Hello to you! It was great getting some advice from Lisa Jo Rudy in the last post. Today we will talk about another way to manage the behavior of a child with autism. By this point, both you and I have come to the conclusion that there are many great sites with information on Autism.
Well, I found another. “Healing Thresholds” is a website is dedicated to connecting parents of children with autism to “autism therapy.” It discusses many different therapies that are used by parents and uses fact sheets to define the therapy, talk about its effectiveness, and discuss any harm that may come from it.
According to Healing Thresholds, one popular therapy for children with autism is a change in diet. Two main ingredients that are suggested to be taken from their diet are gluten (a protein found in some grains) and casein (a protein found in milk.)
The reasoning behind the gluten and casein free diet is that consuming these foods increase the amount of protein-by products, which Healing Thresholds says are thought to act as a drug in an autistic child's system . They are thought to “reduce desire for social interaction, block pain messages, and increase confusion” When these ingredients are taken away, the behavior is supposed to decrease or go away.
I do not know if you know anyone who is allergic to gluten or casein, but I was once put on a gluten and casein-free diet. Because of gastrointestinal problems, my doctor at one time thought I might have an allergy to one of the two proteins. Now let me tell you, this diet is extremely difficult.
Gluten and casein are in so many things that you would not think about if you did not look at the labels! Gluten especially is in so many things, not just bread, but cookies, brownies, pasta, even some dressings. Casein, which comes from milk, is also in many food products. Going out to eat is almost impossible unless you go to a restaurant that actually caters to these diets. To put a child on this diet, the parents would be advised to go to an organic store and buy the food, which is extremely expensive.
Nonetheless, Healing Thresholds talks about one study that was done, in which some children with autism that were put on a casein and gluten free diet for a year and the others were not. According to Healing Thresholds, the children who were put on the diet had less autistic symptoms. That’s very exciting! I think that this is definitely something to consider if your child has autism, and perhaps speak with your doctor if you have any questions.
References
Crosthwaite, F. (n.d.). Autism | Gluten-Free Diet and Children with Autism | Healing Thresholds | Connecting Community and Science to Heal Autism. ARetrieved October 23, 2009, from http://autism.healingthresholds.com/therapy/gluten-free-diet
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