How do Gluten-Free/Casein Free Diets Help Children with Autism?

Gluten is found in all products containing wheat, rye and barley. Gluten is composed of the sticky storage proteins found in wheat.

Casein is found in dairy products such as milk, butter and cheese. Casein is also composed of proteins. These are known as the proteins found in some baby formula, and is sometimes the reason a different formula is tried if the baby is unable to tolerate a certain formula.

My child was diagnosed with autism at a young age. I did research and networked with other families raising a child with autism. Some of the families believed diet helped their children's challenges. Especially the Gluten-Casein free diet. Along with removing wheat, rye, barley and dairy products, some went as far as removing artificial preservatives and made the families food completely from scratch. The results seemed to be 50/50. Some children showed great improvement, and some none at all. Many studies have been done on the GF-CF Diet, one study outweighing the other. So I was left to try the diet for my child without rock solid answers backing me up. First, I took her to an allergist and had a "RAST" blood test done. This showed me exactly the foods she was allergic to. They are: wheat, corn, soy, malt, onions, garlic, fish, strawberries, eggs, and chocolate!

We began with a clean slate, and added one food at a time over a period of seven days. This way, we could pinpoint exactly which foods were good and which foods caused allergic reactions-mostly headaches. Our food staples were changed to GF-CF products. Most of her diet was based on potato or rice products. After a few weeks we noticed she was feeling much better! But the minute she slipped, and ate a food not on the diet, she got a headache.

Along with the GF-CF diet, we began to follow the Feingold Diet. The Feingold Diet closely resembles the GF-CF diet, but it is much more involved, and gives many more "safe" choices.