Dairy allergies/intolerance can cause all sorts of things. So, yeah, if you eliminated dairy and saw improvements/changes, then that's what it is for your ds. Congratulations. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 That's striking. How much longer until your appointment? Until next summer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 nt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFamily Posted October 30, 2012 Author Share Posted October 30, 2012 Thanks, all. While I would not say my son has been healed by any means, the behaviors that were getting to be unbearable and a huge burden on the whole family (the non-stop movement, the meltdowns, the defiance, the sensory issues, the lack of sleep) have all drastically decreased. He still has some of his "oddball" behaviors, and some of the responses he gives to questions are off the wall, where did that come from? responses. He won't get in for testing for autism until August of next year. He first met with his OT the week before we took him off of dairy. After she evaluated him, she said his attention span was less than a minute, and our goal was to get him to a minute threshold. The week after we took him off of the dairy, he sat down for the entire one-hour therapy session and was compliant and completed all his tasks for not 1-minute increments, but 10-15-minute increments. The OT even had to make him move onto other activities, and his transitions between activities, a typical trigger for meltdowns or defiance, went smoothly. This is the same child who was having meltdowns and was non-compliant and was running around like wild at our first meeting just a week and a half earlier with her. Our family is currently planning our switch to gluten-free and dye-free, too, to see if there are anymore breakthroughs with him. The change from the dairy has been nothing short of astounding. That said, I took him off of milk only just before he turned three, and that was the week he said his first words. I left him off of the milk for about a month, but he continued to have cheese, yogurt, butter, etc., until he broke his arm. I was devastated, knowing that his bones may have been brittle from not getting enough calcium, so I put him back on milk. This time, though, all dairy is gone, and I am making sure he is getting plenty of calcium-rich foods and supplements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 I gave up gluten for months and noticed no difference, even when I re-introduced it. But, I have noticed when I eat a significant amount of dairy, I do feel really yucky. Not nauseous, no GI distress, but just an overall lousy feeling. I think in a young kid, this feeling could translate into difficult behavior. I've given up dairy before but never last very long because tea with milk in the morning is one of my favorite things. I rarely treat myself to anything, but I just love my tea. I'm a simple person. :001_smile: I have heard that dairy is connected with a lot of skin issues like eczema, acne, keratosis pilaris, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 (edited) I saw many and various changes when we first went gfcf. Casein free made the biggest difference on my oldest, while gluten free made the biggest difference on my youngest. My youngest had been sleeping for about 9 1/2 - 10 hours in a 24-hour day, since he was about 18 months old. He would sleep for a few hours and then wake up. He was up a big part of the night and you could tell by watching him sleep that his sleep was not restful. That is just one noticeable difference after we went gfcf. While he still goes to bed late very often, he will now sleep continuously for about 10 - 10 1/2 hours, most of it at night. If he wakes up then he will take a nap later in the day. Prior to this, I did not know what getting 5-6 hours of continuous sleep meant. When I first started my research, it was triggered by my oldest son's attention and focus during school and even during a conversation. This is probably the biggest improvement I have seen in my kids. He is now a different child where that is concerned. He is focused and does not space out. When I added some yogurt to our diet for a short time we saw a huge difference again. He was going back to the way things were prior to the diet, and my husband noticed this and pointed it out also. In any case, I just dropped in because I saw your thread and wanted to say congratulations :). While the diets do not work for everyone, they do work for a good number of families. One book to check out is Dr. Bock's "Healing the New Childhood Epidemics". Hope you continue to see improvements and keep in mind that if you do go gluten free, sometimes with gluten it takes a bit longer to see results. It takes about 3 months to get gluten out of your system, completely. You can see results almost immediately or it can take time. It is definitely worth trying though, I feel :D. All the best :)! Edited October 31, 2012 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonor Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 This was the issue for the son of the author of