ASD Symptoms: Feingold vs GFCF Diets

coffee bean · January 2014

I'm sure there are many posts about this, but I'm new to the group. My 5 1/2 yo daughter is autistic and has a horrible diet. Every time I've mentioned a modified diet to a pediatrician or specialist, they poo poo it as no real connection has been made between diet and symptoms.

I have researched both Feingold and GFCF, but honestly find it all very overwhelming. Does anyone have any experiences or good resources they recommend?

My one daughter who is typically developing tends to eat more healthfully. My ASD daughter is just a HUGE challenge in the food dept. If I left it up to her, her diet would only consist of chicken nuggets, pizza, chips with artificial colors, fruit punch, milk and sugar. Of course we don't allow that, BUT I would be lying if I said we didn't give her those foods sometimes (just to get something in her).

Any advice at all would be so much appreciated.

coffee bean · January 2014

My initial thoughts are to start the Feingold, because it isn't as restrictive and artificial cr*ap isn't good for anyone in our family anyway. If there are good signs, maybe progress to GFCF?

coffee bean · January 2014

Thanks for the thoughtful input, Auntie. You are right about just not buying the crap food. I need to do that.

It's such a hard thing, because you feel like you should do everything possible for your child that MIGHT help, but you have some really good points for me to ponder.

typeset · January 2014

What worked for us was employing the behaviorist to desensitize him to 1) having new foods on his plate and 2) trying them. In stages, she had him smell, touch, pick up, bring to his mouth, touch to lips, touch to tongue, bite, chew, and swallow non-preferred items. Each successful step was reinforced with a preferred food item (Annie's gummy bunnies) and praise. ABA for the win--it was a complete game changer for us. He was eating veggies in a matter of weeks whereas he would have screamed at them before. A dietitian friend at Children's reports the psychologists in her department use the same approach.

Unknown · January 2014

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coffee bean · January 2014

McRib said:

we saw huge gains by cutting gluten from my son's diet and we saw it within a few days unlike what Auntie is saying. he went though a terrible withdrwawal which lasted about a day and a half and then started speaking 3-4 words for the first time ever about a week and a half later. once we cut dairy his lifetime of eczema disappeared.

I think looking into biomedical treatment of the underlying causes of your daughter's autism is a great idea and diet is the first place to start. We do no gluten, dairy, corn, soy or GMOs. We have cut almost all processed food and it has made a world of difference for my kids.

Thanks for the info. Was there an order you removed groups in? I was looking at the chart below from gfcfdiet.com. The idea of no dairy (for her AND for me) gives me the shakes...

Unknown · January 2014

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luckydogg · January 2014

I am pretty new to the ASD world, but we noticed problems with gluten and dairy long before there was any concerns about ASD. Once we started reading about ASD and the gluten\casein connection it made sense and we started being diligent. Within a matter of DAYS it was as if the fog had lifted and the second time early intervention came to our house they commented on how my son was a completely different kid - language, engagement, eye contact. When there is an infraction, we do notice in behavior.

I definitely don't think it hurts to try it.

I am concerned about this being socially isolating as Auntie pointed out when he is school aged, but for now we are one day at a time and it's helping.

kcisthebombdotcom · January 2014

We are gluten free (but we have a dx case of celiac) and it definitely made a huge difference with symptoms. dd had been in therapy for about six months at the time and was pretty disengaged with therapy in general wandering off a lot and lots of mouthing. we noticed some positive changes in week 1. much more jargon, better focus, improved eye contact and engagement with therapists. i don't think its a terrible idea to request a celiac test and a complete blood panel to check for vitamin deficiencies--id probably only go gluten free if medically necessary and the thing with celiac is that it can present with zero gi symptoms which is why its grossly undiagnosed. developmental delay is a sign of it. if bloodwork comes back ok you can make some easier changes that may help. a good multivitamin is helpful--we use sea buddies daily multiple. probiotics is also good for the brain--you can use supplements, you can use kefir a drinkable yogurt found in that section or greek yogurt. for a picky eater you can mix plain yogurt, a splash of oj and some honey into homemade popsicle makers and freeze. if your child doesn't eat fish a good fish oil supplement can help with brain function as well. Nordic naturals, nutrasea and carlsons are all high quality supplements.

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ASD Symptoms: Feingold vs GFCF Diets

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