Fighting for Tony. This was published in 1987. Since then many others have written about the gluten casein diet and its effects on autistic children. http://www.amazon.com/Fighting-Tony-Mary-Callahan/dp/0671632655/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1351643934&sr=8-1&keywords=fighting+for+tony I'm glad you were able to tell the difference. Hope your child continues to improve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFamily Posted October 31, 2012 Author Share Posted October 31, 2012 I have heard that dairy is connected with a lot of skin issues like eczema, acne, keratosis pilaris, etc. Interesting. I have had keratosis pilaris on my legs since I was a teenager, but I have never heard of the association between it and dairy. I may have to try it out - although, I do love my milk in my coffee in the mornings. Thanks for the book recommendations; I will be looking into those. All of the information I've gotten about the GFCF diet has been from simple Google searches, and the gluten-free part of it just looks so overwhelming, but like many parents of SN kids, I am willing to do anything to help my son. I have prayed for a miracle, and when things gradually became worse, I simply prayed for the tools to help my son, and I think I may have received just that. It's been a mind-boggling past few weeks, in a good way, and I am thankful that there are people out there who have BTDT and have taken the time to share their wealth of knowledge no matter how outlandish or insignificant it might seem to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mukmuk Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 My son was gluten free for 2 years before going casein free recently (leaky gut). Going casein free has been tremendously positive for him. So glad it worked for you too, OP! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Interesting. I have had keratosis pilaris on my legs since I was a teenager, but I have never heard of the association between it and dairy. I may have to try it out - although, I do love my milk in my coffee in the mornings. Thanks for the book recommendations; I will be looking into those. All of the information I've gotten about the GFCF diet has been from simple Google searches, and the gluten-free part of it just looks so overwhelming, but like many parents of SN kids, I am willing to do anything to help my son. I have prayed for a miracle, and when things gradually became worse, I simply prayed for the tools to help my son, and I think I may have received just that. It's been a mind-boggling past few weeks, in a good way, and I am thankful that there are people out there who have BTDT and have taken the time to share their wealth of knowledge no matter how outlandish or insignificant it might seem to be. I went gfcf with my boys :). Still can't convince daddy :tongue_smilie: but it has made a tremendous difference for me also. In the past I used to read so slow because I would have to go back and reread paragraphs. I don't need to do that anymore. Also, this is the main reason that gluten free is a life long decision for me (see link below): http://www.freefromgluten.com/blogs/health-and-welness/2862712-gluten-sensitivity-and-hashimoto-s-autoimmune-disease I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis in my early 20's. Since then, everyone in my family has an under-active thyroid, including both my parents, my siblings, and others in my family. My husband was also recently diagnoses. I am not sure how many family members started with Hashimoto's, which then led to Hypothyroidism. Anyway, since it seems to be an issue in both sides of the family, my kids' chances are greatly increased (it is hereditary). If there is a possibility of preventing my kids from getting Hashimoto's, or at least slowing it down, I will do whatever it takes :). It does seem daunting at first but believe it or not, I no longer crave my homemade whole-wheat bread. I now crave my homemade mixed flours bread (rice, tapioca, etc.) and my kids love our bread also. We buy gluten free waffles (hoping to start making my own at some point), brown rice pasta (we prefer it now), etc. Oh, and we drink almond milk so that is was I use in my coffee. It adds flavor ;)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kRenee Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 ...Within a few days of starting, a large patch of rough skin that had been on his lower back for over a year disappeared. ...Has anyone heard of a dairy allergy causing autistic/adhd-like symptoms? I get skin rashes when I eat dairy. On my dry hands it cracked my skin at all the knuckles and was extremely painful. On other parts of my body I develop blisters that itch and weep. Stop all dairy and my skin clears up. I've always called it eczema. I had a derm tell me that dairy doesn't cause eczema...but I beg to differ. And yes, dairy can cause autistic like symptoms which is why a GFCF diet is recommended for autism. I'm glad your little guy is doing well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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